Managing Stress in the Workplace
As leaders, how can we promote and encourage our workforce to stay productive in these crazy and stressful times? Stress is defined as a general and non-specific response to a “threat”. That response to a threat frequently appears in the form of fear, disengagement, diminished cognitive ability, lack of creativity, loss of emotional control, fatigue, and eventually chronic pain and illness. The source of the “threat” (stress) is a combination of attackers, both external, and self-induced. You know what’s coming next if you read my blogs on a regular basis. Time to look in the mirror. (Oh, great, I KNEW she was going to say that) The coin I keep in my pocket says “To Thine Own Self Be True”: let’s ask ourselves this question: How can WE example what we’d like to see from our team? No, I’m not talking about working overtime, multi-tasking and pumping more adrenalin and caffeine through our bodies, no, no, no! I’m talking about nurturing our physical bodies and achieving optimum health to insure our highest and best cognitive ability and our ability to lead by example. (Oh that, yeah.) You might want to take an hour, grab a cup of green tea, a pad and pen, and listen to this panel conversation we just recorded this morning: http://tinyurl.com/lbgq26 . Remember, you are the leader. Whatever you model (even if it’s behind the curtain), it will be duplicated. Do yourself a favor; give your body what it needs to keep your brain in top-functioning order, and when you model that, your team will begin to follow suit. Employees are smart: if they hear you saying one thing, and doing another, they will follow your actions, not your words. Be true to yourself, be good to your body, and remember, what’s good for your body is good for your brain. They are connected, whether you like it or not.
