The mental health of high-quality leadership

Organizations, institutions, and nations are crying out for high-quality leaders. High-quality leadership is associated with leadership effectiveness. Stated somewhat differently, high-quality leadership benefits others, including others’ well-being. Given the benefits of high-quality leadership for others’ well-being, it might seem somewhat puzzling to suggest that high-quality leadership could exact a personal cost on such leaders.

There is an emotional cost to leadership that often impacts a leaders’ mental health and those they lead and manage. Typically, employees’ mental health status receives considerable focus and attention while the leaders’ mental health escapes the attention of policymakers, health officials, and the public. However, significant attention needs to be given to how a leader’s mental health affects their behaviour during stressful moments, the emotional toll of high-quality leadership, and the required mental healthcare intervention.

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Depending on whom you are talking to per time, mental health means many things to different people because many confuse mental health with mental ill-health. The former is a positive state of health, while the latter is a challenging condition. For example, mental ill-health is the diagnosis of bipolar that reshapes a person’s self-perception about who they are. The anxiety rears its head occasionally, and it is the depression that settles on a person facing a dysfunctional society with an array of life decisions. However, following the World Health Organization’s definition, mental health is the state of well-being. Every individual realizes their potential, can cope with the everyday stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and contribute to their community. Sadly, despite technology’s convenience and increasing opportunities to leaders and businesses today, our increasing reliance on mobile technologies has led to loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Stress has now become a regular part of our lives. Our fast-paced world is aggravated by cyber insecurity, pandemic, economic uncertainty, fear, and mistrust.

The truth remains that leadership roles are stressful, and there is no way around them. As a leader, you will have to face adversity that challenges your spirit throughout your leadership career. Kelly McGonigal, a Professor at Stanford, believes stress enhances our creativity, fitness, immune systems, and problem-solving skills if we handle it the right way. Adversity is considered beneficial for the optimistic leader because it can consistently build credibility and improve vital leadership skills. Unfortunately, when most people experience leadership stress, it’s not in anticipation of an upcoming challenge. Generally, it’s a sense of anxiety linked with continuously striving to achieve more with less.

Naturally, stress affects one’s attitude. People who frequently ruminate because they are stressed often verbalize their thoughts. And verbal rumination does not only prolong the negative emotions they have associated with their experiences, but it also affects the attitude and resilience of those around them. According to Matthew Guilford of Telenor Health, it’s a bit ironic that leaders working on significant challenges around human development, either creating livelihoods or improving areas like education and health, can struggle with stress, low self-esteem, and other issues. It can be easy to feel like you are not doing justice to the cause and the opportunity to make an impact, that you’re failing relative to the sheer magnitude of the challenge. As a leader, you want to develop a reputation for being “calm,” not prone to breakdown. When you break down, so does your team’s performance, and most importantly, their morale too. Being adept at handling stress and mental health during adversity will enhance your core competencies. It is easier said than done.

But, in practical terms, how do you then keep yourself under control when challenging situations threaten to pull the rug from under you?

Leaders need to focus on self-management, creating awareness, peer assistance, and care for others in those moments. It is essential to create an environment where mental health issues are expected and not stigmatized. Leaders should develop cultures that destigmatize mental health issues and understand individuals’ situations. Billy Mawasha believes that you can also achieve this by sharing your vulnerabilities as leaders. Leaders must openly share the vulnerabilities they face and how they cope with their workers and colleagues.

Second, as a leader, if you are in an environment where mental health is misunderstood or stigmatized, you can play a crucial role in normalizing the discussion through health-related communications channels. Today’s leaders should prioritize the destigmatization of mental health and the provision of affordable support services. You can achieve it through open and honest engagements and by providing resources for mental health.

Third, just as we have preventive health checkups, every leader should proactively seek out a form of self-inquiry by scheduling time with a mental health specialist, psychologist, attending therapy sessions, and engaging in frequent meditation exercises.

Fourth, leaders need to invest in mental wellness for themselves and their workers, especially with the new norm of working remotely. Mental health belongs to all, and investing in it is as important as physical health. Yet many leaders overlook this, and in failing to give their mental health its due attention, they tend to undermine its importance to their workers. Neha Kirpal says leaders need to tune in and feed their positive mental reserves. This can go a long way towards creating empathetic, human-centred organizations that respect every person’s needs and circumstances.

In conclusion, leaders need to be open and aware of the importance of taking care of their mental health. They should establish policies to make mental healthcare an organizational priority and publicly champion it at corporate forums and community settings. Taking such steps will go a long way in the global movement towards true inclusion, equal human rights for all, and the sustainable evolution of their organizations and people.