Leadership & Wellbeing Support for 2023

The last newsletter of 2022 is here! It seems to have simultaneously been a long year and a very short year! We didn't exactly start it from the best place in terms of our wellbeing, strength and resilience, did we? Without being bah-humbug, I think it's important that we reflect and remember the turmoil we've been through since 2020 will still have an impact.

I know organisations are working hard to implement support and improvements in leadership, culture and wellbeing across their organisations. HR and Leaders have had to readjust the priorities, deal with cost of living issues and staffing issues so that many of my clients have been working harder than ever.

Here’s some of the common conversations I’m having (and the range of organisations I work with) – not so that you can dwell on the struggle, but hopefully so that you don’t feel so alone in all this.

• Housing organisations?have been revisiting budgets and plans and know that because the Government has put a cap on rent rises it will impact their ability to deliver on leadership development and wellbeing plans.
• A Communication company?has just had travel bans put in place meaning teams are not getting together and even Christmas meetings / parties are being cancelled or moved online so that there is an impact on morale, engagement and planned team training.??(Although the HR lead that had to organise the Christmas party was secretly delighted!)
• Marketing organisations?are having to reduce investments in leadership coaching so that it is risking impacting negatively on culture, engagement and development.
• Law companies?are struggling with recruitment, leaving offices short staffed, under work pressure so that plans for support keep getting pushed back due to lack of time to plan.

I know December is still a very busy time of year, with pressure on end of year and 2023 plans as well as supporting the team with budget cuts and cost of living struggles.?It’s having a big impact on leaders and managers as they manage their own issues as well as those in the team.

That’s why, as reader of my newsletter, I'm offering you the chance to book here for a short call with me.?We can use this to give you space to talk through current struggles and team plans for 2023 in relation to leadership and wellbeing support.

Earlier this week on a call just like this, I spoke to Maureen, a HR Manager, and when I shared some industry insights with her, it provided some thought provoking conversations about how she can meet her team targets and deliver well on the plans in place.

What’s the Focus in Leadership and Wellbeing?

The thing is, mental wellbeing doesn’t have a holiday at Christmastime!

It’s also important to remember there are a lot of people who really don’t like Christmas. The pressure to get involved in so-called 'fun' is not much fun for everyone. It’s not always the season to be merry for everyone – it’s often quite stressful and difficult – even more so this year with the cost of living pressure, strikes and everything else.

So, it’s important to take care of wellbeing and your leaders and managers can support your people and teams to do that too.?Here’s what is regularly covered in my leadership training and coaching and you can extract this to share with your teams:

• Check in with staff on what is going well, what is not and what they are struggling with.?That gives you a clear starting point for helping them in the right place to improve mental wellbeing and motivation.
• Remind staff of any external resources which are available to them (for example, an employee assistance programme) and think about whether other resources could be made available – many places are offering ‘drop in’ style coaching sessions that are available ad-hoc and often with me / external providers.
• Provide counsellors or trained mental health first-aiders as a friendly ear so that problems don’t build up or result in absenteeism.
• Encouraging people to take proper time off is important so that you lead the way and send positive messages that give people permission to look after themselves and take care of their mental health and wellbeing

Remember that you can be there for your people, but you can't fix things ... and that's OK.

10 Top Tips for Fantastic Festive Wellbeing

Whilst I really want to ensure that YOU and your teams take a proper, restorative break over Christmas - whether the office is closed or not, remember that mental health doesn't take a break over Christmas.

That's why, in my?Lessons for Leaders Podcast?I've shared my Top 10 Tips for Fantastic Festive Wellbeing.

If you'd like a copy of this image to share with your teams, drop me, Emma Langton , a message or email me at [email protected].

Finally

Is this helpful? I hope so. Please do share what you are doing to help and inspire others.?

There will be more information in my monthly newsletter to support your organisation .. and in particular, help your managers to support people with leadership developments and wellbeing needs and plan ahead for 2023.

The email newsletter also contains the latest industry trends, data and statistics about leadership and wellbeing so that you don't have to look around for it. To get this newsletter direct to your inbox, sign up?using this link

To discuss how you can implement positive, practical support and strategies for your wellbeing and mental health awareness across your entire organisation,?book a call with me.?

Don't forget to join my LinkedIn page –?Elevate Coaching & Wellbeing for up to date help, support and information.

Emma Langton has 11 years experience in supporting mental wellbeing in organisations. She helps leaders with 1:1 coaching and organisations with wellbeing speaking, training and workshops. Emma regularly provides insights on leadership and mental wellbeing on her?Lessons for Leaders?podcast and has been featured in Forbes, Metro, Yorkshire Business Review and The Press Business Section.?