Holding a position of leadership is something that comes with great responsibility and even greater rewards. As such, there can be times that will become stressful while on your leadership journey. Everyone will approach this stress differently and handle the situations differently. There are some general recommendations and strategies, however, that you can utilize to help reduce stress.
Find Your Joy
Everyone has different stressors and different ways to handle these stressors. One common thing everyone can do is to find something that brings you joy and lean on that when you find yourself stressed. This can be something as simple as gardening or cooking. If music is your “happy place”, put on some tunes that will help relieve the stress you’re feeling.
Embrace Your Flaws
This cannot be stressed enough. Those that think they have no flaws will quickly find themselves at the doorstep of failure. Acknowledging your flaws will help you find solutions to combat those flaws and reduce the stress you may feel that comes from those flaws. Use your strengths to come up with a strategy that helps reduce the stress about your flaws and embrace them and accept them instead.
Manage Your Time
Most of the time, time management is the biggest factor that stresses leaders. To avoid this, schedule out blocks of time that are devoted to specific tasks. This will help you become more efficient and productive. You can truly see what you have to accomplish compared to what you’ve already accomplished.
Learner Mindset
Rather than being in a constant state of judging the work of those that serve under you, open yourself up to learning as well. Start by posing questions to your team about what their overall goals are in their position and how they’d like to achieve those goals. This can take the stress away because it allows you to interact with your team and get to know their strategy. With that information, you can help them work towards achieving those goals that, in turn, will help you achieve your goals as a leader.
Breathe
This might sound like the most obvious answer to dealing with stress but it’s an essential key to relieving stress. While our physical bodies are always present in life, our minds can be far away in many different places. Take a few moments to just breathe and assess the situation that you’re in. This can help you clear your mind and provide you with clarity in dealing with a situation.