Managing Stress

Domain: Self Awareness - Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

As a manager or leader, it can feel like we're taking on problems from all sides. We're asked to allocate resources to support company goals while also being available to hear the day-to-day challenges from our team. Not to mention whatever personal challenges we're dealing with ourselves.

When you spend large portions of your days dealing with other's problems in addition to your own, it can become quickly overwhelming.

This is why it's important for leaders to manage their stress. That's not to suggest that stress is exclusive to leadership. Every job has its own stressors. Leadership stress is simply the focus of today's topic. Here are just a few tips on how to manage it…

The big four

Diet, exercise, sleep and social connection.

These preventative measures really apply to everyone. Much of the stress you feel as a manager is chronic, not acute. It's important to have practices in place to support these foundational behaviors.

Each of these topics are already well covered by experts with more depth and insight than I can offer. With that said, you are probably well aware of the general advice: eat well, stay active, get sufficient/consistent sleep and make time for friends, family and loved ones.

If you're looking to manage stress and stay sharp, these are critical first steps.

Take small breaks

So many managers get wrapped-up in running from meeting to meeting or fire to fire that they don't take periodic breaks.

Some even wear this fact like a martyr. Your team doesn't need you to relentlessly grind it out day to day. They need you sharp and at your best. The best way to do this is to guard time for yourself.

I'm not suggesting you have to drop everything every two hours and declare that you're on your sanctioned rest break. It does mean you need to find a way to pull yourself away from work and give yourself a small reset.

The "physiological sigh" is a great option for a quick reset. This exercise regulates the nervous system and reduce acute stress. To perform the physiological sigh, take a deep inhale followed by a short second inhalation, and then an extended exhalation. Repeat this several times.

End on you

The further into the day you get, the further you get from working on your own priorities. This can then bleed into the next day. It happens to everyone. To maintain focus on your priorities, book time at the very end of your day. You'll use this time to do two things…

Look at tomorrow's schedule and identify your top priority. This means the most important thing you need to do, not the most urgent. Maybe it's a carry-over from the day before or maybe it's a brand new thing that came-up. Doing this at the end of each day allows you to re-focus and reprioritize your time for the day ahead.

Once you've set your priority for the following day, you then use this dedicated time to tie-up many of the loose ends that tend to accumulate throughout the day.

Delegation

We've covered delegation in a number of different newsletters because it is critical to managerial success. Part of the reason managers feel overwhelmed is that they keep themselves too involved in everything. They're trying to be everything to everyone. One of the many benefits of delegating is getting things off your plate so that you can focus on what you should be focusing on.

Boundaries

Most of the strategies above are forms of boundaries, but there is one more worth calling-out. You need to learn when to either say "no" to or negotiate requests for new work.

Similar to the risk of not delegating, not being able to say no to things is going to hold you back. If delegating lightens your existing load, setting boundaries prevents new work from coming-in and taking its place.

Knowing the strategic priorities of your team and organization can help here. Any new work that doesn't align to those priorities should be carefully reconsidered.

Thank you for reading. My hope is always that you've found something helpful and easy to implement. If you have feedback, suggestions or questions, please reply to this email.

If you are interested in exploring one-on-one coaching to transform your leadership, email me at [email protected] and we’ll coordinate a free, one-hour discovery session.

This week’s action items:

1. Establish consistent habits for diet, exercise, sleep and social connections.

2. Find ways to take time for yourself throughout the day.

3. Carve out time at the end of each work day to set your priorities and tie-up loose ends.

4. Refer to our delegation advice for specific guidance on how to delegate effectively.

5. Learn to negotiate requests for new work.