Leaders are tremendously stressed today, and it’s putting them at risk of burnout–and putting organizations at risk of losing effective leaders. So, how can you deal with leadership stress?
It’s important to focus on leaders–and on their health, wellbeing and happiness–because it’s critical to leaders themselves, but also to teams and organizations.
Leaders have an outsized impact on organizational cultures, because people tend to focus on leaders’ behaviors and actions—and these tend to be magnified in the culture. And culture, in turn, has a significant impact on people’s motivation and engagement–and collective performance.
Stress Is a Big Deal
Among leaders, stress is intense and increasing:
- 71% say their stress levels have increased
- 54% are concerned about burnout
- 40% have considered leaving their role to improve their wellbeing
All of this is according to a survey of almost 11,000 leaders by DDI.
Gen Z, in particular, may avoid leadership because of stress. In fact, Gen Z is 1.7 times more likely than other generations to step away from leadership roles to protect their well-being, based on additional DDI data.
In addition, some people may avoid leadership altogether. In their survey of 27,000 people ages 18-67 across 34 countries, Rand found that 39% don’t want career progression and 57% would reject a job if it would affect their work-life balance negatively.
How to Deal with Leadership Stress
There are many ways to reduce your stress generally, but here are three primary ways for leaders to deal with stress most effectively–based on this new data.
1. Self-Reflection
Fully 74% of leaders reported to DDI that they used self-reflection as a way to deal with stress, demonstrating commitment to personal growth and maturity in leadership.
You can use this methodology as well—by considering what you’ve been through, the action you took and the outcomes you were able to achieve. Do your reflection in the moment or set a routine to reflect at the end of each day or each week. And do your self-reflection by thinking about it individually, journaling or talking with others.
Interestingly, in addition to stress reduction, self-reflection is also linked with wisdom–and to be a wise leader research shows you must both reflect and take measured action.
Overall, the key is to engage in enough self-reflection that you are seeking to always improve, but not so much that you’re overthinking, agonizing or ruminating.
2. Open Discussions
Another primary way that leaders manage stress, according to the DDI survey, is by having open discussions with trusted colleagues, family or friends. In fact, 71% take the time to talk things through.
This approach can be especially helpful because it can get you out of your head and expand your perspectives by giving others the opportunity to weigh in and provide ideas, feedback and suggestions.
Talking through options with those you trust also has the additional benefit of fostering connections—and meaningful relationships are strongly correlated with wellbeing, mental health, fulfilment and happiness.
3. Continuous Learning
Leaders also report to DDI that they use learning resources—46% of them take this approach.
This too is a demonstration of effective leadership—because the best leaders know they always have more to discover, explore and improve.
Interestingly, learning is also correlated with more productive cultures that deliver results for employees, customers and stakeholders. Learning can occur in the trenches and within the context of the work. It can also occur in more formal settings or through online resources–or through mentoring relationships.
Reasons for Leadership Stress
There are various reasons for stress among leaders, from competitive pressure to the demands related to the future of work.
But time poverty is among the biggest issues. Fully 30% of leaders report they lack sufficient time to get their work done to the necessary quality levels. And feeling constantly time-pressured is correlated with burnout—which gets in the way of leaders being able to do their best or bring their best, based on DDI data.
Another stressor is when leaders believe they lack the tools or information necessary to fulfill their responsibilities. This too, is correlated with burnout, and leaders are twice as likely to be worried about burnout when they don’t have the resources for their success.
Reduce Leadership Stress
The outcomes of taking these approaches are compelling. Leaders who use stress management methods are two times less likely to experience burnout, and they are one and a half times less likely to leave the organization, according to the DDI data.
Leadership is arguably more challenging today than it has ever been. But it’s possible to manage leadership stress effectively—and create the conditions not only for leaders’ own wellbeing, but also for the benefit of employees and the organization as a whole.