Dealing with Stress in Management
Management has always been stressful, but is the role of management more stressful today than in the past? We say yes!
The pressure of the 2020s is worse than for most periods of the past, because many factors came into play all at once. The rate of change of technology is accelerating in our faster paced 24/7 global operations. Post-covid, many workers decided not to return to their work, consequently retaining good workers and recruiting new ones has never been tougher. Generation Z workers are more demanding than their older counterparts. Laws and legislation about bullying seem to have gained traction. Working from home has introduced new problems. The trade unions are getting stronger and flexing their muscles. It is difficult and time consuming to reprimand or dismiss offending workers and we have heard of several cases where good workers have declined promotion to management, because they don’t want the stress that goes with the job.
In this article we discuss how leaders should cope with stress. It must be noted that work is not the only driver of stress. Managing marriage, family, children and friends can also become stressful. However, managers can experience stress due to workplace factors such as heavy workloads, tight deadlines, interpersonal conflicts, and organisational pressures. Coping with stress is crucial for maintaining the well-being of effective leadership for the company.
Stress is a natural response that our bodies have developed to cope with challenging or threatening situations. In small doses, stress can be beneficial, helping us to stay alert, focused, and motivated to tackle problems. However, when stress becomes chronic or overwhelming, it can have significant negative effects on our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Stress increases the impact of, heart disease, immune system deterioration, headaches, sleep disruption, depression, mood swings, social withdrawal, and general aging. Also, in the workplace the highly stressed manager can suffer from the following:
Cognitive Effects: Impaired Concentration and Memory: High stress levels can impair the ability to focus, concentrate, and remember things.
Decreased Decision-Making Abilities: Stress can affect the ability to make clear and rational decisions.
Reduced Problem-Solving Skills: Chronic stress may hinder the creativity and problem-solving skills of leaders during critical times.
Understanding is a first step to fixing the problem. The next is to learn the best approaches for managers to cope with stress. Our research into coping with stress often brings out specialist methods like practicing, mindfulness, self-awareness, healthy lifestyle, diet and setting realistic expectations. These methods are superb, but we have focused on simple, proven and practical management techniques and recommend five that could produce a massive reduction in stress. The five are: time management, delegation, conflict resolution, mentoring and positive thinking (growth mindset). We discuss each in turn below.
Time management: Overloading the leader with too many responsibilities can contribute to stress. Using effective time management allocates time for different tasks, prevents last-minute rushes, and reduces stress caused by looming deadlines. Tasks should be prioritised and focused on the most important issues so that less critical ones can be delegated or postponed. By periodically assessing workload and responsibilities it might be necessary to discuss workload adjustments with superiors. Time Management helps prioritise work, create realistic schedules and breaks down larger projects into smaller manageable tasks. Effective time management reduces the feeling of being overwhelmed. Any good time management tool that can execute all the above tasks should work well at reducing stress levels.
Delegation: Team members should be trusted to delegate tasks based on their strengths. Delegating not only lightens the leader’s load but also empowers the team and fosters their growth. Delegating tasks to team members should become a priority and can lighten the leader’s load and considerably decrease stress.
Conflict Resolution: Conflict should be addressed promptly and professionally. Unresolved conflict can contribute to stress and negatively affect management style and worker morale. There are several tools that work well and ensure conflict resolution becomes more manageable reducing stress in the process.
Mentoring: Reaching out to mentors to talk about chronic stress is essential. Sometimes, discussing challenges with mentors can provide new perspectives and solutions by offering guidance and advice. Sometimes an outside perspective can offer solutions that hadn't been considered.
Positive Thinking (Growth Mindset): Focus on the positive aspects of the job and the progress made. Cultivate a growth mindset that sees challenges as opportunities for learning and development. Invest in personal growth and development. Learning new skills and strategies can boost confidence and effectiveness as a manager.
A good leader should not only guide their team professionally but must also take care of themself. By implementing the techniques above and being proactive about managing stress, high levels of efficiency can be maintained, and the leader can continue to be a positive influence on the team.
