All of our lives, we have been taught to share. It starts out when we have that one toy that our childhood playmate wants to play with and we do not want to give it up. We want full control over our toys. Finally after they cannot ignore the potential fighting, the parent steps in and tells us that we have to share. Now let’s fast forward to our adult lives and discuss something that we should not share. It is your stress that you are experiencing while leading a team.
We do not purposely share our stress with others, but it just happens. All of us like to work in a stress free environment at work. I know that you have complained to your friends and family about stressful situations at work. We all have those times that just really bother us. We tend to feel that it is just a normal part of our work. It is something that we have to put up with and just go home and vent about it and then go back to work the next day hoping for a better day. It does not have to be that way, though. It starts with self awareness.
You need to understand the effects of stress on your body and how you react to it. Most people know when they are stressed out. The problem is that they are not completely aware of how it affects the teams that they are leading. If you change your leadership style under stress then you are “sharing”your stress with your team. Your team members start to become stressed themselves. This tends to grow your own stress level because your team starts to have their behavior impacted by the stress. One of the byproducts of stress is lack of concentration. If your team loses focus on the task at hand, it could cause problems.
All of this started getting worse because you shared your stress. As their leader, you need to set the mood/attitude of the team. Be aware of your stress level. You need to keep it under control. If this is not completely possible, you need to put even more effort into keeping the stress to yourself. Promote a positive attitude even in the tough situations. Provide options to get through the setbacks that hit all of us and our projects. As the Gillette Company famous ad slogan goes, “Never let them see you sweat”.
Remember that you have to keep your stress to yourself and do not share with your team. The best way to do this is to work on your own stress levels. You need to be aware of your stress level and learn how to reduce it. What tips do you have to keep from sharing your stress with those around you?
