Balancing Productivity and Care: Leading by Example in Promoting Self-Care and Team Support

Reflection

​

Think about how often you do activities that help to preserve your health, well-being and happiness.  What activities do you do daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly? 

 

Do you keep up those activities during periods of stress?  Often the focus is on getting the job done, meeting your personal commitments and powering through.  For short periods of time, this is feasible.  In the long run, however, it can make you vulnerable to illness, have more emotional responses, and contribute to poor decision making. 

Incorporate Self-Care in Your Routines

 

Consider self-care activities at a macro level and a micro level 

 

At a macro level, consider activities that you can do on an on-going basis that revitalize you and fill your need for spiritual, mental and physical fulfillment.

 

• Hobbies:  collecting, gardening, building - either individually or shared with others 

• Social activities:  book club, investment club, cards, etc. 

• Spiritual activities:  praying, attending religious services, etc. 

• Physical activities:  sports, walking, classes -- either individually or with others 

• Family and friends:  scheduling regular events with people who support you. 

• Introspective activities:  journaling, meditation, therapy, coaching, etc. 

• Personal care activities:  massage, spa treatments, mani/pedi, etc. 

• Sleep:  ensure you get 7-8 hours of sleep 

• Diet:  identify the foods that provide energy, especially healthy snacks between meals; drink water throughout the day to keep hydrated 

• Vacations, staycations or mental health days:  to take a break from work

​

Consider Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable

​

Here are a few ideas:

• Wearable devices or phones can track physical activities. 

• Accountability partners can be people who do activities with you or follow-up afterwards to check-in with you. 

• Blocking time on your calendar for appointments, gratitude moments, even to get up every 30 min. 

​

At a Micro Level, Consider Activities You Can do When You Are in Stressful Situations

​

Less than a minute: 

• Take 5 deep, cleansing breaths. 

• Stand up and stretch or walk every 30 minutes which improves blood flow and circulation. 

• Eat a snack. 

​

Activities that take 5-15 minutes 

• Meditate 

• Prayer 

• Short walk 

 

Encourage Your Team to Demonstrate Self-Care and and Care for Each Other

​

It is important to serve as a role model for your team and demonstrate how you take care of yourself. 

 

Talk about the activities that you are doing to take care of yourself and encourage your team members to share what they are doing.  You can strive to develop a culture where your team members can lean on each other for support or as an accountability partner. 

 

As I have engaged with leaders through coaching sessions, some have expressed concern that a focus on self-care would reduce productivity and send the wrong message when trying to achieve the team’s goals.  In fact, leaders who show concern and empathy for others generally have team members who are more loyal and are willing to put forth more effort when required. 

 

The more you plan, the more that you can encourage people to take vacation during a slower time in your work schedule.  Planning can also enable cross-training between team members to ensure there is coverage when needed, even in the case of an emergency.   

 

Discuss communication norms outside of standard work hours.  If norms are established, people can feel confident in meeting the expectations of the team.  During a particularly busy season or a specific activity, the norms may be modified to require an after-hours response.  With planning, this is reasonable, and it allows the team members to communicate potential conflicts.   

 

Encourage your team members to support each other during the busy periods by being flexible, taking on responsibilities outside of their role, and offering to jump in to solve challenges.

 

As a manager, consider offering people comp time or the ability to leave work early on Friday to make up for working long hours during an especially busy period.  When your team members return from vacation, potentially offer them a grace period (a day or so) to allow them to step back into their role before meeting with them to discuss work they need to do that accumulated while they were out. 

 

All of these activities demonstrate your care for your team members and contribute to trust, loyalty and mutual commitment. 

​

​

​