A quick way to change your ‘state’ if you are stressed is to change your physiology, going for a walk around the block forces you to breathe differently and gets your body moving. It allows intense negative feelings to dissipate quicker and work through your system, this is preferable than taking something out on the nearest person to you. If you are managing regular stress think about how you contribute to your own plate. How do you manage your time? Maintaining an outside life and deciding what is and isn’t your responsibility, or in or out of your control, will also help you.

Do Some Reflection     

If we can recognise what we are good at and what we aren’t so good at we are halfway there to managing ourselves effectively. Just because you won’t admit to yourself you are not so great at something it doesn’t mean that other employees can’t see it.

No leader is excellent at everything. Being self-aware and open to where other team members can support you is a strength, not a weakness.

The end game is about making the team and business successful not hiding the skills you aren’t good at. The most successful CEO’s tend to bring right-hand women and men with them to operate a fully rounded competency and skill circle.

Take Time For Yourself

This is one of the most ignored yet most important tips for managing your mental health. If you ran a marathon every day your body would need a rest. The same is true for the brain, you can’t run it to the max every day without a rest. It needs to be able to rest and rejuvenate, and different environments and experiences can help that.

Whether it’s yoga, meditation, art classes or sport, whatever helps you switch off and let go. What you put in you get out, this is true for the brain, so if you want to be sharp, remember things and have clarity when you need it to give it a rest to allow it to repair and renew. Even a regular walk in the fresh air can help you clear your mind.

Lead By Example

Your team watches everything you do, they will model how you speak, how you treat others, pick up your bad and good habits, represent what you stand for, they learn something from you daily. How you show up daily is more important than you may realise.

Managing others is a real responsibility that can shape individuals in a good or not so good way, so think about what they are learning from you and you from them. Humility and appreciation go a long way with others.     

A healthy, happy manager is more resilient, more resourceful and can utilise more of their own tools to solve problems, cope with ambiguity and drive results, be that leader.

Find Out More

If you are in a leadership role I hope the above tips have been useful. While there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’, factoring in your own mental health can go a long way in boosting the wellbeing and ultimately the performance of those you work with. Especially if you’re their boss! 

For further help and advice, why not drop me a line to enquire about virtual coaching sessions? I work with a wide range of business leaders to help them reach their potential. I am currently taking on new clients both in the UK and internationally, through sessions run over Skype or Zoom.