Leaders today have a lot of stress in their professional lives.

They are doing more with less, have boards to answer to which make high demands of them, and they’re asked to be strategic thinkers and good implementers at the same time.  

Shoot, life can be stressful can’t it?

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. So why when we talk about business leadership skills no one talks about is stress management for executives?

Seems to me that with all the stress leaders are under, this should be a key leadership skill that is talked about and taught to them.

We have a lot of data on how to manage stress, so why bother teaching this as a leadership skill? Don’t executives already know how to manage stress? Maybe they do, but maybe they don’t even realize how much stress they are under and how to recognize the symptoms of stress.

Yes, I know all the ideas on stress reduction…exercise, eating properly, outside interests, getting enough sleep, and more.

I just wonder if all the leaders, managers, and executives who are working long hours, are responsible for more than ever, have huge demands on their time, and more responsibility than ever recognize how much professional stress they are under.

My guess is that they take it in stride, as part of the job. Yet who works well under stress?

Which of us is at our peak performance under strain and anxiety?

As you start each workday, I encourage each of you to watch for the signs that you are under stress, perhaps more than you realize.

Sleep is a biggie.

When we are under stress we often don’t sleep as well, and then the lack of sleep causes us to have less clarity and even ability to manage the challenges we face daily.

Do you find yourself snapping more often at people or irritated even if you don’t display it?

Are you working longer hours yet still finding you aren’t accomplishing what you want?

Have you sat at your desk staring at the computer and there isn’t a creative thought in your head?

So what do you do about it?

Take more breaks throughout the day. Find time to enjoy lunch or coffee with a colleague.

Go do something fun for yourself. Give yourself permission to be imperfect…maybe pushing back a deadline or not reviewing the document or letter for the fourth time.

Learn to say no or if you say yes recognize that something else has to come off your plate.

And go examine your values. Sometimes stress is a result of our values being in conflict with one another.  

There’s no right answer to the values issue but recognizing it exists may in itself reduce your stress.