In this issue: Trickle Down Anxiety…/ WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS DOING TO TEENS/ 5 Tips for Growing as a Leader without Burning Yourself Out / The Lighter Side of Anxiety
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I'm Andrea J. Miller and this is my “On Leading Well” Newsletter. I send this to people in my networks, people I’ve met recently, and friends I want to keep in touch with. You can unsubscribe (SEE THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE EMAIL) anytime, I won’t be offended.
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1. If we’re not connected yet, connect with me on LinkedIn. I post some useful stuff there, as well :); and/or
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I look forward to connecting!
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Trickle Down Anxiety…Is Your Leadership Stressing Out Your Staff?
Increasing our productivity often can make us very unproductive.
Some days it can feel like we’re drowning in a sea of email notifications, meetings, and Slack messages.
The endless interruptions make it difficult to get anything done… and to what end?
Sure, somebody else’s to-do list may have another item ticked, but what was really accomplished?
The other day a client told me she was starting to feel burned out, and then recounted a recent interaction with a manager.
The manager had expected her to have done something that she was neither explicitly told to do, nor given all the information to actually get it done.
We’ve all been there.
As she shared the details it became increasingly clear to me that the manager, because of her own anxiety about the matter (likely passed down from her manager) was offloading her stress and worries to my client.
It’s not unusual or surprising.
Something was supposed to be done and it wasn’t, now what?
Send it to the person who gets things done.
Often, people don’t consider the implications of what they are doing, saying, or sending.
It’s a form of reactive management…in a world designed to react.
Someone gets a “brilliant” idea, and everyone else is dragged (internally kicking and screaming) along.
The sound of inbox alert and the stress begins to build...
The Cortisol rises.
We’re no longer fully in control.
Clear thinking ended long ago.
We just know it’s supposed to get done, though, in the back of our minds, we can’t help thinking about all the other work that really needs to get done, which is now being pushed aside…further increasing stress.
We’ve lost our ability to say “no”.
Partially because depending on the situation we often feel we can’t.
But there’s a price.
Research shows that our brains don’t function well when we’re anxious.
Anxiety, particularly work anxiety, can detrimentally impact work performance.
It can make it difficult to concentrate, make decisions, and solve problems.
It may also lead to reduced motivation and engagement …and it can, eventually, spill over into our personal lives, affecting overall well-being.
But somebody wants something now.
It may never be needed or get used.
Further discouraging and demotivating staff.
Emotional Capital Gains
We can’t blame leaders and managers.
Change is happening so quickly that it’s become increasingly difficult to not be reactive.
And yet the growing demands on staff are becoming unsustainable.
There’s a toll.
On them and their work.
It needs to be addressed.
As is so often the case, that has to begin at the top.
It begins with greater intentionality in the decisions we make.
And by developing work cultures that value open communication and feedback, so that staff at all levels can say “no,” when something isn’t the right priority or just doesn’t make sense.
It’s important to also recognize that our lizard brains will sabotage us and get in the way.
And if we don’t purposefully control that primitive part of our brain associated with reactive and survival instincts, it will control us, influencing our ability to manage our emotions, including our stress response, and trigger impulsive, often detrimental behavior.
Understanding and managing our reactivity can be invaluable in our ability to make more rational decisions and improve not our own, but our organization’s wellbeing.
So, the next time you have a “great idea” for a new project or want to impulsively say yes to something, pause and ask yourself which part of your brain is making this decision, the lizard or its younger, more rational sibling, your prefrontal cortex.
Those few moments will not only impact your wellbeing, but that of everyone around you.
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RECOMMENDED LISTENS, READS And other interesting things
WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS DOING TO TEENS
Years and years of research add up to an uncomfortable reality: The connection between social media and mental health is more complicated than it seems.
5 Tips for Growing as a Leader without Burning Yourself Out
A leadership coach and former CEO on how to take a holistic approach to your career.
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Staying informed about the world doesn’t have to be boring.
International Intrigue is a free global affairs briefing created by former diplomats to help the next generation of leaders better understand how geopolitics, business and technology intersect. They deliver the most important geopolitical news and analysis in <5-minute daily briefing that you’ll actually look forward to reading.
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The Lighter Side of Anxiety
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Are there any other subjects you want me to cover? Hit “Reply” and tell me!
I love hearing from you :)!
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Andrea J. Miller
+1 (646) 556-5401 (Whatsapp)
Thanks for reading!