6.5 Tips On Managing Leadership Stress

Stress has been taking it’s toll on us. How are you going to fight back? How are you going to manage the leadership stress and love Life at Work and love Life at Home?

Stress, anxiety, insecurity, lack of stability … have plagued our productivity.

You are feeling the stress. The number one request this summer has been for trainings to help teams practice emotional intelligence. You know: manage emotions, be healthy and be able to keep working.

Quite frankly - I was feeling the stress. I was pushing through, but it was catching up. It had been too long since I checked out and reset. During the past few weeks, I found time to take a mini trip with my wife, with my family and with some friends (so, a total of 3 trips). I reset and recharged.

How do I stay recharged? Here are some top tips:

6.5 Tips on Managing Leadership Stress

Tip 1 | Plan

• Take 20 minutes on Sunday nights to plan as a family. (Read our story here)

• Take 20 minutes every Friday to plan out your work for Monday. Planning for Monday creates a stop on Friday and helps Monday start with instant productivity and engagement.

• Be sure your plan includes the activities you need to do to make sure you are the parent, spouse, leader and friend you want to be.

Tip 2 | Eat

• More specifically. Eat well. Enjoy breakfast, enjoy lunch and enjoy dinner. Enjoy how you feel in-between meals.

• Plan who you want to eat meals with at work and at home. Intentionally connect with family and friends.

Tip 3 | Move

• Stand up and stretch. Touch your toes (or try to!). Bring exercise bands into the office.

• Take a walk around the block or ride a bike to your next meeting.

Tip 4 | Enjoy

• Do what you love to do (as long as it’s not binge watching TV … )

• Find something that brings enjoyment and fulfillment.

  • kick the ball in the yard with your kids even when you are tired

  • go biking (mountain or road)

  • go fishing

  • play golf

  • sit on the porch and read a book with paper or just sit and reset

  • garden

Tip 5 | Consistency

• Know your values and consistently lead by them. Stress and the unknown can lead to pragmatic justification. Stay focused on your core values and consistently go from there.

Tip 6 | Be Honest

• Leaders fill in the blanks with assumptions and those assumptions are usually worse than what is real. Be honest with your team about expectations, opportunities, and challenges. Fill the unknown in with clear communication about what you do know.

Tip 6.5 | Be Hopeful

• Communicate with honesty and hope. Hope keeps leaders moving towards tomorrow. Hope pushes through the uncertainty with the idea that it will get better. It’s your job to share hope.

Bonus Tip

Take your vacation days even if you are vacationing near home. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to recharge with your family.

If you and your family are struggling to reset and recharge, join our Life At Home Event in November or send a key leader who could benefit. Here’s the link. https://insightlg.com/life-at-home

Top 4 Tips On Leading Stressed Out Leaders

Anxiety. Stress. Fear. 

You may not have it. You may not understand it. 
However, you need to be equipped to lead teams through it.

Many of your team members are struggling to get out of bed in order to start work. They are struggling to go to bed because of work.

Here are 4 tips that you can begin immediately to help lead stressed out leaders.

Tip 1 | Provide Consistent and Clear Communication

Now more than ever you need to provide clear communication to your teams. They fill in the blanks with assumptions that hurt you, them and the organization. Communicate clearly and consistently. Even if you think they should know or should know why - you need to remind them. Leaders complaining about over-communication is better than assumptions made from no communication.

Tip 2 | Provide Consistent Check-Ins

Leaders need to know where they stand and check-ins provide that assurance. You need to know what’s happening with your leaders and without consistent check-ins, you really can’t be sure. Our check-in process has helped leaders across the country improve relationships and results.

Tip 3 | Provide Organizational Clarity

Leaders under stress are living in the fog of the Appalachians. It’s tough to see 5 feet in front of you. Give them the clarity they need to see what’s important and what to focus on. This is not your chance to micro-manage; this is your chance to develop your team and create a culture of ownership.

Tip 4 | Provide Training

Quality effective training and coaching can help your leaders overcome barriers and stress faster than any other type of development. If you believe in your leaders and need to help them overcome, call us today. We can help.

Bonus Tip: Provide coffee breaks on Zoom or in the office. Conduct meetings outside and walk the long way to the meeting. Ask your team members to walk during a portion of the meeting to help them recharge and get active.

Many of your leaders are stressed and it is impacting every aspect of their life at work and at home. While you cannot fix it for them - you can make sure you are doing what you can as a leader to help empower them.