Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have the responsibility of managing the workplace, the employees and are often answerable to so many different stakeholders. The amount of stress that might follow them can be unimaginable. The art of balancing in these scenarios, managing mental health whilst managing everything else, becomes very important. This blog is focused on CEOs mental health and how it can be improved.
Why Mental Health Is a Growing Challenge for CEOs
Mental health challenges are becoming an increasing challenge for the CEOs because of:
1. Continuous work pressure
2. Anxiety due to extreme hustling
3. Burnout due to prolonged work
4. Changing trends require a lot of focus
5. Important decisions can be emotionally taxing
Common Mental Health Issues Faced by CEOs
There are so many mental health challenges that CEOs may face. Some of those have been listed below. This can allow the reader to become more aware of CEOs' concerns and explore management techniques.
Chronic Stress and Burnout
- Sleep disturbance
- High BP due to stress
- Feeling exhausted
- Decreased productivity
- Lack of motivation
- Irritable mood
- Unable to manage tasks
Anxiety and Decision Fatigue
- Difficulty breathing due to anxiety
- Feeling numb or hyperalert
- Unable to make decisions
- A lot of pending decisions
- Making ethically wrong decisions
Work-Life Imbalance
- Challenges in setting boundaries in personal and professional life
- Distance in social relationships and personal life getting hampered
- Feeling guilty for taking breaks and unable to engage in self-care
The Cost of Ignoring Mental Health at the Leadership Level
The price of ignoring one’s mental health can be huge. It can get reflected in the following ways:
1. Poor decision-making
2. Reduced productivity
4. Risk to health and life
The Art of Balance: Practical Strategies CEOs Can Use
There are several strategies that can be used for balancing professional and personal life. The strategies would require intentional effort so that changes can be observed. Some of these strategies have been listed below.
Redefining Work-Life Balance for CEOs
Work-life balance for CEOs would require strong boundary setting. It can also include improving one’s self-awareness so that emotions from work or personal life do not spill over to other aspects of life. This can prevent a lot of conflicts and impulsive reactions.
Mindfulness in Leadership
Leadership stress management can involve a lot of mindfulness-building exercises. These strategies can look like:
1. Deep breathing
2. Grounding techniques
3. Journaling for reflection
Building Stress-Resilient Leadership Habits
Leadership stress management can require awareness, efforts and consistency. Leaders often require the ability to bounce back from challenges, that is, feeling resilient! Some of these strategies can include:
1. Improving sleep hygiene
2. Learning to say ‘no’
3. Physical exercise or sports
4. Healthy nutrition and diet
5. Healthy digital diet
Creating a Trusted Inner Circle
CEOs may often find themselves alone at the topmost position. Thus, a trusted support network can offer them a safe emotional space for opening up. They can reach out to the trusted advisors, mentors and guides for professional support. Similarly, in personal life also having good bonding with friends and family can be useful.
How Successful CEOs Actively Manage Stress
A few of the many techniques regarding how CEOs manage stress include:
1. Seeking professional mental health support
2. Having a healthy support network
3. Taking out time for hobbies and creative pursuits
4. Exploring mindfulness in leadership
5. Prioritising mental health with awareness
Role of Organizational Culture in CEO Mental Well-being
CEOs mental health and organisational culture can be interlinked. If the mental health of the CEO is not well, then the company’s performance can be impacted. The leader may make wrong decisions, and the work culture can be influenced. Similarly, if the work culture is not well, then the CEO might experience the pressure of improving it and therefore feel stressed. Thus, organisational culture and CEOs mental health can be connected.
Simple Daily Mental Health Practices for Busy CEOs
1. Gratitude journaling
2. To-do list maintenance
3. Delegating tasks
4. No meeting time specified
5. Break for physical movements
Final Thoughts
A CEO is often there for so many people and in that process may forget to be for one’s own self also! There can be so much stuff on a CEO’s plate, and Athena Luxus helps in managing all of that one step at a time.
We offer individual therapy sessions and use scientific techniques to support clients in a luxurious facility. You can learn more about our services by calling us at
9718921212 and we would be happy to support you!
