How can you help your team develop healthy coping mechanisms?

In an ideal world, each team member can self-identify their triggers, the emotions that rise to the surface, and the best practices to self-regulate when stress amplifies. With an emphasis on developing self-awareness amongst team members, you create a resilient atmosphere that thrives on facing conflict head-on. All of this takes practice; with continued encouragement and guidance to help people become familiar with the people, places, and things that trigger them, the more unified a team becomes and prepared for long-term growth.

You can help your team develop healthy coping mechanisms by identifying the sources of stress. When you can pin point where your stress starts you can isolate these areas to learn how to deal with it.

There are often conflicting energies when considering how to manage a team. On the one hand, there's the overarching pressure to ensure company success, hit deadlines, etc. When these stresses amplify, there's a natural tendency to want to fix and control the process. This is when the desire to micro-manage can take over. It's important to realize that most people prefer to be something other than micro-managed and thrive under conditions when they're given creative control of their tasks and projects. If goals and deadlines are met, find ways to empower team members to create autonomous working conditions that allow them to thrive.

Team well-being is a top priority! Remember, taking care of your physical and mental health is essential. Stay nourished, get enough rest, and exercise regularly. Don't forget to hydrate! ???????♂??? And yes, taking breaks to relax and have fun is vital. Make sure you have some exciting team activities coming up – games, yoga, meditation, and hobbies. Let's recharge, release that tension, and strengthen our team bond! ????♀???

Coping skills such as positive affirmations, breathing, and mindfulness exercises are beautiful tools to help people calm down when feeling overwhelmed. To mitigate the impact of overwhelm over time, there must be an incremental and sustained process to learn of their root causes and develop self-awareness. Here are six steps to develop self-awareness: 1. Learn to manage energy. 2. Befriend your fears. 3. Become familiar with blind spots. 4. Be responsible for your emotions. 5. Practice self-compassion. 6. Make it a life-long journey. With increased self-awareness comes stronger relationships with oneself and others.

This is the biggest one. Ideally, with each one of your reports you have a 60-minute touch base. In this 1:1, you show empathy, create connection, create a psychologically safe space, and allow them to have an outlet where they can practice coping skills and you can share your own.

Helping a team develop healthy coping mechanisms is a two-pronged approach. You must take a unique approach to each individual, with the understanding that everyone has their unique stress responses. It also requires you to be in tune with the team's needs. Make it a priority to create a safe environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their challenges and struggles and become reliant on the group for emotional support. It's essential to make time for the group to practice this behavior and model it by authentically sharing your challenges and struggles.