Being a leader takes work. You must monitor your employees’ mental health, show compassion and sensitivity, provide flexibility, and deliver results. These actions require a high amount of emotional labour.

Emotional labour is the effort required to maintain a professional image when your actions do not align with your feelings. For instance, even though you might not get a good night’s sleep, you maintain a positive attitude toward your team.

Fortunately, you can learn to navigate emotional labour while remaining connected with your core values and beliefs. This increases your engagement, performance, and productivity. It also reduces your odds of experiencing anxiety, depression, or burnout.

Implement these tips to navigate the emotions of being a leader.

Focus on Why You Enjoy Your Role

Connect with the higher purpose for the work you perform. This may include adding to your skill set, advancing your career, and reaching your professional goals.

Focusing on what you like about your work helps you remain connected to it during difficult times. This helps you navigate the emotions of being a leader.

Emphasize Getting to Contribute

Frame your thinking in terms of “getting to” do things rather than “having to” do them. Emphasizing the parts of your position that you love encourages you to want to fulfill your duties and responsibilities. It also makes navigating the emotions of being a leader more achievable.

Prioritize Self-Care

You must handle your personal needs throughout the day in order to fulfill your job duties and responsibilities. This helps you better support your employees and reach business goals. Sometimes when you feel you have a big problem to resolve all you need is one of the following:

1. A glass of water
2. A 10-minute walk outside
3. A good night sleep.

Other tips to reset –  stretch, meditate, focus on your breathing, read a book, or listen to music (avoid the news – at least temporarily) to relax. This helps you stay calm, think clearly, and respond appropriately. Additionally, ask for help when needed. Your employees and colleagues will be happy to assist you.

Talk with Your Peers

Engage in conversations with your colleagues about how to navigate the emotions of being a leader. Talk about the methods everyone uses to reach this objective. Identify a friend with similar responsibilities to share challenges and solutions with.

Implement the methods that work best for you. Encourage your peers to request and provide support when needed.

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