Stress and resilience have been my most requested leadership topics for over a year now. Just recently, I received another request. (Catch a recent conversation here.) Leaders want to know: how can I lead my team when they’re at a breaking point?
And even though they may not say it, many leaders are stressed to the max as well.
How are we supposed to learn to manage stress effectively? It’s not covered in most higher education programs. The school of hard knocks generates awareness of the need for answers. For leaders of stressed teams, the appetite can be high but the preparedness is often lacking.
If your team is stressed, here are five way you can serve your team.
Normalize Conversations About Stress
One of the best ways for leaders to address stress is to acknowledge its presence in the first place. Instead of being silent because you don’t have all the answers, speak to it. Don’t force your team members to hide their stress habit – encourage them to be open.
In fact, in our Leadership-in-a-Box® program for Stress Management, we have leaders identify their own sources of stress first, to make it easy to acknowledge the reality we all face. (Here’s a 2 min video we use in the program kickoff: Give Your Stress a Name.)
Pay Attention to Signs of Stress and Burnout
Once we acknowledge stress as a reality, it’s easier to be proactive. The problem is, people express stress is a wide variety of ways. Some are vocal and others are reserved. Some speak up at once and others wait until their breaking point. The better you know the individuals on your team, the better you will become at recognizing their stress patterns. Of course, if you’re not sure, it’s best to ask!
Anticipate Stress Reactions to Workload and Change Plans
One Gallup study reported that 70% of change initiatives fail – but most failure was not due to poor strategy but poor change management. One mistake leaders make is trying to cram through too many changes at once on top of regular workload without accounting for the additional stress the process will cause.
We need change more than ever. But we don’t need poorly planned change that can’t be sustained because of burnout.
Include Wellbeing Goals in Performance Discussions
How big of a difference would it make in your performance goals if your boss expressed interest in your wellbeing along the way? This is something you can do!
We all want high performing team members. Let’s also encourage them to set wellbeing goals – with our support – so that their performance is supported by their mental and emotional health.
Set a Positive Example
What was the last positive example you set for workplace wellbeing? It may be as easy as taking advantage of the resources made available to you.
The best instance I can think of was a military commander who returned from a traumatic battle incident. Even though he felt resilient personally, he knew members of his team were struggling. Actions speak louder than words, so he announced to the unit he was signing up for counseling for PTSD and encouraged them to do the same.
Stressful times will come. We’ll never get to stress Level 0. But the impact of a leader during tough times can either make or break the team’s commitment to each other and to the cause.
