Leaders wear many hats, and some are more comfortable than others. But in a world where talk of mental health has become more commonplace, a new hat is emerging. Leaders are now being asked to gauge and help their team members with their mental health. Now most of us who lead aren’t doctors, nor do we want to attempt things without the proper qualifications. Therefore, this hat doesn’t feel very good. So how can a leader help with team mental health when they aren’t a doctor?
Stay In Your Lane
Unless you are a mental health professional, you need to stay in your lane, whatever your role. If a team member has a serious concern or challenge, your responsibility is to help them get help. Do what you can to get them the qualified resources they need to become more mentally fit.
Stay open to and vigilantly observant of any possible concerns. The sooner you notice things, the sooner you can help find the qualified resources they need. And when your team notices you noticing, they are more likely to share their concerns with you. This helps you help them be more successful sooner, and that cooperation and collaboration is priceless in a team.
Think Team and Think Prevention
You may not be in the healing business, but you can be in the prevention business. Think about it this way – How can you create a working environment that promotes good team mental health? Focusing on the prevention of mental health challenges helps avoid the diagnosis and treatment of mental health challenges.
Some Things You Can Do
When we think about our role in this way, perhaps the hat will fit a bit more comfortably. And comfortable hats allow us to think about what we are qualified to do. Here are some excellent places to start:
- Talk about this as a team. There is no reason to think that you need to have all the answers here. Schedule time with the team to talk about mental health. What can we all do to support each other’s mental health and maintain sustainable work results? Great ideas and new insights will come from this conversation.
- Set some agreements. From those discussions, see if you can collectively identify some things you will do or change. Gain agreement on those changes to set a course for a greater team mental health.
- Ask for feedback. Ask the team for feedback on what you as the leader could do to support team mental health. Their perspective, both collectively and individually, will be valuable. Listening to and implementing that feedback where appropriate increases trust with your team, further supporting team mental health.
- Reward accomplishment not activity. Burnout is one of the sources of mental health challenges in the workplace. While there are plenty of factors that can lead to burnout, a big one is a culture of busy. When we are focused on activity, we reward busy-ness. Rewarding accomplishment allows people let go of the stress of putting in hours and productivity theater. They focus more on getting great work done.
- Make breaks ok. Do your meetings run back-to-back? Is your team expected to always be on camera during virtual training sessions that run multiple hours with no breaks? Even a bathroom break? How can that be healthy? Don’t just give permission – make it explicitly acceptable to take breaks. Encourage them to not schedule meetings back-to-back. Take a short walk. Close your laptop and walk away from your desk at lunch, instead of replying to email while you eat. These little things can have a big positive impact.
- Model mental fitness behaviors yourself. We started with the team, but this list ends with you. Are you taking breaks? Do you focus on accomplishment? More than that, are you empathetic? Do you work to build relationships? In general, do you focus on your own mental fitness? People are watching you. Your behavior will impact theirs more than you likely know. Team mental health starts with your mental health.
Generally, we want to create and move toward a culture more supportive of team mental health. In that way, we may be more qualified to wear that hat than a mental health professional. So, try that hat on and wear it with comfort – and an appropriate amount of caution.
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