3 Must-Have Self-Care Techniques for Leaders
Being a leader means you must care for others. And in doing so, it is possible for you to disregard your own needs. Self-care is not a luxury but a necessity. If you are not mentally and physically fit, then you are going to have a hard time being productive and decision-making may not come as swift.
So, why do so many leaders neglect self-care?
The most common response is that they are busy or that they don't want to be seen as weak. But self-care isn't about being weak. Instead, it is about being strong enough to stay at your best and continue to lead effectively. So, if you have been struggling with prioritizing yourself, please know you are worthy!
Here are three techniques that will help you get started.
Three Must-Have Self-Care Techniques for Leaders:
Practice mindfulness
Identify your limits and set boundaries
Celebrate small victories
Practice Mindfulness
This may sound strange to those who aren't familiar with the concept of mindfulness at work, but there's research that demonstrates how practising mindfulness can be beneficial for both leaders and employees. Setting aside a few minutes each morning to meditate and perform self-reflection can help with mental clarity and enable you to focus your energy on what needs to get done during the day.
For anybody who spends their days responding to emails, phone calls and any other type of message that may come in, mindfulness can be an excellent way to slow things down enough to see what's really important. At the end of the day, if you want to lead others well, you need to start with yourself. But that's easier said than done, isn't it?
In our work with leaders, we hear a lot of conversations about how much time and energy they invest in coaching, mentoring, training, and helping their team members develop. That's a good thing! But there's one very important piece that’s often missing from these conversations: the leader doesn't spend enough time investing in their own development.
Mindful meditation allows you to be "self-led." When you are self-led, you are able to take a step back, get quiet and really tune into what's going on inside of you personally – your physical health, your emotional well-being, your mental clarity – and focus. In other words, self-leadership is the ability to lead yourself first so that you can be more effective in leading others. It is being aware of what's going on inside of you so that you can better understand and relate to the people around you. And since empathy is the hallmark of a good leader, mindfulness can help you transform yourself into a well-rounded person, not just an effective leader.
Identify your limits and set boundaries
Many leaders are prone to burning out - whether it is because of the high expectations they have for themselves or because of the constant pressure they face in the workplace. Unlike a quick sprint, leadership is a marathon. The best leaders know how to preserve their energy and manage their resources so they can stay strong and healthy until the finish line.
Self-care starts with knowing your limits. It is about taking care of yourself so that you can take care of others. If you are not aware of your limits, you can easily be consumed by your work and responsibilities. Moreover, you need to know what pushes you beyond your limit so that you can take action before it is too late. Here are some criminally underrated self-care techniques that not many people practice:
Know your triggers; what drains you emotionally, mentally and physically so that you can find ways to avoid them at all costs.
Learn to say “no.” If it doesn’t fit in your bandwidth, don’t take it up.
Prioritize, schedule and delegate tasks. Avoid multitasking as it can lead to lower quality work.
Control how much time you dedicate to work every day.
Celebrate small victories
Whether you are dealing with personal or professional setbacks, taking the time to celebrate small victories is essential. It could be anything from a job promotion to learning how to cook a new meal. The trick is to recognize that not every milestone is going to be big — but they are all worth celebrating! Celebrating the smaller wins can help you feel more motivated about achieving the bigger feats as well as be more satisfied with your life overall. So, after you achieve a goal or make progress toward a larger goal, take some time to acknowledge what you have done. Give yourself a pat on the back or treat yourself to something special. You may want to consider bringing in a third party to facilitate a celebratory workshop.
Summary
Self-care can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. In fact, the International Self-Care Foundation identifies seven pillars of self-care. What’s more, is that taking care of yourself isn’t just important for your productivity, it is also good for your overall well-being. Michelle Precourt started Mindful HR Services to help leaders find greater balance and empower their teams to work towards building healthier workplace cultures.
Not sure where to start? Book an appointment or check out these self-care resources to master mindfulness for better self-preservation and ease work and life pressures.