Anxiety at Work

My entire life I have suffered from anxiety, especially in the mornings. My anxiety does not require a trigger — it is a mental health condition I have lived with my entire life. It was not until I was thirty-eight that I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), the term for excessive and persistent worry from real or perceived threats.

When I was young, you did not talk about mental health conditions. Suffering from mental health conditions was considered a weakness. You could be shunned or made to feel like an outcast. My mother told friends and family I dealt with a nervous stomach. While true, it was an acceptable explanation.

Almost 3% of the population has been diagnosed with GAD, and about 6% will experience it at some point in their lives. In contrast, stress and anxiety in the workplace are far more widespread. On any given day, 80% of employees report stress or anxiety that undermines productivity, and 60% experience exhaustion, irritability, sleeplessness, and related symptoms.

Many well-known and highly successful individuals live with persistent anxiety – among them Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX), Arianna Huffington (HuffPost), Brian Chesky (Airbnb), Sheryl Sandburg (Former COO, Meta), Ben Silbermann (Pinterest), Kendra Scott, Stewart Butterfield (Slack),  Adele, Evan Williams (Twitter, Medium), Selena Gomez, Howard Schultz (Starbucks), Rihanna, Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Oprah, Tim Cook (Apple), Bob Iger (Disney), Sara Blakely (Founder, Spanx), Reed Hastings (Netflix), Warren Buffet, Isaac Newton, Kevin O’Leary (SharkTank). And the list could go on.

Throughout my life, I have prayed for my anxiety to go away, but to no avail. Sometimes the only way forward is to work through our pain. And while persistent anxiety is a difficult, life‑altering condition, it can also carry unexpected advantages.

If you live with anxiety, it is important to recognize that your condition can also bring meaningful strengths. A wide range of research shows that people with GAD often develop valuable attributes in the workplace, including:

  • Culture – Tend to create cultures where others feel supported.
  • Awareness – Heightened sensitivity to the tone in the room and interpersonal dynamics.
  • Anticipation – Ability to anticipate problems early and prevent mistakes.
  • Preparation – With a fear of making mistakes, they are prone to over prepare and tend to have contingency plans.
  • Team Builder – Ability to create, support, and maintain great teams that are effective and difference makers.
  • Peacemaker – Understand opposing views and work to prevent or resolve conflicts.
  • Psychological Safety – Sensitive to the needs of coworkers and understand the importance of teams who can safely express their opinions and ideas without fear.
  • Coaching – Motivation to invest in coworkers and direct reports through mentoring and coaching.

If you suffer from anxiety or another mental health condition, find a way to use your pain to help others. Sharing your struggles can help those who feel isolated and think they are the only ones who suffer from anxiety. Hopefully, my willingness to talk about my pain will help you in your life and work.

Commitment at Work

To be a good example, you must be committed to your job.

Commitment means you will put forward the effort to get the job done. Commitment means you will go above and beyond what is expected.

There will be times you will need to arrive early and work late. There will be times you can work normal hours. It depends on your work load.

Commitment does not require you to be a workaholic. It does not mean you will sacrifice your family for your job. It means you will get the work done while putting family above your job. Your level of commitment to family should not be superseded by your career.

Considering this balancing act, you must fully understand how to prioritize. It is not easy to juggle your faith, family and career. It requires working smart.

We were created to enjoy work. There is fulfillment from getting work done, and it makes time with family more rewarding. Investing in your family, on the other hand, makes work more enjoyable because your job will benefit your family. Your job provides resources to support your family.

If you take a job, you should be all in. Make a commitment to your employer, or your business if self-employed.

If you are lacking commitment at work, approach your career as a ministry to others. Commitment at work provides a good example to others.

Perspective at Work

You will not leave this earth alive.

Life expectancy in the U.S. is 79 years. Eventually, your life will end, then you will stand before God to account how responsible you were with the talents you were given. How did you treat others? Did you serve to others?

You will be accountable for your life. You will also be accountable for your actions at work. Yes, you will be accountable to God for your 9 to 5 life. Many people incorrectly think what you do at work has nothing to do with life.

As a leader, you will be accountable for how you treated your employees. Serving and treating those you lead with dignity and respect – these actions will be evaluated.

You should live each day with the perspective your life will eventually end. My hope is you live a very long, productive, rewarding and healthy life. There is, however, a beginning and an end.

The realization of death provides perspective on life and work.

Fun at Work

Work without fun is drudgery.

Intrinsically, people want to work and be productive. God created us with the desire to work and make a difference. It’s in our DNA.

When you hire the right people, productivity will not be an issue. As a leader, your job is to be a motivator, coach, teacher and counselor. It is also important to promote fun in the workplace.

Fun and work is not mutually exclusive. If you cannot have fun at work, your people will not go above and beyond their job responsibilities; they will not expend discretionary effort.

Work is not always fun but we must make the best of it when it’s not. There is a time to be serious. There is also a time when the environment should be light-hearted.

This idea is not rocket science. This leadership principal is simple. We need to be reminded to have fun in life and work.

Go ahead, promote fun in the workplace.

Flexibility at Work

You created your plan to complete a project but an issue arises requiring you to change that plan. In life and work, you must be flexible.

Change is coming. Conditions will change. Clients will decide to go a different way. Coworkers will have a better idea. Your leader will change the parameters of the project. These things are inevitable.

Flexibility is being ready, willing and able to change based on different circumstances. The most successful people, especially business owners and executives, foresee upcoming change and adjust.

We must not be content with the status quo. We must be content with change. We must accept that the status quo will not be the status quo.

Change should not be seen as the enemy. It is your chance to make things better. Adjusting to different circumstances makes you relevant. People who are unwilling to make changes are typically difficult to work with. Those unwilling to make adjustments fall behind.

Making changes requires more effort, so those who avoid extra effort try to avoid change.

Flexibility is not a bad word. It is a quality that makes you more valuable.

Grace at Work

Everyone deserves a second chance. When you make a mistake at work, and you will, being shown grace is such a relief. Knowing your supervisor lives and works with grace relieves crippling fear.

Since you appreciate grace, you should show grace to others. Show grace to your coworkers, both up and down the chain of command. Show grace to customers, waiters, in traffic (a very hard one), family, strangers, flight attendants, retail workers, referees, Uber drivers, and your dog.

I have spent a lot of time researching and creating great places to work. Truly great workplaces allow room for grace. Employees who know their superiors lead with grace will deliver higher performance. Grace drives out fear. Removing fear helps to create great organizations.

It’s the simple things that make the biggest difference. Grace at work is simple but extremely effective.

Peace at Work

Peacemaker vs. Peacekeeper. There is a big difference between these two terms.

Peacekeepers try to maintain peace. Peacemakers create an environment of peace.

Peacekeepers are weak. Peacemakers are strong.

Peacekeepers are passive. Peacemakers are aggressive.

Peacekeepers maintain the status quo. Peacemakers disrupt the status quo.

Peacekeepers are managers. Peacemakers are leaders.

Peacekeepers think they are always right. Peacemakers admit when they are wrong.

Peacekeepers avoid disagreement. Peacemakers know disagreements lead to better decisions.

Peacekeepers massage the egos of their superiors. Peacemakers are not afraid to challenge their superiors.

Peacekeepers expect people to agree with them. Peacemakers expect their people to disagree with them.

Peacekeepers try to hold things together. Peacemakers expect their people to hold things together.

Peacekeepers allow apathy. Peacemakers have high expectations.

Peacekeepers don’t want to offend anyone. Peacemakers are not afraid to offend people.

Peacekeepers try to appease entitled employees. Peacemakers will force entitled employees out of the organization.

Peacekeepers allow complaining. Peacemakers want solutions.

Peacekeepers will compromise their values. Peacemakers live their values.

If you want to be a great leader, I challenge you to make a positive difference in your workplace and become a peacemaker.

Family at Work

I love my family. Here are some of the things I enjoy doing with my family…

  • Eating
  • Vacations
  • Playing
  • Helping
  • Projects
  • Holidays
  • Parties
  • Talking
  • Fun
  • Laughing

Your fellow employees are your work family. Many of the things you do with your real family you should do with your work family. If you do this, your performance as a team will be better.

You shouldn’t have to leave your heart at home. You can bring it to work too, says Joel Manby, former CEO of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.

You spend at least 40 hours/week with your team so make it count. Your life at work and home should both be fulfilling. That means you must work together and share the good times, as well as hard times.

If this idea resonates with you, I recommend you read Love Works by Joel Manby.

Character at Work

Effective leaders exude executive presence, according to Suzanne Bates, an executive consultant and coach. People can sense if you are a leader when you enter a room. Bates explains in a Forbes article, the following are ingredients to executive presence:

Character: authenticity, integrity, concern, restraint, humility

Substance: practical wisdom, confidence, composure, resonance, vision

Style: appearance, intentionality, interactivity, inclusiveness, assertiveness

Did you notice the quality of character is first?

God told Samuel, a prophet, when selecting David as the next king of Israel, to not consider his appearance or his height. “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7b NIV

Character is closely aligned with your heart.

Long-standing, effective, and great leaders have character. Also aligned with heart and character, culture fit has been elevated above skills. Great workplaces take the time to peer into a candidate’s heart. No matter how skillful or good-looking you are, will your contributions be in-line with an organization’s mission and vision? Will you treat people with respect?

To be an effective leader, to possess executive presence, your character is first. You may have been promoted up the career ladder and hold an executive-level position, but at the end of your life, without character, without a good heart, you will not be considered as someone who made a positive difference in people and the community.

Positive Leaders at Work

Not changing the oil in your car is a bad idea. The engine will start running too hot and inefficiently, and parts will begin to warp and wear out. Eventually, the engine will get too stressed, shut down completely, and need to be replaced.

Running an office with a negative management style has a similar impact on people. Leading people with a positive outlook is like running an efficient engine with regular oil changes.

Negative managers and cultures cause people to be less efficient, stressed, eventually leading to burnout and turnover.

A positive leader helps create better working relationships among employees, motivates people to do their best work, improves customer service, and increases discretionary effort within the 9 to 5 workday. Another reason positive leadership is important; it’s good for personal and family lives.

You can choose to be negative and become a drain on your workplace and community. Or, you can live a positive life and take responsibility for your people at work.

I’m talking about a genuine, caring and positive outlook. Faking it doesn’t work.

Positive work environments outperform their competition. A positive work environment equals positive financial results.

Regularly change your oil at work.