Leaders get stressed too – they need recognition like everyone else
Leaders are in crisis. They’re burning out due to organisations expecting more from them, but with fewer resources.
Over the past couple of years, leaders have been expected to do everything – strategy, innovation, mentoring, recruitment, project management, budgeting, wellbeing counselling, etc.
And unsurprisingly they’re suffering from anxiety and fatigue. So, how can organisations alleviate leaders’ stress levels when it may not always be possible to reduce their workload?
More recognition
Organisations must understand that leaders aren’t immune to stress and fatigue. Because leaders are paid more, it’s often assumed that their pay packet is compensation enough for the extra stress that comes with the job.
And they are being loaded with more and more responsibilities until cracks inevitably appear in their mental health. But no amount of pay will decrease burnout and the higher salaries and pressure that come with leadership positions can make matters even worse.
Just under two thirds (61%) of leaders report having more general responsibilities at work since before the Covid-19 pandemic. On top of this, nearly three quarters (70%) of employees say their managers are possibly or definitely stressed, according to O.C. Tanner’s 2023 Global Culture Report.
It’s clear that organisations must reduce the load on leaders for the sake of their mental health, but this is not always possible short-term. So other approaches are needed for helping to alleviate leaders’ stress levels.
Reducing anxiety
O.C. Tanner’s 2023 Global Culture Report reveals that recognition is a powerful tool for reducing anxiety among leaders. It points out that leaders are employees too, and like everyone else, they need reinforcement, appreciation and support. A rather compelling finding is that the act of appreciation reduces leaders’ anxiety by 67% and stress by 52%.
Many organisations assume that showing a leader appreciation means giving a bonus or another financial incentive. However, financial compensation and recognition must be treated separately rather than the same. After all, increasing pay or providing bonuses does not convey appreciation like true recognition does.
The most powerful recognition is authentic, personalised and happens often. And it can’t just be a top-down act from the chief executive to a director, for example, but must be peer-to-peer as well as bottom-up, and so from employees to their managers.
Give everyone the tools
In fact recognition must flow in all directions, with everyone provided with the tools, techniques and training to make this happen on a daily basis. Interestingly, 65% of leaders admit that receiving more recognition from the people who report into them would improve their experience at work.
Managers need appreciation for everyday effort and accomplishments as well as career milestones, perhaps with the inclusion of symbolic awards to make the recognition moment truly meaningful and memorable.
Ultimately, organisations should aim to integrate recognition into everyday culture so that giving thanks becomes the natural response when great work and effort are demonstrated. In fact, when leaders work in organisations with a culture of integrated recognition, they are 38% less likely to suffer with anxiety.
And so, to tackle the growing number of distressed leaders, organisations must look to recognition as a means to reduce their stress and anxiety levels. Like any employee, leaders need to feel valued and, by nurturing a culture of recognition in which everyone is given the appreciation they deserve, this will result in happier and healthier people in every position across the organisation.
In partnership with O. C. Tanner
Giving teams the integrated tools they need when, where and how they need them.
