How to Manage Your Anxiety as a Leader
The resilience and determination that help leaders succeed can also make it harder to break free from anxiety.
Leaders are often praised for their resilience. Staying calm under pressure, making difficult decisions and pushing through setbacks are qualities that help people build successful careers.
But when it comes to anxiety, those same strengths can sometimes work against us.
In a recent article for SmartBrief, Persia Hayley explores why many leaders unknowingly fuel anxiety by approaching it like any other workplace challenge. Rather than easing anxious thoughts, trying to suppress them, analyze them or “power through” them often gives them even more attention.
One of the article’s key messages is that anxiety isn’t a problem to solve through willpower. While determination is invaluable when leading teams or navigating business challenges, anxiety responds differently. The more we fight anxious thoughts, the more significant they can begin to feel.
Instead, Persia suggests recognising anxious thoughts for what they are, separating them from the task in front of you, and returning your focus to the next useful action. That shift can help break the cycle of overthinking and create a healthier relationship with anxiety.
If you’re a leader who finds yourself replaying conversations, second-guessing decisions or feeling the need to control every outcome, this article offers an insightful perspective on why that happens and what you can do instead.
Many of the ideas discussed are explored further in Allen Carr’s The Easy Way to Overcome Anxiety, which explains why fighting anxiety often keeps us trapped, and why freedom comes not from trying harder, but from stepping out of the struggle.
