How Managing Your Anxiety Can Make You a Better Leader

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 11 April 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The business world has increasingly begun to recognize the importance of mental health, but we still have a long way to go in openly acknowledging our challenges with it. Writer, entrepreneur, and podcast host Morra Aarons-Mele says that when we take the time and energy to better understand and talk about our own issues, we can actually harness the learnings to become better managers and colleagues. She says that there are a number of ways to stop anxiety from spiraling and instead use it for good. She also has recommendations for organizations trying to enhance the mental health of their workforces. Morra Aarons-Mele is the article "How High Achievers Overcome Their Anxiety" and the book The Anxious Achiever: Turn Your Biggest Fears into Your Leadership Superpower.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you trying to bring your leadership skills to the next level?
0:04.0	I want to suggest HBR's new podcast feed, HBR Unleadership.
0:09.0	HBR editors like me hand select the best leadership case studies and conversations
0:15.0	from across HBR's podcasts, videos, and beyond.
0:18.0	Listen for free to HBR Unleadership, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:24.0	New episodes every Wednesday.
0:30.0	Welcome to the HBR Idea Cast from Harvard Business Review.
0:40.0	I'm Allison Beard.
0:42.0	The global pandemic did a lot of damage, physically, economically, socially.
0:54.0	But at least one positive change that has come out of it is greater awareness of
0:58.0	and more public discussion about the importance of mental health.
1:02.0	Big name athletes, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka,
1:06.0	have pushed the conversation forward by talking about their own struggles.
1:09.0	And we've seen an explosion of corporate wellness programs,
1:12.0	as well as businesses focused on therapy, meditation, or mindfulness.
1:16.0	Today's guest welcomes that progress but says we still have more work to do,
1:20.0	especially when it comes to our professional lives.
1:23.0	She wants to see us do a better job of normalizing things like anxiety and depression,
1:27.0	and says that leaders in organizations should not only talk more openly about mental ill health,
1:32.0	but also acknowledge the ways that people grow and learn from these challenges,
1:36.0	if they figure out how to manage them correctly.
1:39.0	Moira Erin Smiley is a consultant, podcaster,
	...

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