Are you Stressed?

Being in management/leadership positions can be highly stressful.

The buck often stops with you.

So many different triggers can cause stress.

Not hitting targets
Not delivering on time
Not enough resource and feeling stretched
Too many demands from different stakeholders
Individual not performing
Conflict/competition and blame across departments
Difficult bosses that don’t give feedback or praise
Negative organisational Politics and culture
Lack of trust or support
Lack of own confidence
Fear of job less
Organisational changes/restructures
Not enjoying your job
Money worries
Personal problems – relationship issues, grief, mental health challenges

Stress can be healthy but how do you know you are highly stressed?

Do you suffer with any of the following physical, mental and behaviour issues?

Physical	Mental	Behaviour
Headaches	Excessive Worry about future or past	Crying
Sweating	Imagining the worst	Eating more or less
Stomach problems	Being forgetful	Biting your nails
Muscle tension or pain	Not concentrating	Avoiding others
Feeling tired or dizzy	Feeling irritable	Sleep problems or have problems sleeping
Sexual problems	Racing thoughts	Rushing tasks
Fast heartbeat	Going over and over things in your mind	Drinking or smoking excessively
Dry mouth	Making mistakes	Being irritable
Short of breath	Feeling low	Being snappy

What to do to reduce stress?

Get some help – ask yourself is it time to get some help internally or externally. Do you need a sounding board in the form of a coach or mentor or is it therapy you need to manage stress – this is not a sign of weakness it is a sign of strength to know when you need help and to act on it. Or is it time to speak to your boss about what’s really going on to get the support you need? What is the best option for you and the most helpful place to ask for help?
Focus on you – start to leave on time and focus on your diet and lifestyle. Make time for exercise, well balanced meals and be mindful of how you are fuelling your body. If it helps keep a food and exercise diary or find an accountability partner
Keep a journal – spend time every morning and evening listing what you want to achieve (am) and what you have achieved (PM) what you are grateful for and what had made you smile today?
Plan your time – Decide what is important and take time to plan when you will deliver what, communicate and delegate to your team, monitor and follow up. Avoid unrealistic amounts and perhaps prioritise no more than 3 things in one day (depending on how big each task is – if so split in to sub tasks)
Sleep – make sure you get enough sleep, avoid looking at your phone/emails after a certain time. Have a downtime relaxing routine before bed to wind down from the day to the evening – a nice bath, a light reading and keep to the same routine
Meditation/Yoga/Mindfulness – Incorporate some meditative practices into your daily routine it can really help to quieten down your thoughts and breathing positive impacts your nervous system – reducing flight or fright responses in our reptile brain helping us to tap in to more of our own resource and new insights.
Relax – Make time to relax whether that is taking a bath, reading a book or going for a massage relaxation is necessary for our body to refuel just like a machine if we over use it breaks down. Make relaxing a priority and you may even notice you get more done because of it! I certainly have!