Empathy is a key trait for good leaders. But as we all continue to adjust after 18+ months of COVID, it’s important to protect yourself against “emotional contagion.” In her October 18 “Your Best Next Move” video, Bobbie LaPorte shares a few tips to help you handle the heavy cognitive load that can come from taking on all of your employees’ reentry stress.
Transcript of Your Best Next Move: Tips to Manage Employee Reentry Stress
Hi everyone, Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly tip for your Best Next Move – where I help you have more agency in your work, acknowledge your capacity to act and see what you can do right now.
If you feel like the “reentry” from the last 18 months to a more normal working environment is dragging on and the stress level for you as a leader is not leveling off, you are not alone.
I see and feel this in the conversations I am having every day with clients and colleagues. But it was a recent comment that one of my clients made – someone who is generally tough and resilient, not fazed by much, that got my attention.
She asked: ”As a naturally empathetic person, how do I avoid becoming an emotional support animal for everyone around me?”
Although my first reaction was a humorous one (I had never heard that before), it definitely hit home. She was sharing a feeling – and frankly a well-founded fear – that I believe many others are also experiencing.
Protecting against reentry stress is something all managers need to be mindful of. It’s a natural reaction to respond by taking on your team members’ emotions during this time. After all, if there was one thing we learned during the last 18 months, it’s that empathy is a key trait for all leaders.
But this can lead to ever-increasing stress levels for you, higher cognitive overload, and potentially greater angst and fear for everyone.
And this kind of stress can be contagious: emotional contagion is the psychological term. We have discussed the contagious effects of positive emotions in these weekly tips – and the power of what is called “Positivity Resonance” – which is where the brain mirror neurons in others respond to, and copy the positive emotions you arouse.
As a leader, you may well be the primary source of emotional contagion. Because of your power and authority, others pay attention to your behavior first and foremost. If you’re carrying worries and fears into conversations, your team will pick up on it will “infect” and “spread” to others.
So how do you take care of yourself while also being sensitive to the emotions of others?
Here’s my tip to manage employee reentry stress:
- Check your own mood – often. I’m not suggesting that you don’t share your own worries and fears with others; that is what makes you a vulnerable leader. But be aware if you are in a particularly “dark” mood – it happens to all of us. You might take a break to regroup or hand the meeting over to someone else for a while.
- Practice positive emotions. This is a theme you’ve heard over and over from me in these tips. Positive emotions are contagious as well. So why not shift to those if you can. How: start meetings with everyone sharing a success; use appreciative language with others; and note positive interactions and contributions
These actions won’t change the larger environment we are all operating in, but they can alter the levels of stress and fear for the positive, allowing you to attend more to yourself while still being there for others.
As always, I want 2021 to be a year of momentum for you, one of possibility thinking that takes advantage of the agency we sometimes forget we have.
That’s my tip for this week. I’ll see you next week. Take care of yourselves.