What Kind Of Leader Are You When Stressed?

Perhaps this 'feels' more familiar than 'looks' familiar?
I don't suppose you go around your workplace literally pulling at your hair and sticking post its to your body!?  At least I hope not!  If that is the case, you are most probably past the point of this article helping!

Would't it be great to know two things?  Just how effective you're being as a stressed out leader and how you can curb some of the ineffective behaviours when you're stressed out.

Lets Start with Some Facts about Stress:

• affects both mind and body and impacts overall health and well-being (nothing new here, we've been hearing this for years)
• left unmanaged, stress can lead to crippling mental and physical issues such as; infections, heart disease, depression, anxiety, obesity diabetes (shall I go on?)
• stress can hurt and dissolve relationships in a hurry
• anger from stress is damaging to others
• isolation can occur when others want to not be around you

Can you see how these would effect your business and your household?  Perhaps you are experiencing some of these now.


Time to Get A Grip!

Easier said than done? Perhaps. 
Getting yourself to a place where you can lead and be effective through stress takes training.  Like every other skill you've acquired to this point.
Question is:  How bad do you want this skill?
Are you going to keep hacking along through stress until something catastrophic happens? Like losing your business, your job, your love partner or best friend?  
Everyone sits with stress these days like it's "part of the condition in which we live"
First off...get clear on something....YOU are allowing yourself to operate thiç

First Step!   

Get accountable and responsible!
Especially if you are a leader of sorts, of any sort actually!  A mother, father, religious figure, CFO, CMO, COO, CEO and all the other C's. If you are leading others and you are presently leading with stress, experiencing conflicts, upsets, miscommunications (and the list goes on)
IT'S TIME!  Time for you to create a new way of leading through stress.
I get it, stress may be part of the job description.  What I know for a fact, You don't have to lead with stressful behaviours.

Second Step

Know what your overextended/stressed out being is!  Get clear, get tested on what qualities are your ineffective behaviours and how they actually show up in the workplace or at home.
Get clear on what strengths you can pull forward to reduce the energy of those overextended behaviours.
You MUST know who you are first before you can clearly and effectively take your identified and newly identified strengths and pull them forward to assist you.  Enabling you to be powerful and effective in your stressed out leadership.  

Share With Others

Once you have taken the steps to identify your behaviours and know how that is negatively impacting your performance, your behaviour and essentially, your life,  it's time to share your learnings with others.
The best way to affect your own change and to affect the change around you, is to have others involved and help support you and hold you accountable.   
"Be The Change You Want To See In The World' - Ghandi.    

Others are apt to also suffer in the stress battle. It's a leadership position to offer aid to them so they too can work in stress effectively.  Help them identify their qualities that show up, the behaviours that are exhibited when stressed and then identify their natural and skilled strengths that they can use to create and easier way of being through the stress.

In Closing

There are many ways to identify your leadership styles in a one dimensional way.  Myers Briggs, MBTI, and a houseful of other tests.

If you are not wiling to invest in yourself, the time and money to create the leader you would like to be, to your staff or your family, then please stop complaining about the stress and really get that you are choosing to be in it.
If you want something new for yourself, then choose to learn about who you are, really.  Not who you think you are.  Do the work , have the communications and take the actions to be the leader you would want to work for or live with.

Lastly, As a business relationship trainer, I have seen my fair share of angry, ineffective, poor results leadership.  I can say for sure that this does not need to be the case.
Make a difference in yourself today.....it will create a difference for others!

Till next time, 
Live With Passion and Be Playful!

P.S  If you would like to know what kind of leader you are under all conditions, please select the box below to get your questionnaire.

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What Kind of Leader Am I?