Stress in Leadership
by Alexa Le
Stress is a silent killer, negatively affecting your mood, efficiency, and overall livelihood, even having an impact on those around you as well. It’s simultaneously counterproductive and seemingly inevitable, pulling you out to sea like a tidal wave. Suddenly, you find yourself drowning and not knowing what to do.
It is an all-encompassing feeling, especially augmented when others rely on you and look towards you for instruction. According to a study in the UK by the Health and Safety Executive, approximately 32.5 million workdays were lost as a result of work-related ill health over the period of 2019-2020, the average person taking off about 21.6 days for stress, depression, or anxiety (1). Most of the time, it is even worse for those in leadership roles, as it requires you to take on the responsibility and accountability of the actions of many others. In doing so, many leaders oftentimes neglect their own health as they relentlessly pursue the next obstacle.
It is also crucial to point out that in effectively managing stress in a leadership role, a leader might be able to improve the work environment. Typically, the attitude of a leader is what sets the tone for the rest of the workplace, and many leaders can quickly fall into the trap of brewing an atmosphere of tension, stress, and even hostility within the environment. This results in an endless cycle of work relations that not only make the experience less enjoyable and amicable but unproductive as well.
When caught up in the stress of leadership and life in general, it is easy to forget that the most important thing is simply taking the time to exhale, to temporarily pause the surrounding noise. Oftentimes, when striving for perfection, we neglect the most valuable resource of all: balance. To see a life rich with your achievements and work perfectly balanced with what brings you the most pleasure would be the best gift of all. Instead of blue light emanating from computer screens and dark coffee at midnight, the goal should always be to put one’s health first while focusing on work achievements, tackling those hurdles head-on.
So what’s the best way to manage stress? Well, there’s no real one-size-fits-all solution that is accommodating to each individual’s experience. However, the most critical step is to recognize the primary causes of stress for each person. These should be specific, as saying “work” would achieve little to nothing. Instead, by taking note of specific aspects that are stress-inducing, you might be able to either minimize those aspects or adjust them for a better quality of life. Above everything, perspective is the key to your outlook on life and thus, how you manage stress. By taking time to appreciate and acknowledge the little victories at work, you can effortlessly foster an environment that celebrates positivity. When we shift our perspective on events, we can gain greater insight into situations and inspire our creativity.
Things do not need to be as stressful as we usually make them out to be. And while it is not easy to immediately change our outlook, the best first step is to step back and exhale.