Don’t pass on your stress

For lots of us, the stress that we are feeling, fuelled by the stresses of those above us struggling to deal with the pressures of these complex, uncertain times, is a burden that we are then struggling to hold ourselves.

As mid-level leaders though, it is so very important that we act as an umbrella of those pressures to our people – protecting them from that which is falling from above. The ripple effect of us as individual leaders choosing our own state, and supporting our people to have the space to do the same, has a very real impact on how we help look after the mental health of our people through these challenges.

It requires us to be consistently careful and intentional about managing our own mental health – attending to our own needs for recharge, space and recovery time so that we have the capacity to manage our emotions in ways that create the buffer for our people. Yes, in an ideal world we could all fairly expect the leaders above us to do this for us as well. But let’s be real – this is far from an ideal world!