Increase Leadership Performance by Stress Management

Stress is created from events people have no control over such as :

• Economic recession
• Wars
• Terrorism
• Being bombarded with too much (negative) information
• Dramatic climatic changes
• and so on...

In the work place, uncertainty, role ambiguity, increased performance demand with less resources or lack of vision can make leadership stressful and create anxiety. Leaders under pressure can develop various physiological and emotional responses such as back pain, headache, lack of sleep, weight gain, irritability, anger and also alter their quality of life with family.
Leaders need to manage their stress level and improve their effectiveness by including the following habits in their daily routine and sticking to them no matter how busy they are:

1-Exercise: increases the level of endorphins, improve clarity of the mind and body relaxation. Stop exercising 2 hours before going to bed as it can create excitation. Exercise every day for 30 minutes. Do something you really LOVE to do or buddy with a friend.

2-Sleep: Get minimum 6-8 hours of sleep. Go to bed before 11:00 p.m. as early sleep is deeper than later at night. Read a novel or do anything that is not connected with the news or your work. Make your bedroom a clean, neat and relaxing place.

3-Increase positive energy: Do what you are good at and be with people you like. Identify what drains you down, what you tolerate from other people and eliminate those tolerations as much as possible.

4-Set boundaries. Do not multitask. Set personal and family time with no work interruptions.

5-Listen to your body signals: Recognize signs of stress such as anger, irritability or physical troubles. Learn cool down techniques such as meditation, Tai Chi or listening to relaxing music.

6-Organize and simplify your work and your life. Put in place systems, eliminate old documents or file them. Eliminate anything and everything you don't use anymore and make space in your closets and in your mind.

7-Create a personal mission statement and a vision: Knowing what is your purpose in life and what are your dreams for the future gives you a strong guidance and help you adapt to changing environments without changing your destination in life.