Wellbeing tips for business owners
Mental health is becoming a hot topic for HR and businesses are increasingly taking measures to encourage better wellbeing for their employees.
But what about business owners themselves?
It’s all too easy to take mental health for granted; thinking that because you are well, you will always be able to deal with the hurdles and obstacles that are part and parcel of running and owning a business. Here, we look at three steps entrepreneurs can take to help look after their mental health.
Don’t be a stranger
It’s often said that it’s lonely at the top and it can often be the case that business leaders lack someone to talk to. Having a mentor or trusted business adviser can prove invaluable for business owners to talk problems through with. Doing so not only provides an outlet for business owners, but can also have the added benefit of another person’s experience to draw on, sometimes leading to different ideas and solutions that may not have been thought of otherwise.
Take proactive steps
Many entrepreneurs will naturally have a greater capacity for dealing with stress; starting a business can be a rocky road so those that have made it may well have built up a certain level of resilience. However, that doesn’t mean that you will always be able to take everything that life and business throw at you; nobody is entirely immune to stress and its impact. Be sure to find ways to manage stress on a day to basis, be that exercise, taking some time out of the workplace environment or other activity that allows you time to ‘switch off‘. Being able to recognise the signs of stress and knowing your own best method of managing it are key to keeping wider mental health issues at bay.
Trust in your team
One of the greatest sources of stress for business owners is the sheer volume of issues, decisions and problems they carry the burden of. Many business owners fall into the trap of placing themselves as the only ones that are able to make decisions or sign things off. Trusting in a management team and giving them greater authority to call the shots on a day to day basis alleviates the bottleneck and reduces the burden on business owners.
The team at Agenda have worked with many business owners to identify potential areas of stress, helping to put systems and a plan in place to remove some of the ‘pain points’. Taking proactive steps to recognise these and trying to identifying potential threats to continuity before they become a real problem is something the Agenda team specialise in. To speak to us about arranging a consultation, please get in touch.
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