Many of us face headwinds to keep up with our jobs, not to mention being the best version of a leader that we can be.
Yet, some executives look smart, energetic and efficient. How can they manage to be their best professional self while keeping their personal life in balance?
The high achievers might be doing things differently from the majority of us. They say that managing mental well-being, understanding emotional self and having a decent amount of discipline go a long way.
In a wide-ranging discussion, executives from three of Myanmar’s leading companies shared their approach to mental well-being, emotional hygiene, and leadership at a time when all are facing pressing challenges.
Mental Wellness
Executives might be prone to pressure and stress but they must be well aware of the need to manage their state of emotion. In an effort to take control of mental well-being, a simple, yet important step is to be aware of your state of mind and the external sources that are affecting it before considering how to react (to external shock), according to Phyo Thet Khine, Group Head of IT, Yoma Group.
When Phyo used to encounter stress, he would remind himself about matters that could be under his control and those that are not. He also takes at least half an hour of meditation a week to get his mental state under control.
As a cure for burnout, he re-energises by reminding himself of the leadership role that he takes and therefore, his duty to advance in the face of challenges. Giving a helping hand to his team members is a cure for burnout, said Phyo.
For Minn Htet Khine, General Manager at KFC Myanmar, he wants to make sure that whoever has interacted with him receives positive energy. For this to happen, he is most aware that he, most of the time, if not all the time, needs to be in a state of complete mental and physical well-being. “Only if we are at our best selves, both physically and mentally, we would be in a position to help others,” said Minn.
Minn makes sure to listen to the early signs that warn him about possible burnout, which normally results from an energy drain after putting in too much effort at work. That is a time when he understands the need to be back on track with his exercise and get much sleep.
For Hsu Sint Sint Yee, Co-founder at Gravity Science Myanmar, she prefers to be disciplined about her daily schedules and adheres to following a routine of not missing morning exercises and her breakfast. She is part of the network of people who have hobbies of cycling and running, which helps her with her physical and mental wellbeing, she said.
According to the experience of Eaint Chu Moe Myint, Counsellor at Counselling Corner, many of the cases of her clients who sought support through her counselling services were about overworking and breakdown. In such cases, it tends to be difficult for the counselee to get back on track with the person’s normal routines. An option would be to start again as a new person and a fresh identity, she said.
Sources for Energy
When you are leading 2200 team members, and have about 10,000 family members depending on them, your team members inevitably become a source of motivation. This is happening with Minn at KFC Myanmar. “I have my own vision statement — to live a meaningful life by using the platform that I possess to create possible change,” said Minn. The same applies to KFC’s intentions on customer experience. “Customers might have a negative mood but once they step into our restaurant, they should feel a positive energy even if it is momentary. They should have a really good experience having a fried chicken,” said Minn.
Advice from Ray Yee Latt Aye, chair of MPE&VCA is about setting your professional standards, “You need to set your professional standards and you will be successful in your field.”
Emotional management
When working and communicating with your team in a corporate setting, understanding and assessing the emotional self is important. For team leads like Phyo, consideration of these factors are useful when communicating with colleagues of different personalities and upbringings. If you are aware of your emotional self in the first place, it allows you to be more considerate about your responses, said Phyo.
At a time of uncertainty due to constraints associated with economic and political uncertainty, leaders like Phyo emphasise trust building with colleagues. He also makes sure to be well-prepared on occasions when interacting with members of his sizable team.
“When you are leading a large team (in hundreds), you might not remember each of their names but they recognise your mood. Therefore, it is important to be aware of yourself,” said Phyo.
“At Yoma, we used to organise our town hall on a weekly basis,” he said. A lack of motivation and energy is not an option for Phyo. “Even if you are exhausted, there is a need to put energy into a particular job and be prepared,” he said.
He said at times when dealing with staff who display impolite behaviour, he takes additional effort to come up with the most appropriate response.
At times leaders might want to analyse motivations when communicating with team members. Looking through the lens of “purpose” and “achieving effectiveness,” leaders could ensure team members understand and move forward to achieve the goals, said Minn.
In cases when one is engaged in a verbal conflict with a colleague, normally both parties could immediately be judgmental of each other for their behaviour. Minn shared his thoughts: the reason for interacting in a heightened situation can be attributed to a combination of “behaviour”, “intent” and “personality” of the people involved. If the breakdown is thought about, a constructive conversation could be further developed and potentially resolve the conflict. “You can point out your observation by saying, ‘I know you want the best for the organisation. However, in getting to the objective, due to your behaviour, there appears an impact as such.’ Based on my experience, when you highlight it in such a way, most people accept it. You can have a discussion which allows both parties to walk through matters that need clarification,” said Minn. Such a way of critically thinking will get you to a better state of understanding, he said.
A tip for building trust with team members as part of energy management is to clearly identify your motivation for a particular project to prevent potential causes for burnouts due to energy drain, he shared.
Handling a conflict
Minn said the important role of leadership comes into play when considering conflict resolution. Leaders need to make clear that everyone understands the organisation’s culture, common goal and governance that defines the organisation’s consensus decision-making, he said.
Minn highlighted one approach to handling a work conflict in a heightened situation when team members have different viewpoints on a subject:
—The team participates in an open discussion taking into account the pros and cons
—Inform the team members that the team is doing its best to draw a decision based on the data and information at hand
—If a selection is made from a number of options after brainstorming, the team needs to understand that all need to fully support the final decision.
—If the decision resulted in a wrong choice, reflect on what went wrong and consider how to continue and any necessary adaptations for continuation.
“A leader plays a very important role in this case. If a leader fails to handle as such proactively, the environment could become toxic,” said Minn. Toxic, due to the lack of communication and not fully understanding the reasoning behind the decision made, which could lead to some team members not being interested to give full support or even causing the project to be unsuccessful.
Minn highly recommends having a clear vision about the goals in life and only then there will be motivation and energy that acts as a driving force.
A book recommendation from Minn: How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton M. Christensen.
“If you have a life mission early in life, you can spend your resources accordingly,” said Minn.