As leaders at the executive level, the weight of responsibility can be immense. The constant demand for high-stakes quality decision-making, managing diverse teams, and steering the organisation towards success can often lead to heightened stress levels. Recognising the triggers that elicit these stress responses in you is crucial for maintaining both your personal well-being and making you a more effective leader.
Common Stress Triggers for Leaders
- High-Stakes Decision-Making:- the pressure to make decisions that positively impact the organisation’s trajectory can be overwhelming. There can be a latent fear of making the wrong choice which may lead to analysis paralysis or impulsive decision-making.
- Intense Workload and Time Pressures:- balancing the multiple responsibilities you carry within tight deadlines, can result in chronic stress, possibly leading to burnout if not managed properly.
- Interpersonal Conflicts:- navigating the complex relationships with stakeholders, board members, and team leaders creates tension, especially when interests clash or communication breaks down.
- Organisational Change:- implementing or adapting to significant changes within the organisation can unsettle even the most seasoned leaders, triggering uncertainty and stress. The key to all of this is to understand what triggers you and when it is more likely to trigger a negative and potentially damaging response.
The Impact of Unfiltered Responses – a case study
Consider a scenario where a CEO, under immense pressure from declining quarterly results, reacts harshly during a leadership meeting. This unfiltered negative response not only demoralizes the executive team but also creates a ripple effect throughout the organization. employees become disengaged, productivity declines, and a culture of fear permeates the workplace. Such environments can lead to increased turnover and a tarnished company reputation.
Source: PhysicianLeaders.org (1st September 2022)
Strategies to Manage Stress
To lead effectively, it’s essential to manage stress proactively and approach interactions with intentionality. Here are three strategies to ensure you operate at your best:
- Self-Awareness and Reflection: regularly engage in self-reflection to identify personal stress triggers and understand your emotional responses. Mindfulness practices, such as meditation on scripture or journaling, can enhance self-awareness and help in recognising early signs of stress.
- Establish Boundaries:- set clear boundaries between your work and personal life to prevent burnout. Allocate time for rest, hobbies, and family, ensuring you recharge and maintain a balanced perspective. You can’ give away what you don’t possess.
- Seek Support and Continuous Learning:- engage with an executive coach or mentor who can provide guidance and objective perspectives. Participate in leadership development programs to continually refine your skills and coping mechanisms.
Know Yourself to Lead Yourself
Understanding yourself is the cornerstone of effective leadership. By gaining insight into your leadership style and inherent tendencies, you can better manage your reactions and lead with greater intentionality. In short self-awareness unlocks understanding where you know what you are likely to do in certain situations and can formulate a plan to manage your own default reactions for a better outcome. Have you considered taking the 5 Voices Assessment to discover your leadership voice? This tool provides valuable insights into your communication style and how you can leverage it to foster a positive organizational culture.
A cautionary tale – in my own leadership I have found myself triggered through 5 voices training I have learnt that if I believe people I am responsible for or values I hold dear are threatened I will tend to react aggressively seemingly out of nowhere. Knowing this enables me to thin through a different response. Preventing reputational damage and harsh language. So what are your triggers?
In high-pressure environments, being attuned to your stress triggers and managing your responses is not just beneficial—it’s imperative. By investing in self-awareness and proactive stress management, you can lead with clarity, purpose, and resilience.
