Whether it is supply chain issues, staff shortages, or constantly re-evaluating strategy with new information, business leaders are particularly stressed out more this year than previously.

A common issue is the lack of rest and recovery. Work is starting to encroach into our personal lives and our personal lives are inevitably impacting on our work.

Losing sleep and missing the bigger picture because the challenges of work never leave your mind has a compounding impact over time. This leads to burnout, which negatively impacts on our health, our relationships with others and our performance at work.

I spoke with Wiremu and Steve from Kanuka Wellbeing and Leadership for some quick tips on how business owners can manage their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of their team.

Attracting and retaining staff are a critical issue for many businesses. The more your team feels supported and appreciated, the better chance you’ll reduce staff turnover and avoid expensive recruitment processes.

Wiremu and Steve’s tips were quite simple, and include:

• Everyone (including business owners) need to completely switch off from work 15 mins each day, three continuous hours each week, and one continuous day each month.
• Team managers need to schedule time to regularly check in with each person in their team to better understand what’s going on in their life and how work may be impacting it (and vice versa).

https://youtu.be/mIXv5m3Dnvs

Steve gave some great tips off camera too. Team leaders do not need to be an expert wellbeing coach to make a big difference to their team. Just be present, authentic and listen when you have one-on-one time with each team member.

These are simple tips, but I constantly need to remind myself to switch off daily (so I’m less exhausted for tomorrow’s challenges). Fortunately, I have fortnightly meetings with my team because if it wasn’t in my busy calendar, weeks could go by without having catch up that was not purely about our tasks.

Overall, I particularly feel for the small business owner-operators who do not have people they can talk to and soundboard issues with. That’s where a mentor can be particularly valuable (In fact, here’s a recent blog about the value of having a trusted relationship with a mentor).

We have more tips and guides on leadership if you’re interested:

• How to avoid burnout
• Six signs of Leadership Fatigue
• Business advice from Bay business leaders
• Business and mindset planning in 2021

Want more top tips, advice and insights? Check out our news section.