According to a December 2021 report by Indeed, more than 50% of workers are uncertain about whether they will continue to work at their company in the next 6 months. This ignites a non-stop race when business leaders have to "take care of the country" while fighting the post-pandemic political and economic uncertainties to restart their businesses and "take care of their jobs." when taking care of all aspects of employees' lives in order to retain talents.
However, an interview by Harvard Business Review with 30 leaders of domestic and multinational companies from the UK and the US in 2020 has shown that bosses are having a hard time shouldering the responsibilities from both family and work to shoulder. Specifically, common emotions are stress, anxiety, disorientation, and uncontrollable emotions.
"I'm struggling to control my emotions and those close to me are suffering the consequences of it. In addition, I have a hard time orienting myself to the future, let alone leading employees like that any," one of the interviewed leaders shared.
Leadership "fearful": Difficult, but not impossible
Proactively acknowledge challenges and fears
The "talk to yourself" sessions are one of the first steps for managers to acknowledge the challenges and fears they are facing. They can then take notes through a diary or talk to a loved one to proactively acknowledge their fears. This method helps managers practice facing fear, thereby making it easier to control emotions.
Start small and in the right place at the right time
Building a shared relationship between bosses and employees cannot happen in a short time, especially when managers have no precedent for these actions. Setting a clear time and place like the last 5 minutes of the first meeting of the week, and starting with the exchange of small annoyances can "reheat" the relationship between colleagues, thereby paving the way for sharing more negative emotions or challenges.
"Borrowing force" to remove the burden
Leaders need to be more open to empowering employees to borrow the team's strength to overcome challenges. Contrary to popular belief that borrowing for help shows leadership weakness, managers with a tendency to empower can improve their employees' ability to independently solve problems, thereby lighten your load" and remove negative emotions when you have to shoulder responsibility. Moreover, "borrowing force" through outsourced services is also an instant solution to help the team reduce the workload, reduce the pressure and be more relaxed in spirit.
"It can be difficult to acknowledge and share our anxieties and fears, but in reality, fearless leaders can build deeper relationships with employees, thereby engaging and better retain talent and create opportunities for everyone to give their best. The negative emotions when daring to face can become strengths for future leaders,"
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