April is stress awareness month. I’ve written on this topic many times, yet with all that’s going on in the world, it’s relevant to explore it again.
How we experience and deal with stress has a lot to do with perspective. We all need a little stress in our life – it’s what makes things happen, it stimulates and motivates us when it’s related to things we’re interested in. This is called Eustress. For some of us, the stress we feel about meeting deadlines, making an important decision, or arriving on time is what makes those things happen, so it’s not problematic. For those who put things off to the last minute or who overthink, stress can escalate and get out of hand, which can lead to problems.
The difference at this present time, is that there’s so much going on that’s affecting our day-to-day lives, that simply not paying attention to the news or taking a few deep breaths isn’t sufficient for many people.
We’re living through more intense world conflict and greater uncertainty, and people generally are feeling pressured from multiple directions. An underlying current of tension, fear and stress is radiating through society, and it’s going to take a different mindset to navigate it successfully.
Let’s start with a focus on the workplace and leadership
Our stress response is a naturally occurring response to a perceived difficult situation. It happens unconsciously, more often than we may realise. Recent figures say that 79% of employees are experiencing moderate-to-high stress levels, with 16–24-year-olds and women reporting the highest.
There are the common workplace stressors that are exacerbated during difficult times; unrealistic workloads, tight deadlines, meeting targets, resource constraints, constant change or restructuring, staffing issues, performance, conflict, competing agendas and dealing with difficult stakeholders or clients.
There are also the personal stressors outside work that many are experiencing: financial concerns, family problems, strained relationships, childcare responsibilities, health and even the daily commute. Over time, these can go from being episodic to chronic stressors.
Then there are the stressors which are often unacknowledged. These are the ones we attribute to personality or identity – perfectionism, procrastination, fear of failure or being “found out” as incapable, or performance tied to identity. These forms of pressure are very often the least visible yet have the most influence on behaviours.
Research shows that much workplace stress comes in episodes and, with proper support, can be made manageable. Which brings me onto leaders.
How Leadership Stress Affects the Workplace
Leaders are not immune from all these stressors, and they also carry greater responsibility in their roles. Yet one of the most influential factors in any organisation is how leaders respond when under pressure. Sadly, rather than modelling resilience, their communication and behaviour often exacerbates the problem and unfortunately, it’s teams that bear the brunt and burden. Put bluntly, a leader’s behaviours can destabilise and damage team cohesion and performance. Hence the importance of proper leadership training, which is often lacking.
Pressure in business is inevitable. What matters is how the pressure is interpreted and processed. Therein lies the skill. Leaders often believe they can contain or hide their stress. They can’t, just as none of us can. Felt stress leaks through body language, words and behaviour.
They may do this unwittingly owing to lack of or no training. Hence the importance of leadership training.
How Stress Leaks
Body language
Posture, gestures, micro and not so micro expressions, breathing and eye contact all show our true emotional state. Body language is for the most part unconscious and therefore expresses what we’re really feeling, and can be felt by others unconsciously.
Words and voice
Communication that is short and direct, delivered in a harsh, curt or snappy tone can feel like criticism or irritation. Vague, unspecific instructions, waffling or an uncertain or questioning tone reduces confidence, believability and trust.
Decision making
Being reactive or contradictory or changing direction frequently is frustrating for teams and kills motivation and energy, as does evading decision making.
Emotional contagion
Humans are wired for connection, and our nervous system reads the energy of others. Stress energy leaks out of leaders and teams can feel it, react to it and often mirror it.
The Impact on Teams and the Workplace
In response to a stressed leader, teams can become tense, on edge and unsure of expectations. Without psychological safety, teams wait for direction. People can feel less confident and are more careful about what they do or say and focus not on ideas, more on avoiding mistakes.
As tension increases so can conflict, reduced cooperation and greater silo working. When people’s energy is used to manage the emotional climate, motivation decreases as does productivity. Staff disengage and check out. Essentially, the leader’s internal pressure becomes the team’s external environment
This creates a toxic work environment and can lead to a high level of sickness, absenteeism and staff turnover – all of which is destabilizing and costly.
What Effective Leaders Do
Effective leaders develop the skills to deal with pressure and are able to self-regulate. This begins with an awareness of what for them are stressors, their mental and emotional states and knowing the physiological signals of pressure and stress.
10 Key Skills and Behaviours for Effective Leaders
Get clear on your stressors and stress points
Self awareness is key. When we recognise what stresses us and our response, we can then choose to change our thoughts and behaviours through reframing, eliminating unwanted patterns or limiting beliefs.
NLP identifies triggers and rewires unhelpful habitual responses through pattern interruption and belief change.
Create consistency in how you speak
Your tone, inflection, speed and volume all matter. Choose your words deliberately and communicate calmly and precisely. Acknowledge pressure and tension verbally to reduce anxiety about the unknown.
NLP develops much greater flexibility and skill in using language, so communication is adapted, intentional and reduces misunderstanding.
Have awareness of body language and learn to manage your state
Notice how you’re standing, where are your arms? Be aware of facial expressions and the signals you’re giving. Pause, adjust your posture or focus, and choose a more empowering perspective.
NLP links physiology and mindset, giving you tools to shift state quickly and deliberately.
Recognise differences in how individuals in the team respond to stress
Some people become highly driven, others withdraw, some need space and others need structure. Adapt your approach to individual team members accordingly.
NLP builds sensory acuity and flexibility, helping you read and respond to individual needs more effectively.
Know how to manage your mind in the moment
Set up a stop sign in your head and find a way to calm and centre yourself. Conscious breathing helps — pause before responding.
With NLP you can anchor calm states so you can access them quickly under pressure.
Model balance to your team
Set and maintain clear boundaries, take breaks and manage your workload. Teams need to see you’re human, not superhuman.
NLP removes incongruity and supports values alignment, helping you act consistently with what truly matters
Be honest and ask for support
Many leaders don’t do this for fear of seeming weak, yet the most successful people have mentors and support.
NLP helps reframe beliefs around vulnerability, turning it into a strength rather than a risk.
Prioritise time to think things through
Model reflective thinking. Avoid constant urgency, clarity leads to better decisions.
NLP develops structured thinking strategies to improve clarity and decision-making.
Create a climate of open conversation and be approachable
Simple check-ins create space for honesty and openness.
NLP builds rapport and deep listening skills, strengthening trust and connection.
Be flexible with your approach
Recognise changing capacity in others and adjust expectations accordingly to sustain performance.
NLP enhances behavioural flexibility — a core principle for effective leadership in change.
The most effective leaders recognise their internal state is not private, it leaks out and every interaction communicates it, however subtly. Every moment under pressure is an opportunity to either amplify stress or transform it into stability.
Fundamentally, leadership is less about controlling circumstances and more about being able to regulate your state in any situation. It’s these things that have a strong bearing on whether teams just cope or perform and thrive.
Recognise too, that a leader’s behaviour is modelled by others, which then influences what type of company culture there is.
If you’d like to know more about NLP training for leadership and teams then you can send me a message here.
f you enjoyed this blog, then please do share it on Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram.
and please connect with what’s written then do connect with me there too.
