New data suggests that for almost 70% of people, their manager has a more significant impact on their mental health than their doctor—and it’s equal to the impact of their partner. If you’re a leader, you’re right to find this data sobering. Sit down then and have another coffee!!!!

Leaders have a critical role in contributing to the conditions for positive mental health—their own and others’. Many leaders try to shield team members from stress or challenges by taking on the toughest work—or the extra work—themselves. They often put in long hours and intrude on their own boundaries in the process.

As a leader, people watch how you manage your own workload and use your choices as a model—whether you mean them to or not. So avoid overloading yourself. Train others, delegate, empower, and ensure teamwork and coordination with other groups so everything doesn’t fall on your shoulders.

Be aware of the leadership laser. People are influenced by everyone around them, but leaders have an outsized impact—and people tend to put leader behaviour under a microscope, paying especially close attention to what leaders say and do.

Emphasise empathy because it’s the right thing to do, and because it has positive impacts on innovation, engagement, and retention. Ask people how they’re doing, and tune in when you see they may be out of sorts or when they may need support because they’re working on an especially challenging problem.

Give people a reason to care. When people feel a connection to purpose and a bigger picture, they tend to feel better about their work as well. Remind people about the vision and mission of the organisation, and be clear about how their work matters.

According to recent Gallup research, when people work in a hybrid manner (which is a large proportion of workers today), they may especially struggle with feeling connected to the purpose of the organisation and its culture, and they may not be clear about their expectations or the meaning of their work. A sense of belonging is important. You can help by inspiring purpose and giving them a clear sense of what success means for their job, and how it connects to the work of their colleagues and customers.

You can also positively impact people’s well-being by making sure you’re accessible and responsive. Be available, get back to people quickly, and provide clarity about how and when people can reach you. When leaders are more present and accessible, it contributes to trust, positive culture, and people’s sense of their importance in the organisation.

Also, connect team members with others in the organisation. Connection is critical to well-being and happiness, whether people are introverts or extroverts. Help team members set up mentoring relationships, organise work so people are collaborating across departments, and consider sponsoring volunteer efforts for team members to join together in serving the community.

One of the misunderstandings about stress is that less is more. In reality, people need a just-right, Goldilocks amount of stress. With too little challenge, people will lose motivation and burnout, just as they will with too much.

Be sure you’re giving people opportunities to learn and develop. Ask them what they want in their current roles and in their next role. Don’t assume everyone wants promotions within the same department. For some, growth may include roles in adjacent departments or involvement in a high-visibility project. For others, stretch opportunities could be classroom-oriented or could include working side-by-side with others on a special initiative.

Be curious about people and what uniquely motivates them—and then do your best to match their desires with work that will add value within the organisation.

Empower people with as much choice as possible in where, when, and how they work. Give them control over the projects they work on and the way they get things done. Of course, some jobs will lend themselves to greater flexibility than others, but providing autonomy where it’s possible is a significant contributor to employee well-being.

The best leaders take care of their own mental health, and they pay attention to their team members as well. It’s no small thing to have so much impact on people, but it’s also not rocket science. Leaders can make big impacts by tuning in, listening, and demonstrating empathy and compassion. To do this effectively though there must be self care.

How are you doing with this? Reach out for a korero if you think we can help your workplace.