How can you develop resilience to overcome workplace stress?

Knowing our top 10 Strengths on the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment actually tells us a lot about what we need - as well as what triggers us. Going through this process with a trained Strengths coach is a powerful first step in identifying not only your stressors but strategies for how to navigate them when they do pop up. While the focus here is on workplace stress, these same exercises have even more power when applied to your family and personal life.

Very simply pull out a piece of paper and a pencil; at the top of the page write: Top 7 work tasks that drain me Top 5 people that bother me Top 3 meetings that seem pointless Top 3 beliefs about work that are negative Now, once you have this list you have something to work with.

Recognizing work stressors is crucial for building resilience. These stressors, whether external like deadlines and conflicts or internal like personal expectations, significantly impact well-being. By identifying and understanding them, one can develop effective strategies to manage stress. I encourage maintaining a stress diary or journal to track these stressors along with your reactions and coping mechanisms. This practice offers valuable insights into patterns of stress and helps in tailoring personalized strategies for resilience and better stress management.

Everything you do at work is negotiable. Take you stress list (the things that drain you) and start brainstorming on how you can change them.

Challenging your thoughts is hard to do on your own, unless you've done extensive work with a coach. A powerful coach can help you uncover blind spots in the way you see and understand yourself, equipping you with the ability to self-coach. Again, this is relevant not only to your professional life but your personal and family as well.

Having a support network that is first and foremost your family (if relevant) or friends who feel like family is a powerful first step. When you do the work to more fully understand and know who you and each member of your family are, a natural flow of authenticity, support, and interdependence follows.

Say it louder for the people in the back! You can’t be a productive, collaborative team member or leader if you aren’t taking care of yourself. Self care doesn’t have to be a week long vacation or spa day - though I highly recommend both - start small, put a couple 15-minute blocks on your calendar to get outside and get some fresh air, do some quick stretches or breathing exercises, whatever feels good to you. Track your productivity for the two hours before your quick break and two hours after and the results will speak for themselves!

Identifying your stressors is key and the contributors to Q1 in this article provide excellent recommendations on that. Once you have a good sense of what causes you stress (make sure you dig into the “why”), work to minimize those activities (hello delegation- your stress could be a team members dream project) and schedule the things you can’t delegate at a time that works well for you. I prefer to get my stressful work knocked out early in the day when I’m my most rested, positive, and eager to tackle challenges. I’ve also had a lot of success with reframing - something can only stress me out if I allow it to. If I think about who I’ll be helping to engage or what impact the project will make, I can almost always dial down stress.