Mental health is essential, especially when accomplishing specific goals and targets. The sole responsibility of ensuring motivation and enthusiasm in our team lies on the shoulders of the leader. He not only has the responsibility to get a well-put-together team but also has to ensure the team is always on top-level motivation. Only the team members with optimal mental health can showcase exceptional performance. Hence, psychologists must maintain their team’s motivation under the leadership.
In this article, we shall discuss leadership‘s role in promoting mental health among teams. I need it again, bro, to actively ensure a team’s top-notch performance by keeping its motivation high.
Defining A Leader And His Role In A Team
A leader is the person who heads a team, guides, and inspires the team members. He is responsible for ensuring the members’ optimum performance and achieving goals and objectives. He has to set a vision, support his team, and make decisions promptly to ensure success.
In today’s world, leaders are not limited to professional boundaries. Instead, they step ahead and make personal connections with their team members. They connect with them and try to understand their personalities. This way, they can delegate tasks according to each individual’s personality, capabilities, and skill set.
Provides Awareness Regarding Mental Health
First things first, the members of a team need to be well aware of their mental state before they go to work. They must realise they’re unfit for work if they feel distressed or sad for a long period. It is imperative that they can distinguish between regular sadness and depression. Only when they can recognise the signs of mental health deterioration, only then will they be able to deal with it promptly.
Discussing the issue with the leader is necessary for the team member to get compassionate support. Even if a team member dealing with some mental health issues doesn’t come out with such a discussion, the team leader must be vigilant enough to spot the presence of such problems. If he sees someone with exceptional skills showcasing a consistent lack of interest in work and low performance, he must take action and examine it properly.
Provides A Comforting Environment
The culture or environment in which the team works plays a major role in deciding whether it will be productive or not. A work environment that lacks collaboration and mutual respect, showcases a culture of negativity, and fosters distrust rather than teamwork is a tough one to deal with. It makes it impossible for the team members to showcase their talent and be productive.
A team leader is also responsible for building trust and creating a supportive work environment. He must provide his team members with the much-needed flexibility to achieve an adequate work-life balance. He should create an environment where the team members feel safe expressing their thoughts. Also, fixed boundaries must be established so no one says anything that affects a team member’s mental health.
A comforting environment is free from all kinds of taboos, especially those associated with mental health. If someone comes up with a mental health issue, all the team members must acknowledge it and support with empathy. Normalizing the process of seeking psychological help promotes a healthy environment and reduces the chances of burnout.
Identifies Potential Problems
A leader has to be proactive rather than reactive. He has to keep his eyes open at all times. If he realizes a team member is showing different behavior than usual, he has to step up and discuss it with him. A proactive leader finds solutions to problems before they even arise. Through his supportive behavior, he enables the team members to discuss issues affecting their performance. Open communication is the key to timely solutions.
A team leader should take seriously all the signs of low energy, change of behavior, withdrawal symptoms, and avoidance of social gatherings. By recognizing the signs of distress in team members promptly, he can address the problem before it worsens. In such situations, he should provide a judgment-free environment for the employees to ensure they can freely pour their hearts out to him.
Lay Out A Mental Health Awareness Program
In the Pakistani society, where issues associated with mental health have stubborn taboos attached to them, talking about mental health well-being is a massive step in itself. Team leaders must organize regular mental health awareness programs, including various workshops and seminars to let the team members speak up! These sessions allow them to assess their mental health and learn ways through which they can cope with their psychological problems.
A well-laid-out program to raise team members’ awareness of mental health and well-being would make the employees feel valued. They would be much more motivated to showcase exemplary performance. Also, it would boost their loyalty to the workplace, and there would be fewer withdrawals and more teamwork!
Final Thoughts
Only the leaders who take an active approach towards ensuring the psychological well-being of the team members are successful in today’s time. They can foster a positive work environment that help in employee retention. If you are a team leader looking for ways to normalize seeking mental help, connect with SehatYab. This online platform has the best psychologists in town that provide effective awareness sessions regarding the significance of mental health wellbeing.
