Issue #9: Fair Warning: A Leadership Reality Check You Can’t Ignore
Leaders, it's time to get real—perfection isn’t the goal. Vulnerability is.
Fair Warning: Mushy, touchy-feely post ahead
This is a fair warning that this post gets a bit touchy-feely, and as leaders, I know that sometimes that can be a challenge to really be vulnerable because there is a stigma that we always must be put together and composed.
As we begin to close out October, I’ve been reflecting.
This month has been difficult for a lot of people. Whether life-threatening hurricanes, one week after another, that upheaved everyone’s life, whether its the stress of loosing your job or the struggles of landing a new one, or the anxiety of heading into the last quarter of the year - elections, politics, war and so many other factors a lot of which are unknown to most people.
As humans, we tend to keep personal things, well personal. We don’t want to bother others with what’s on our mind we bog them down with our thoughts. But this is a reminder that this thing sharing is caring is not just about snacks – it’s about life.
📌Tip of the Week
Make It Better, Do It Faster, Makes Us Stronger…
I stole that headline from Daft Punk, but hey it applies here.
Want a stronger, more connected team? Start by encouraging collaboration over competition. Instead of focusing on who's performing best, celebrate when teammates help each other out or solve a problem together.
A quick shout-out in your next meeting or a shared win on Slack can go a long way in building trust and boosting morale.
Bonus Tip: Plan a virtual coffee break or a casual team chat – because sometimes the best ideas come from casual conversations, not just formal meetings!
ps. Strong teams make work (and life) a whole lot more enjoyable.
82% of Employees Believe It Is Important For Their Leaders to Discuss Mental Health Issues
Take this as a reminder, that we are in fact, human – most of us. Regardless, we have feelings, emotions, and challenges that we are overcoming every single day. And most importantly, it’s good to share those with others.
Sharing feelings of stress, anxiety, and overwhelmed, is essential for leaders to maintain mental health, foster strong, relationships, and build trust with teams.
Research shows that when leaders openly expressed their emotions, especially during challenging times it helps reduce stigma around mental health and encourages the team members to the same.
It’s a vulnerability, that strengthens bonds, build a more supportive, work culture, and promote psychological safety, which is critical for creativity and productivity.
As leaders, we often face high-pressure environments and acknowledging our emotions can mitigate the adverse effects of stress, suppressing those emotions on the other hand can lead to burn out, negatively, impacting both the leaders performance, and their ability to lead effectively. By openly sharing our emotional state leaders can also model healthy coping mechanisms for their teams, showing that seeking support and expressing vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness.
Personally, I like to have a trusted support network as I feel it’s crucial for me to help manage stress and maintain resilience in the hardest of times. A “personal Board of Directors “ a group of my peers, mentors, and friends that provide me a valuable outlet for emotional expression and offer perspective during difficult times, this not only benefits me as a leader, but helps enhance my overall teams morale too. once employees feel empowered to be open about their own challenges only good things will come.
An interesting statistics from a study conducted by Mind Share Partners, found that 60% of employees have never spoken to anyone at work about their mental health.1
This highlights the barriers to discussion, emotional challenges and professional settings particularly am among the leaders with the pressure to appeal composed is often stronger.
Another survey by Deloitte stated that 82% of its employees believe it is important for their leaders to openly discuss mental health issues, however only 37% of employees feel their leaders actually do.2
This continues to emphasize the need for us as leaders to be more transparent about emotional well-being to foster a healthier more supportive workplace environment.
Challenge For You
So a challenge for you this week- when you meet with your teams, whether in a group or in a one on one, don’t just jump into project status updates and generalized “hey, how are you? “open up the conversation to talk about real things.
Here are 5 questions that can get you started:
Is there anything that could improve your day-to-day work experience?
What’s been most challenging for you this week?
What has been energizing or draining you at work recently?
What’s something that’s been on your mind lately that you’d like more support with?
Are there any roadblocks or challenges you’re facing right now, either at work or even outside of it?
In addition to some of these questions, I would also encourage you to continue to check with your teams and offering support.
Making sure to take time to share your observations with them for example “I noticed you’ve been working hard recently. How are you managing rest and recovery“ this shows that you are aware of the employees efforts and care about their health.
Give it a try.
Leadership Spotlight
Meet Annett, a Product Leader and Executive Coach with over 20 years of experience in product leadership and consulting across industries, from tech startups to global pharma companies. Throughout her career, Annett has driven strategic innovation, led global transformations, and built high-performing product teams.
As the founder of ProductEmerge, she helps Product Leaders set strategic directions, streamline product processes, and empower their teams to achieve measurable results through targeted workshops and coaching.
As she guided teams through change and growth, Annett noticed a pattern: when the focus was on productivity and delivery, teams often lost sight of what really matters—understanding their users and solving real problems. That’s when she realized:
"Perfect productivity is a myth. The best Product Leaders I know give their teams the time and space to focus on what truly matters. It’s about allowing them to explore new ideas, make mistakes, and learn without the pressure to always be busy. When you create this kind of environment, your team can find better solutions, build more creative products, and deliver results that make a real difference."
Annett Eckert
Wellness Corner
Blue Light Screens Impact
Now that you’ve completed probably the most important thing of the day, reading this newsletter, or listening to it- It’s time talk about how blue lights from screens small to big are impacting your day to day.
Did you know that blue light can distract our sleep by suppressing melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep cycles. Many studies have shown that even short exposure to blue light before bedtime can reduce sleep, quality, leading to fatigue, mood swings, and decreased productivity the following day!
Here’s some tips on how to reduce blue light exposure:
👉Leverage and use built-in blue light filters on your devices, especially in the evening.
👉Incorporate screen breaks into your day and your eyes and brain time to rest. Give the 20 2020 rule a try (link to edition)
👉If you do, spend a lot of time in front of screens, like I do, blue light, blocking glasses, can help mitigate some of the effects and they’re pretty affordable.
👉And lastly, start your bed for time routine a little bit earlier – you don’t need to be in bed by 8 PM but try to reframe from using screens at least 30 to 60 minutes before you get some shut eye.
Community Insights
Thank you and welcome!
Big welcome to all our new subscribers, I hope you’re finding these weekly emails helpful and actionable.
I would love to hear directly from you- what topics would you like us to cover in the next few editions, who do you want to see features in the leadership spotlight?
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Until next time, stay well.
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅.𝒃𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎
1 https://neuroleadership.com/your-brain-at-work/teams-anxiety-increase-performance/
2 https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/covid-19-leadership.pdf
* Consult Your Doctor First: Before starting any new exercise routines, wellness plans, or making significant changes to your diet, it’s important to consult with your doctor or healthcare provider. They can help ensure that any new practices are safe and appropriate for your individual health needs. Your well-being is our top priority, so please take this step before making any changes.