Nurturing Personal Well-being: A Crucial Leadership Attribute in Today's World
In our fast-paced, frequently stressful world, the relevance of self-care in leadership positions can't be overlooked. Typically, leadership involves decision-making, strategic planning, and team management. However, an often neglected yet crucial aspect that boosts a leader's effectiveness, resilience, and overall well-being is self-care. Imagine if self-care was viewed as a mandatory job requirement? How could this impact team dynamics, health insurance costs, sick days, performance levels, etc.?
Various methods that self-care can positively impact the workplace are:
- Prevention of Burnout: As per a report by Gallup, 76% of employees experience burnout at work from time to time, with 28% reporting experiencing it "often" or "very often." Leader's self-care not only safeguards their mental health but also creates an environment that encourages team members to likewise care for themselves. This results in lower turnover rates and increased productivity. Engaged or actively disengaged employees account for approximately $1.9 trillion in lost productivity nationally.
- Enhanced Employee Engagement: Research from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health demonstrates the relationship between leaders who prioritize self-care and increased employee engagement. The study found that teams led by managers who focus on self-care reported a 60% increase in engagement and a 25% increase in job satisfaction. This showcases the ripple effect that a leader's self-care practices can have on their team.
- Improved Organizational Well-Being: According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, leaders with a higher focus on self-care also tended to report higher staff care, which was linked to lower irritation, fewer psychosomatic complaints, and better overall health.
What Does This Mean for Leaders?
Cassandra Juniphant, founder of Ori Ara, a self-care company catering to modern women, began her journey as a successful senior HR executive. She admits that as she embarked on the path of a self-care oriented leader, her career flourished swiftly and positively. “I can’t just attribute a correlation but a causation to my wellness journey,” Juniphant notes. “I had a clearer mind, stronger emotional regulation, and improved focus like never before. Don't underestimate the importance of self-care in professional development,” she emphasizes.
Understand your value. Juniphant emphasizes the first pillar of health in her book, “The Body Ministry: A Playbook for Your Health and Fitness.” She explains that worth is the foundation. “If you don’t believe in your worth or your body’s need for care, you won’t prioritize it when faced with deadlines and meetings,” she says. This is about balancing the need for caring for others with caring for ourselves. If you're unwilling to cancel a meeting for yourself but regularly cancel on yourself, it's not a time issue, it's a worth issue.
Create Your Competitive Edge. Juniphant emphasizes that, “Your health and wellness is your primary competitive advantage in the current employment landscape.” When everyone has the same education and work experience, your health practices are what distinguishes you. Each of us may be dealing with different physical abilities, access to health resources or levels of healthiness. Some may have heavy family obligations outside of work. However, each of us can establish a structured approach that prioritizes our well-being. This can start with better sleep habits, monitoring self-talk, and ensuring hydration, and build from there.
Set Boundaries: Leaders should establish clear boundaries between work and personal life. This can include designated times when they will not answer emails or calls. By respecting their own boundaries, leaders lead by example, stressing the significance of work-life balance.
In Juniphant’s newsletter, Holistic Hustle, she emphasizes that we can’t continue to compartmentalize. If success entails losing sleep, neglecting family, and damaging health, that's not a sustainable strategy. She counsels, “If I knew that a person was successful only at the expense of their health, I’d question if they are a suitable leader. They could lose control, resent their team or create a wave of burnout in themselves and others.” She further explains that, “Your health and well-being practices should be a requirement for leadership because the first person you have to lead is yourself.”
Establish Boundaries: Leaders should establish clear boundaries between work and personal life. This can include designated times when they will not answer emails or calls. By respecting their own boundaries, leaders set an example for their team, highlighting the importance of work-life balance.
Health is a comprehensive skill-building tool from a broad to a narrow perspective. Developing an essential skill for leaders is their ability to zoom in on the finer details of their tasks and then broaden their view to fit within the context of a worldwide economic landscape, afterwards connecting it back to their sphere of influence. The agility needed for this activity is further honed through comprehensive health and wellness practices. Juniphant stresses that, "It's not merely about dieting or losing weight. It encompasses movement, rest, sleep, establishing healthy boundaries, and engaging in activities that bring you joy, among other things. It's also the ability to manage our focus on ourselves while connecting to how we engage with others."
Why are so many of us struggling with Self-Care?
Erica Lewis, the director of Learning & Development and Talent Acquisition for Community Medical Services, a behavioral health firm that specializes in addressing the Opioid epidemic and aiding individuals through recovery, shares insight. "Many of the practices that help individuals recover are habits we ought to adopt ourselves to effectively practice self-care.
It's not a result of apathy. She continues by stating, "We often mistakenly attribute a lack of discipline in this area to laziness. But many of us have a flight, fight, freeze or fawn survival instinct that may encourage us to avoid engaging in certain activities, such as adopting new habits, environments, and relationships." To help their patients adopt new habits, they focus on execution and ownership. Instead of wallowing in shame or guilt for not adhering to a specific self-care practice, they encourage individuals to accept responsibility for their choices, by acknowledging, "I chose not to do that today." She emphasizes the importance of recognizing our power of choice in situations versus feeling powerless and focusing on external factors that may have hindered us.
You don't have to go through it alone. Lewis points out that we often fall into the trap of self-isolation, leading to feelings of powerlessness and eventually fostering resentment. "Workplaces can take initiative by establishing standard procedures that individuals, leaders, and support functions can follow to promote the significance of self-care and the daily practices that enable it within the workplace."
Check your perspective. Do you have a lifelong belief that you're on your own? If so, you may be creating situations that result in self-isolation, powerlessness, and resentment. Lewis advises consumers to be aware of their scarcity mindset, "When you have a scarcity mindset, you will not perceive the world as a place where you can have what you want. People tend to catastrophize. It's the all-or-nothing fallacy. If one thing is off, then the whole system is off. Instead, we must embrace life's complexity and imperfections."
Organizations have a part to play in fostering an environment that encourages self-care. This includes creating psychologically safe workplaces for employees, enabling it to be safe to request assistance or share concerns. Additionally, they should invest in the development of their leaders to help them and their teams incorporate self-care into their work processes.
Make self-care a talking point. Lewis urges leaders to regularly check in with their team members regarding their nutrition, hydration, rest, mindset, etc. She embodies the use of a two-word check-in that asks others to check in with themselves and share two words that describe their current state. This simple exercise aids individuals in centering themselves in their own bodies. "If they mention anything that suggests they're struggling, I simply say, tell me more, and create an opportunity for them to express their needs. We don't need to be health coaches, nutritionists, or life coaches. However, leaders can deliver a brief wellness check to demonstrate that it is a priority," explains Lewis.
Lewis emphasizes, "We must discontinue the practice of leaders feeling pressured to present a perfect image. We are all human and hence need rest, safety, and space to not be flawless. This includes those in leadership positions."
Juniphant reminds us that, "Whatever you aspire to achieve in life, be it advancing your career, caring for your family, or any other purpose that motivates you, it necessitates your well-being."
Integrating self-care as a fundamental leadership competency is crucial in creating resilient leaders who inspire and engage their teams. As research supports the benefits of self-care for both personal and professional growth, leaders who prioritize their well-being will flourish and promote a workplace environment where their teams can flourish. By leading by example through intentional self-care practices, leaders can pave the way for a healthier, more productive working environment. Embracing self-care is not just a personal advantage but a strategic leadership decision that can redefine the success of organizations in today's challenging circumstance.
- Incorporating self-care into her leadership style as a senior HR executive, Cassandra Juniphant noticed significant improvements in her mental health, emotional regulation, and focus, leading to a flourishing career.
- To set a positive example and foster a healthier work environment, leaders should establish clear boundaries between their work and personal life, such as designating times when they will not answer emails or calls.
