Managing Your Mental Health as a Leader
By Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana
Sound Mental health is key to every individual’s management of self and others. At our last By the Fireside (BTS) session, Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana was honored with the presence of Mrs. Tucci Goka Ivowi, the CEO of Ghana Commodity Exchange, as our distinguished speaker.
Prefacing her discussions about maintaining good mental health Mrs. Ivowi stated, “Leadership is not an inborn talent, it is being the best or expert at whatever it is, at every level and, as we grow in leadership, building resilience becomes a part of what you need to do to excel.”
Below are a few strategies she suggests for building up resilience as young professionals and also beating the imposter syndrome which plagues some people and adds to their stress at work:
Know your Craft: Be extremely knowledgeable and confident with your business. You will face several challenges and struggles in the workplace like hierarchy/office politics, limited resources, ageism and bureaucracy. Knowing your craft gives you an opportunity to work to higher standards and earns you influence in the workplace.
Be appreciative of opportunities and be a learner: Sharing meals, and learning the language of your colleagues especially when you are posted to new districts or countries, among other bridge-building activities will help you thrive in any workplace. Establish or grow a network of both young and old members of staff and set out to find what triggers people in order to slowly break down their walls.
Develop a positive or growth mindset: Learn and change consistently. Always ask yourself, “How can I turn a negative situation into a positive one.” Appreciate setbacks and challenges and treat them as learning curves.
Some Workplace Stressors
Social media: Social media can be both beneficial and detrimental to mental health depending on how it’s used. Comparison to people or experiences can affect mental health. However, social media can be used for positives such as highlighting industry work, thought leadership, and a shared passion. She advises that people strive for authenticity both online and offline to build credibility.
Loss of a key relationship such as a manager or supervisor: She asked the audience to seek support for career advancement. Also, an internal support plan helps. Seeking someone who can navigate and support you in refocusing like a mentor could be a great option.
Pursuing further studies at the wrong time: She spoke about the opportunity to work in the corporate sector before continuing further studies. Recommendations and her passion coupled with her working experience essentially informed her graduate program choice.
Managing the urge for multiple and concomitant accomplishments: Focusing on one thing helps. Of course, one can be driven by different things, and a growth mindset means one is always eager to learn both outside and inside a classroom so one may not necessarily need to pursue further studies right away. Lastly, developing other people’s skillset diminishes feelings of over-accomplishment.
Ways to Increase Resilience and Manage Mental Health
Resilience yields better results when our mental health is great. Here are a few things that can help with building resilience;
- Talking to, sharing with, and keeping in contact with friends and family.
- Acknowledging your stress to yourself and others to prevent over-compounding.
- Doing things to help destress such as physical activity, writing and journaling.
- Finding out and doing passionate stuff often.
After our By the Fireside May session, the Fellows, alumni and staff are eager to apply these strategies within various contexts of their life and career. We are excited to hear how transformational it is to them and you as well.
