Empathic leaders find it easier to understand the challenges of their teams but they also need to be empathic to themselves to avoid burnout and manage their lives.
Stress Management for Leaders
If you are feeling stress beyond a level you can handle as a leader you need to introspect.
There could be many factors that build up the stress often without your own knowing. It can happen to anyone after all we are only human. And it would be good to acknowledge the importance of work life balance and self care.
Are you biting more than you can chew? To manage work stress as a leader, while delegating work check, if you are delegating tasks with clarity to the team.
Are you approachable and exercising patience in communication?
Are you checking if they have understood your requirements?
Are your mails, messages and your attitude, building people up?
Remember the way you chose to behave rubs off on people. While it’s only human to err and there could be good & bad days, being a leader is a responsiblity. For you have the power to influence and impact lives.
Likewise your actions beliefs and behaviour can affect your own health. Hence managing your own stressors empathically become paramount as a leader to get work done.
Every now and then tweaking your own approach, to the changing needs, being flexible and adaptable helps you and your team towards reducing work stress.
How beautiful it would be If good deeds prevailed in practice. If altruistic ways can become a norm A way of life and living If healthy collaboration became a driving force. Yet… Any change is never easy.
To change anything It has to permeate the psyche Of the mind in acceptance. Then there is transformation.
Nothing lasting happens by force For force gives way to another mightier force in time Trust time in patience & perseverance.
Everything happens in time. Time shows the way As time has all the answers.
As a Freelancer or a Self Employed Individual inspite of the independence and freedom to manage what you choose to do, there are often many challenges that test you on your journey.
Here are a few mindful ways to destress through your challenges using reflection for your personal growth.
Breath: Start the day by find time for your health. You can simply start by observing your breath. Witness it, moving in and out of the body. Sense your own breath. Check the speed and patterns in your breath. Are you breathing fast or slow? Are you able to hear the sounds of your breath? Our breathing sends many signals to us about our health, if we only care to observe.
Meditation. Reflect on your life as you go into a deeper state of being.You can choose your kind of meditation from the many practices of meditation options. Be it breath awareness through deep breathing, or mindful walking meditation or sound meditation. Be fully present in the Now.
Movement : Reflect on the positive ways you can use your body to reset and recharge your self. Choose to take a mindful and conscious walk. Sense everything in and around as you move with self awareness Reflect on your day and observe your thoughts. Many thoughts will vye for your attention. Let them come and go as you witness their unfolding. You will find much inspiration as you go. You will note your state of mind. You will have clarity of your emotional and mental health. You will sense the truths of your life.
Journalling.: Writing your thoughts is a good reflection tool that helps process and synthesise new information and life experiences. In fact it increases creative thinking and problem solving. As you reflect on your reactions and responses you will find greater clarity on your path.
Reading : A beautiful practice for any time that you can be inspired is by inculcating a habit of reading regularly. Choose a good book take time to read. You will find yourself charged with many inspirations to kickstart your day. It can be a contemplative practice for some deep thinking and self introspection and improvement.
Feedback : An opinion of another about you is their assimilated perception that they may voice out to you with or without your asking. Seeking honest feedback from trusted sources can help you course correct yourself. It is how you take the feedbacks you receive and what and how you focus on it that makes all the difference. Be aware that feedback is a valuable tool for self reflection and personal growth.
There are many tools for reflection like the above. However even acknowledging ones feelings and emotions helps in understanding more and managing stressful situations better.
Reflection practices can be inclusive and expansive. Besides silent contemplation and introspection while learning from mistakes, participating in a conversation, be it Group discussions, workshops can be an engaging practice for Self awareness.. They are also opportunities for self growth.
An essential skill in any job that requires talking & handling people is speaking well and communicating effectively.
Handling challenging questions during a speech can be effectively managed by a few practical and strategic ways using conflict resolution techniques. Get yourself some time to think by practicing listening actively when a question comes up and then repeating it in your own words to check if you have clarity on what is asked. Acknowledge the questions with empathic voice and body language can ease and reduce tensions and help build the flow of communication. Get yourself back into the arena by reframing the questions to align with your context. Using an assertive voice shows command over the context.
Always remembering the goal is not to score a point but or win an argument but to build and sustain a positive and respectful connection.
Today I am sharing a thought Provoker. This came as a social media forward. But it was thought worthy and I do have a few questions as well.
Speaking of relationships, have you felt drained out beyond compare?
Instead of feeling energetic after an interaction or a conversation, have you felt like when will it end?
When was the last time you felt a little too empty?
Do you stop giving, if you feel it is an unequal relationship and you feel pulled from all directions or due to habit or situation you continue to give as you do?
If you are a giver by nature, can you actually stop yourself at all?
It’s truly important to acknowledge your emotions and feelings. It helps to know your energy shifts.
A Stringed Existence
There is a lot of inextricable strings of emotions linked to relationships but if you are constantly feeling drained out and exhausted when with certain people, perhaps you need to check if you have over invested yourself. Be it in career as a workaholic or in family where your sense of self is feeling lost.
You have one life & it is your life…
Pause and take a breather and set yourself back on course.
While there are many kinds of people you meet. And it is really OK to be extra helpful, and give the best you can. In fact it energizes abundance to manifest in life… For when you give from a spring well of kindness, nature sets in motion, a share of kindness back to you in its own time.
Yet like many are energy givers, there are many energy takers. Often unknown to themselves they behave in a way that saps anothers energy when they are around you.
Do remember who ever you are with… Giving more or less will not have value. For less is not fulfilling and more is just excess and will never be utilised. But will certainly tilt your balance for sure.
In your actions too, exercise this wisdom and you will find yourself in a good space.
And most of all…
Choose your tribe well. It makes all the difference.
How much of you, do you have in your creative expressions?
What can you do to write from a place of authenticity?
It is well known that creativity flourishes in a flow state. In bringing your unique expression holistically into your writing practice, you can transform yourself by enhancing your focus and connect with your work.
Speaking of writing there are few ways that can truly enhance your writing practice.
Breathwork & meditation
Starting with a few minutes of wholesome breathing and adding meditation brings clarity to your thoughts. And writers if you feel overwhelmed, using the breath to reflect and reset thinking refreshes thoughts.
Setting an intention helps you focus on a specific time, topic and theme.
Spending few minutes before you begin the day, witnessing what’s happening around you, gives you many inspirations, that you may jot down, sense & describe in detail in your writing.
Jotting your thoughts regularly is a valuable practice for any writer. And if it is a Gratitude Journal that records all the things you feel grateful for then you will be attracting abundance into your own life and positively shifting mindsets.
Personally I often just pick up the pen and write, or start to type words as they come, there is often no special or specific space that I must write from. Be it any place, whenever inspiration flows I begin to write.
Yet, I also wholeheartedly promote, creating a writing space, lighting candles, brewing a cup of tea or coffee,playing your favourite soft instrumental music. It’s a mood setting before writing which helps signal the brain for the relaxed writing vibe.
Conscious practice of writing un- distracted for say 20 to 25 minutes with a timer and then breaking for 5 minutes and resuming, creates focused approach to writing.
Every once in a while taking a moment to pause, reflect while reading your writing out loud, helps you to sense how it makes you feel.
When you gradually incorporate these ideas into your writing, you will find yourself enjoying your writing journey and sensing healing & wellness as you write.
WordPress a few days ago congratulates me on my writing journey of almost a decade here. Of which I have been writing and publishing consecutively with all of my heart every day in the last six years and more.
It certainly has been an enjoyable & fulfilling practice so far with some profound learnings and building connections along the way. So I, now wholeheartedly encourage you, to create your writing practice and begin your own journey of self growth & transformation..
I often write to motivate and inspire others to think positively as much as myself. Along the way I ended up mentoring others to express their creativity through their own words. Simply said it has been an enriching experience to share my experiences and motivate another to write as well.
While I know the pen will go on breathing words on paper,I pause to be thankful to all those who have been the silent and steady wind beneath my wings in my writing journey…. 🙏
Movements are energy in action.And movements in a dance can heal and transform lives for the better.
How?The physicality of a series of rhythmic or structured movement like in a dance creates a chemistry of changes to integrate the body mind and soul in a flow gradually towards health and vitality.
A few practical coaching tools for Self confidence.
Transform self belief. Help the client identify what’s holding them back and to constructively transform the inner dialogue with positive words and affirmations.
Cultivate compassion Nurturing the self in kindness and cultivating compassion fosters resilience and self worth.
Journaling,meditation,walking in reflection and exercising for better health is a way of acknowledging ones life.
Helping the client to improve from where they are without comparing with anothers journey is helpful in recognising their own accomplishments.
Building a circle of positive people who are supportive and encouraging because they believe in them , increases their self confidence.
I write when I am charged with an idea an inspiration. Or perhaps when there is nothing else to do.
I write to balance my emotions whenever it needs equilibrium.
I write to flow with the moment with a thought that aligns, as it calls on me and as I write, at times emerges into a pattern, in prose or verse.
I write to understand better when thoughts overpower…overstimulate the mind.
I write to let go and send out all that comes to my mind which I feel and hope can make a positive difference, somewhere to someone reading me.
I write at times in deliberation too to process and synthesise new understandings.
I write to unshackle from the many convictions I may unknowingly hold. As I write they break loose from restrictive spaces and help to align my thoughts in the sifting.
I write to express the bounties of life that I’m blessed to enjoy in gratitude.
I write to sense the bliss of being… with all of me in the moment.
A young entrepreneur I know, just does not seem to have the time or patience to listen to the employees. She says how can she find time to run the company if she has to hear them all…
Well it’s actually valid as her company has more than hundreds of people.
I have had many things to say about the issues, worries and problems that are of concern, but as her friend and confidante too, it is somewhat very challenging to get the messages across all the time.
Here I share a few of my observations as suggestions that may work for holistic development of any organisation.
It is very important…
To know your circle of people.
Those who work with you
Those who work for you.
To show genuine care & understanding.
Genuine appreciation and acknowledging people for their work without favouritism makes a huge difference.
In return
You as a leader understand much more
Of what motivates them
Or challenges them
And you begin to create
Possible ways to make a meaningful difference
And grow together.
And if by chance you sense a lack of common purpose
You know you need to be ready to draw a line,
And let them go, if need be.
But all the same it’s important to be aware of, and connect with your circle of people well.
Savvy Raj 
You must be logged in to post a comment.