Mindset, Physical and Mental Wellbeing: Advice For Leaders During the Coronavirus Pandemic

As naturally social beings, the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdown across the globe has been a challenge in the most extreme to modern society. Virtually overnight offices, shops, restaurants, bars and even public parks were closed. Society was instructed to stay at home and remain vigilant; not leave the house unless it was absolutely urgent; and forbidden from face-to-face interaction and human contact, which on the whole has been immaculately followed.

While these measures have varied in every country, I’ve been able to speak to various contacts in Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America – what I’ve found is a great community spirit being developed that potentially wasn’t there before. Personally speaking, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reconnect with what is important in the world, be that family, friends, missing a pint in your local pub or having more of an appreciation for key workers, hearing birds singing in the trees or speaking to your neighbours more.

There’s also a resounding acknowledgement across the world that mental and physical health deterioration has been one of the worst effects of the current situation. How does this affect your performance as a leader? Is it changing your communication? How much empathy and compassion are you able to lead with?

Social isolation, record-high job losses in the US and working from home has compromised our mental health and wellbeing. For remote workers, the role of the leader has never been more important than it is now. It’s their responsibility to navigate their teams whilst ensuring the mental wellbeing of the entire team. Whether you’re a leader of a small team or a large team, leading now is entirely different. How is a leader supposed to lead and offer positivity, optimism and hope to their team, when they too may be struggling? To continue leading effectively, leaders must work on their mindset before they can help their team. 

I have taken a lot from my conversations over the past 3 months, and have broken this down into 3 areas.

• Mindset
• Physical Wellbeing
• Mental Wellbeing

Mindset:

Ever heard of the phrase ‘mindset matters’? Your mindset plays a crucial role in how you tackle life. Most leaders have been thrown in the digital deep-end and are currently adapting to leading their team virtually (I’ve been dreaming of people as though they are in an MS Teams screen!) Most have never experienced complete leadership in this way before. Leaders who adopt a growth mindset - seeing challenges as an opportunity to try new things and grow in their role are far more likely to succeed in their leadership position than those that have a fixed mindset - believing that their abilities are limited to the ones they were born with. 

An example of this has been a client based in Switzerland, he had taken a new role leading a large commercial organisation with a global team. Having only spent a couple of weeks with his team in the office, lockdown happened. The leader in him saw this as an opportunity to actually get to know his team on more of a human level. All of a sudden an SVP is in your home office, living room, kitchen, having a conversation with you about how you are coping! Children in the background of the video call? No problem – he has children too! Dog barking every time the doorbell goes? Again no problem – this happens. This particular client now feels that he has actually started to create a better team spirit, with more character out of the office then he had seen in it. Growth mindset + Empathy = Successful leadership.

So why is your mindset so important as a leader? Well, leaders with a growth mindset show greater resilience in terms of setbacks. Instead of seeing the coronavirus pandemic and remote working as the end of the world as we know it, they choose to respond with increased perseverance. Leaders with a growth mindset won’t let the coronavirus pandemic or remote working derail them from leading their team effectively and efficiently. They’ll be able to remain calm, positive and flexible to support their team. The fact of the matter is, if you show inner strength, resilience and optimism as a leader, then your team will follow your lead.

Developing strong relationships with your team is vital for success. Micromanaging is a thing of the past. Instead of contacting your team for updates on their workload, trust that they have things under control. Your colleagues are bound to be feeling the effects of working from home; they might not have found their new routine yet or are struggling with a poor work-life balance. Approach your team with compassion, understanding and empathy, validate their feelings and emotions, and ask more questions than normal to assess their wellbeing. An unmotivated, unsupported and anxious team will be of no use to the operations of your organisation.

Physical Wellbeing:

Before we entered lockdown, physical wellbeing might not have been a priority for you. With long hours, a long commute and a list of responsibilities, there might not have been much time for anything else.

One of my contacts is dedicating 45 minutes at 12pm every day to physical wellbeing, a work medical highlighted that he could do with losing 6 to 8 kilos. At the time, it seemed like a stretch due to the 45-minute traffic-laden commute to work and back. All of sudden that time is back and he’s making the most of it. His team are aware of these goals and now he’s not only hit the target but exceeded it and is feeling fitter than ever at 50. Also, I didn’t know what a ski erg is, I do now!

I’ve personally been struggling to find the time to commit (crazy I know – I’m at home all day?). But I’ve been asking the question – how are you staying fit? And then I’ve been taking ideas from people, I’ve currently settled on a daily 30 minute HIIT training session first thing in the morning. It sets me up well for the day and there are thousands of these on YouTube.

However, now that you’re working from home, it’s very easy to not see anything else but the four walls surrounding you. Make a proactive effort to stand up at least once per hour to stretch your legs and get away from your desk for a bit. Do an at-home workout (there are plenty of videos on YouTube to follow) or go for a walk at lunchtime if your country’s restrictions allow for it. Ensure you’re getting at least 7-8 hours sleep each night so that your brain is well-rested. Be inquisitive, understand what others are doing and see if you can add anything to your routine. Set a goal and follow it. I know a couple of teams who are completing challenges like running 100 km’s between them per week or cycling the distance of a Tour de France stage.

Mental wellbeing:

You may find that remote working has freed up a lot of the time you usually would have spent commuting to the office, travelling or attending meetings. See this additional time as an opportunity to nurture your mind; rediscover or find a new hobby, practise gratitude and/or mindfulness. Although the phrase ‘social distancing’ has been thrown around a lot to describe keeping your distance from others, physical distancing is probably more of an appropriate term. If you can understand that your social life doesn’t need to suffer because of the pandemic, you might feel less isolated. Make the effort to connect with your colleagues, family and friends regularly. There are lots of apps, resources and activities out there - from quizzes to virtual escape rooms.

As a leader, you have the opportunity to influence your colleagues. By following the advice above about shifting your mindset and focusing on your wellbeing, you can pass on the information to your team. They might be struggling with a fear of the unknown right now, and could really benefit from a few useful tips about how to combat these negative thought patterns. Being a good leader doesn’t have to be purely about the job at hand – now more than ever it's about connecting on a human level. By helping yourself you can help others and improve your leadership abilities at the same time.