The No-Sweat Solution To Stress

You’re a manager and stress pretty much comes with the territory. But that’s OK – you’ll sweat your stress out at the gym. You’re aware that some of your people are stressed, too. It’s hard trying to support their mental health as well as your own, but that’s fine – you’ll just do more yoga. And if stress goes into overdrive in your organisation? No problem, you’ll meditate your way through it.

Exercise, yoga, mindfulness – these are all healthy techniques to manage stress but they don’t offer a long-term solution. I’ve seen it so many times. Managers have tried to ‘manage’ their way out of stress – then a year later they’re exhausted, depressed, suffering panic attacks, physically ill, heading for burnout.

STRESS AND GROUNDHOG DAY

‘I know what to do about stress.’

You’ve probably told yourself this many times. You’re convinced that once a difficult situation is out of the way or that big project is finished you’ll be fine. But that’s how you get caught in the vicious cycle of stress. Because along comes another project, another situation – and still you don’t have time to do Downward Dog!

There’s a way to have less stress right now – whatever you’re going through – yet when I mention coaching the idea it can be met with resistance. ‘Can it really make a difference to how I feel right now?’

Yes, it can. Coaching can be transformative, opening up the way for less stress, more resilience, improved relationships, better decision-making and more effective leadership.

COACHING? I DON’T NEED A SHRINK

Let’s get one thing straight – coaching isn’t therapy. I’m not going to try to get into your head. Instead, I’ll invite you to get into it!

The mind is fascinating and when you take time out to delve inside you’ll discover a powerful ally against stress. I use psychological insights in my coaching sessions to give you an understanding of what’s going on in your head – and help you harness that knowledge to take control of stress.

What you discover about yourself will stay with you long after the coaching has ended and will allow you to consistently navigate through stress by yourself in an effective and health affirming way.

YOU WANT ME TO STOP TALKING?

OK, so coaching does involve a fair bit of talking. And that’s a good thing because when else do you get the opportunity to have a meaningful chat about what’s going on in your life? As a manager, it’s hard to carve out time in your day to focus on yourself when you’re needed by others. A planned coaching session gives you time to press pause and concentrate on you.

But coaching is so much more than a conversation. With my own particular approach to coaching I use exercises to help you tune into your feelings, thoughts and go a little deeper. It’s that quiet reflection that allows you to extract new insights, harness fresh thinking and bring you to a place of energy, confidence and resilience.

DON’T KNOCK IT UNTIL YOU’VE TRIED IT

For stressed-out managers I do understand the resistance to coaching. ‘I’m too busy.’ ‘Talking won’t help’. ‘What – another investment?’ But I always say: ‘Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.’

Coaching can help on many levels. It can lead you out of chronic stress and anxiety, improve communication, strengthen relationships, enhance creativity and progress your leadership. And coaching can be used at any stage – to support you through an organisational challenge or to bring you back from the brink of burnout.

Clients who’ve had coaching with me have described it as ‘invaluable’, ‘life-affirming’ and ‘life-changing’.

Their only question – ‘Why did I wait so long?’