Mental health and leadership

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A few years ago I remember reading an article that commented on a study. For 70% of respondents, their director had more influence on their mental health than their therapist or partner. I remember reading it because I remember that I was going through a tougher professional period at that moment, both as a leader and as someone I was led to, and that made me feel the impact of those written words even more.

In my day-to-day life I tried to find the best way to deal with:

the pressure of securing business at a time when client budgets were starting to tighten;
reports to managers, which also due to the current situation added requests, tasks and responsibilities ;
managing a team that was “inherited” by half: people with whom I had not yet managed to create a relationship, who still did not trust me.
Anxiety was growing and taking its usual places: oscillating between lower back and neck pain, the occasional weekly bout of insomnia, or making me reach the end of the day with minimal energy. Who never?

In addition to the physical impacts of stress , already well known for its influence on many of the 10 diseases that kill the most in the world, its impact on mental health is also notable, especially after email data the Covid-19 pandemic, and with very serious repercussions in terms of professional activity. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 12 billion workdays are lost each year to depression globally. Aside from the obvious costs to productivity, the most frightening thing about this statistic is undoubtedly its social impact.

In addition to back pain, insomnia and lack of energy, emotional and psychological symptoms are clear warnings that we may be on the road to burnout . The importance of well-being in the workplace, and the role of leadership in it, becomes fundamental to a team's performance.

Here I share 3 simple rules to promote healthy leadership and a positive environment at work, which were key for me in recovering energy and well-being in more complicated times:

Communication is key: simple, transparent, and always giving the other person space to talk about what they feel, without value judgments of any kind. Anything goes, even crying. As leaders, the burden of ensuring this channel (and its proper functioning) is ours: this involves being attentive to people, knowing them and their stressors, and scheduling recurring moments so that this space is taken seriously and has a truly positive impact.
Promote fun: We spend a large part of our lives at work, and the power of a smile, good humor, and genuine moments of relaxation is too important to be ignored. And laughter really is the best medicine: it has been more than proven that a good laugh does wonders for reducing “stress hormones”, such as cortisol and adrenaline.
Lead by example: Being committed to safeguarding our own physical and mental well-being is half the battle to ensuring that the people we lead do the same. Avoiding emails outside of working hours by scheduling them is something that seems very simple, but it is not yet practiced enough.
As with physical ailments, safeguarding the psychological and emotional well-being of our teams also requires commitment and consistency. In the “360º Leadership” course, I will delve deeper into this and other topics, such as the multiplicity of generations in the workplace or how to build a succession culture effectively, promoting open (and perhaps difficult) conversations with the aim of helping all interested parties to make the most of their leadership skills.