Resilient Leadership in the Time of Crisis
Episode 3 with V J Rao, Leadership Coach & Anna Chandy, Counselor and Mental Health Advocate
We are delighted to invite you to another episode of Mental Health Strategies for Resilient Organisations, and this time we are addressing a very important topic - Leadership, specifically Resilient Leadership in the time of crisis.
This episode will be led by Anna Chandy and VJ Rao.
Anna Chandy - India’s leading mental health advocate and counselor, who is changing the way people view and discuss mental health.
VJ Rao - Coach who has worked with over 100 leaders, senior HR leader at various organisations and ex Head of L&D, Tata Sons
Register here - manahcompany.com
In case you missed our previous episode, you will find the key highlights from that session below.
Managing stress/Working from home Key Highlights
Panelists - Debasmita Sinha and Rashmi Singh
Work hours seem to be throughout the day, how to balance work and home
• De-clutter your headspace
• Important to respect other people’s routines
• If a person has committed that they are logging off at 6pm then that needs to be respected
• Accommodate everyone’s routines
The biggest issue people are facing is that the days are not ending
• Maintain a space in your house — “office of the house”
• Treat the office space in a professional manner
• Create a routine, have your breakfast and get in the work mode and get out of the work mode
• Get in the practice of creating a psychological space
How do you switch off?
• Indulge in something that is comforting to you
• Self care — having a drink or snack that you like when you are done with your day
• Listen to music that suits you
• Breathe for some time, stay in the present
• Having a designated time to do things in a particular manner
Leader’s perspective: how do you suggest that leaders manage their own space
• Ensure regular calls are made to employees
• Leaders have to create the trust
• Leaders have to go the extra mile
• Senior manager must ensure that the team leads are making calls to their teams
• If the team mates is going through a difficult time then it is necessary to have the skill to comfort them
• Communicate every single day
What are the signs to look out for within yourself of distress during this time — Red flags
• Look for major shifts in thinking and eating pattern
• Increase irritability
• Inability to concentrate
• Feedback you get from people around you
• Own realisation, or how your children respond
• Take stock of when people ask you “how are you” take a pause and think
Tips for people managers:
• Check in with your team
• How stressed are you on a scale of 1-10
• Point out if there is something that needs attention
• Encourage 4 things : balanced diet, hydrate, sleeping well, getting active
What role does peer support play in this?
• Since colleagues know what is happening in each other’s lives they are able to comfort each other better
• Peers understand, same level, earning the same amount of money, treat each other as the extended family
• Mental health is very important of the employees, daily calls have to be done for this as well
Uncertainty and anxiety
• Uncertainty and loss of control is the most discomforting human emotion
• Mantra: “Its all right to not know what’s going on. nobody has control”
See you all on friday!
This post is part of my Catalyzing Wellbeing and Impact Newsletter, focused on health, well-being and societal impact.
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