Mental wellbeing for leaders and managers

Working in a leadership or management role can be trying at the best of times, and more so during the uncertain period we find ourselves in at present. The responsibility of managing a team presents big challenges.

While there’s recently been a very welcome focus on mental health first aid and helping managers become more aware of the silent issues that some of their workers are dealing with, there hasn’t been as much focus on supporting the mental health of people leading organisations.

At the moment, we’re facing a perfect storm of factors that could impact very negatively on people at the top of organisations, and could easily trigger problems with anxiety or depression, two of the most common mental health concerns in the UK.

The day-to-day stressors that are such a challenge for everyone from time to time – such as relationship problems, debt, or anxiety about the health of loved ones – are exacerbated in the current climate and have become more pressing.

Adding to this the need to look after elderly relatives, worry about the wellbeing of your children, and potentially even taking on the task of home-schooling can culminate in huge amounts of stress and anxiety. The constant influx of bad news about the global economy and loss of life certainly doesn’t help either.

Facing difficult decisions which impact the livelihood of others – such as furlough and redundancy, coupled with the challenge of managing a team remotely while keeping their productivity and morale high can prove mentally and emotionally exhausting.

Now, more than ever, it’s crucial for managers and leaders alike to take charge of their own mental wellbeing in order to continue guiding their teams while keeping their own morale in check. We’ve gathered some useful tips to help keep you mentally and emotionally agile and enable you to carry on leading from the front.