Practicing Self-Love As A Leader : Business Growth Farming

Being a leader is undoubtedly an important role but a difficult one as well. It often comes with a lot of pressure, especially when people look to you for guidance and to deliver results.

This can often take a toll on leaders with nearly 70% of executives surveyed by Deloitte sharing that they feel burned out.

Practicing self-love is key to easing stress, increasing trust with team members, and even producing great results.

If you’re a leader struggling with these things, here are a few tips to help you practice self-love as a leader.

Exercising compassion

Leadership isn’t just about ordering people around to reach an outcome.

Rather, it’s about understanding your failures and successes, learning on the job, and being compassionate toward your team and yourself.

The pressure to deliver results flawlessly can often be very stressful, and dwelling on the negatives when something goes wrong can spread to everyone in the group.

On the flip side, research from Rice University and the University of Windsor found that leaders who focus on learning from the process and listening to employees more than just performance outcomes build more resilient teams that can easily bounce back from setbacks.

By being a more empathetic leader, you’re not only easing up the pressure on your team but also on yourself.

Communicating well

Some leaders tend to keep everything to themselves rather than sharing concerns and finding solutions with their team.

But instead of creating an appearance of strength, this can create division and misunderstandings.

A post by LHH on leadership and popularity points out that to be a truly great leader, it’s important to communicate why hard decisions are necessary—in a way that creates solidarity and a united front.

Communicating well is not only an act of self-love where you share your struggles.

It can also reinforce trust and respect for you as a leader, and not just because you’re popular or likeable.

Good communication also shows that you value your team’s input and contributions, which can foster a healthy team dynamic.

To put healthy communication into practice, encourage an open-door policy to show your team that everyone’s comments and suggestions are equally valued.

Understanding your limits

It can be tempting to take control of entire projects to ensure things get done the way you want.

However, doing so will only lead to you doing more work than needed. Ultimately, it can increase your fatigue.

Your team may also feel like you don’t trust their abilities, which could create a divide.

Rather than biting off more than you can chew, be aware of your limits and properly delegate tasks to the people working under you.

Learn more about your team by asking them about their strengths and assigning them the things they’ll excel at the most. Ask for updates or guide them as needed to ensure the project is headed in the right direction.

Taking on the things you can manage within your abilities and placing your trust in your team can lessen your stress as a leader. In the long run, this can help you set boundaries.

This in itself is an act of self-love previously discussed in this post about prioritizing yourself first.

The best way to practice self-love as a leader is to always remember that your bottom line doesn’t define your value.

By being kinder to yourself in the workplace, you are setting up a positive mindset that will benefit your personal life and those around you.

If you want to know more about how you can continue growing love within yourself, check out this free course.

*Cover Image by Pexels

Author Bio: Hi, I’m D Grant Smith, the Relationship Growth Farmer.