Is Your Leadership Team's Health Being Overlooked? Let's Discuss Balancing Stress and Wellness

The Need for a Healthy Workforce

Do you think there is a need for a healthy workforce, especially in the case of the leadership team? Work pressures, skipping meals because of an important board meeting/concall, conflicts at home, and lack of work-life balance are some of the major challenges to being fit and productive at work.

Ensuring Leaders' Well-being

What measures do you take to ensure that leaders are mentally and physically fit to manage their high-stress job and the hectic travel involved? We all know about fun engagement activities at work – are they enough, or do we need a more rigorous approach to health and wellness? How proactive is your organization in health initiatives?

Please share your views.

Work-Life Balance and Stress Management

Perhaps you have studied the module on WORK-LIFE BALANCE. If you Google it, you will find many resources.

Last Saturday, based on a request, I delivered a KNOWLEDGE SHARING SESSION on STRESS & TIME MANAGEMENT. The SITE COORDINATOR, his team members, and employees from other sites were also present. In short, I presented precise information about SELF MANAGEMENT. Since I am not an EXPERT, the information shared was/is preached by industry experts and health trainers.

1. FOCUS ON OUR CORE SKILLS, COMPETENCIES, KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE/BEHAVIOR

2. STUDY & UNDERSTAND YOUR TEAM MEMBER'S SKILLS, COMPETENCIES, KNOWLEDGE BASE, BEHAVIOR/ATTITUDE

3. EFFECTIVE PLANNING, ORGANIZING, SCHEDULING, DELEGATION & MONITORING THE WORK

4. DEMAND Vs SUPPLY

5. RESOURCES AVAILABLE - MATERIAL, WORKFORCE, CAPITAL

6. QUALITY - TO WHAT EXTENT WE CAN SATISFY OUR CLIENT

7. TIME MANAGEMENT - ABILITY TO EXECUTE JOB WITHIN TIME FRAME WHILE KEEPING IN MIND ALL FACTORS SUPPORTING SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY/EXECUTION

8. SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP & BEING ASSERTIVE while responding to the SITUATION, WISELY - Managing clients' demands/requirements wisely is a great skill, without disappointing the client.

9. WHAT IS POSSIBLE TO CHANGE AND WHAT IS NOT

10. LOVE YOUR JOB AND KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS RATHER THAN EXPECTING WONDERS TO HAPPEN BY DRIVING YOURSELF AND YOUR TEAM CRAZY BEYOND YOUR AND THEIR LIMITS.

11. I + I + I = WE, hence "I" is MORE POWERFUL THAN "WE" (TEAMWORK). Apply the concept wherever it's required for HIGHER EFFICIENCY LEVELS.

12. YOU ARE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR LIFE, HENCE TAKE 100% RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE

Organizations will always love and expect to get more work done from employees. It is we individuals who need to focus on our health rather than expecting to deliver and earn more in the shortest possible time.

With profound regards,

I am not a leader. Probably the only advantage I have is varied experience in Production, Materials, Procurements, Erection and Commissioning, and ISO Systems.

Health of the Leadership Team

Why should the concern of health only be for the Leadership Team? If it has to be, it should be for all employees. Work-life balance is the basic quality of a leader. According to me, leaders encourage SMART Goals. Everybody knows SMART means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound Goals. One should not get confused with Senior Managers and Leaders. Leaders show the path and lead by example.

All said and done, any health initiative for employees would benefit the organization. There are different perspectives on health checks in India and the Western world. In India, we would not mind health checks and records maintained by the Organization, but in Western countries, employees treat this as an encroachment in their personal life.

Many organizations promote Art of Living, SSY, Yoga, and related meditation classes. Most of the employees do attend it. What are the statistics of how many of those who attended these company-sponsored programs have continued the basics of the above program in their routine later?

As per mythologies, it is said that work is worship. Everybody should work honestly and efficiently to the best of his/her capacity. That is it. Mental stress can happen because of a lot of reasons; the basic reason is the lifestyle of the individual: food habits, smoking, drinking, etc.

These are my thoughts, and whatever happens, I stick to it.

Thanks & Regards,

Sudhir