Let's talk about Stress Management!
Communicating as a Business Leader in a time of global pandemic (5 min read)
This is the second blog in the 3 part series on Stress. This blog will look at the impact of stress on managers and business leaders. Being a business leader in this time is challenging to say the least, with managing your own stress, that of your employees, family and friends. One might indeed hark back to better days, and look to be comforted by people, good memories and powerful song lyrics. You may identify with the lyrics from 21 Pilot’s honest anthem about stress.
“Wish we could turn back time,
To the good ol’ days.
When our Mama sang us to sleep,
But now we’re Stressed Out.”
In part 1 we looked at the concept of stress and found it was a deeply personal experience in which there were triggers and physical manifestations which led to being unwell. In this blog we are going to look at how as leaders we need to be mindful of our communication. Consider how we need to look after ourselves so that we can be sensitive, and empathic whilst having to deliver difficult messages such as: furloughing staff, making staff redundant or changing their working hours. Leaders you DO NOT live in a vacuum and you need to recognise how your communication, body language and tone of voice can affect how your employees hear the messages that you are communicating.
So let’s take a look at some situations that may need empathetic communication:
All Hands meeting telling employees the company is not doing well
Communicating to an employee they are to being furloughed
Communication to an employee they are to being made redundant
Communication to an employee that their hours will have to be reduced because of “the current climate”
Communicating to a freelancer that there is no longer demand and therefore their services are not required
Communicating that different working hours are to be implemented to manage high or low demand in the business
Communicating the loss of a colleague due to COVID-19
Communicating the impact of COVID-19 on the company to employees
So now we’ve got some situations to think about as leaders, let’s pause and sit with them for a moment. All of the aforementioned are tough to communicate at any time but especially now when we are facing a global health pandemic and colleagues are hyper-sensitive. We must recognise that we ourselves are managing a lot of emotions and so are those we are managing. In addition to being physically separated, we now find ourselves in a situation where we need to step up and lead from a place of compassion and empathy. Let’s think about how we might feel as leaders having to deliver some of these messages over the phone, on a video call or via email. Here’s a list of feelings we might have:
Nervousness
Sadness
Anger at the whole situation
Stress
Guilt
Empathy
This is a very unique time and climate, where there are a lot of feelings swimming about from anxiety, fear, stress and compassion. How you are experiencing COVID-19 is a deeply personal experience and no 2 people’s experience will be the same. So as a leader you need to be highly aware about your own emotions. Consider how they may impact those that you lead, manage, interact with and employ.
Reflecting about how we as leaders personally feel about COVID-19 might be a bit uncomfortable. First off, there is no shame in admitting that you are not “SuperHuman” and you are also personally being affected, you should not be afraid to show vulnerability to those that you manage and employ. At the end of the day we are all in this together. So now more than ever we need to show compassion, empathy and deep consideration about how we deliver difficult messages at this time.
Let me share my own experience of being a Coach and coming to the realisation that as resilient as I am, I am also impacted by COVID-19. I acknowledge and realise that my deep resilience can sometimes be overwhelming and I must show that I am vulnerable too. When I ask clients “How are they?”, I don’t rush it and share truly “how I am, both good and bad”.
So today, I am going to give you 3 tips for being an empathetic business leader.
1 “Hold a safe space” for discussion for difficult and sensitive issues
The concept of “holding a safe space”, is the notion that we want to create a space for ourselves and our employees to talk about sensitive and difficult issues honestly and openly. In order to do this you need to set ground rules such as, “Everyone’s contribution is valued”, “We acknowledge that we are all different”, “We will listen fully without judgement”, “It’s ok to show emotion”. You will also need to set out what is not acceptable, such as “Using profanities is not acceptable”, “Using language that is an offence under the Disability and Race Discrimination Act is not acceptable”. Once the rules have been set up on both ends of the scale, you are then able to lead a discussion on sensitive issues more effectively. This is not an easy task or concept to implement. However, I encourage you to try and at least use this concept on a 1 to 1 level when having difficult discussions with employees.
2 Demonstrate Self Awareness
Recognising that you too are impacted by COVID-19 and the toll it’s taking on yourself and the company you work for is very important. I’d also suggest that you invest in a good daily routine if you are not already doing so, which enables you to be in an optimistic and empathic frame of mind every day. Being very aware of any negative thoughts and feelings that you have.
Making sure that you “check them at the door” before you have to deliver any difficult messages or send any emails.
Especially if you are sending an email, I urge you to read it, PAUSE and reflect before sending. Do NOT rush it! Think, HOW WOULD I FEEL if I received that email. Do your best to put yourself in the shoes of others.
3 Be Kind to yourself
As I always say, you’ve got to be kind to yourself and acknowledge that you’ve been through a lot. You need to take care of yourself, so that you can take care of your employees, family and friends. Embed weekly, daily or whatever frequency works for you, of some kind of self care activity.
Resources
Address Stress - Mental Health First Aid England
Mind Mental Health Charity - How to manage stress
Contact the Samaritans - Confidential advice