Be Inspired: Why self-care is an important leadership skill

As Covid-19 consumes the industry and brings major disruption and uncertainty, UK retail chief executives have all got more going on than they can handle, more demands than they can meet and more questions about their business than answers.

So how can retail leaders navigate this challenging period while maintaining their mental health?

Practising self-care can help leaders and their workforce keep a positive headspace and maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Self-care isn’t selfish

Defined by mental health organisation the Self Care Forum as “actions individuals take for themselves, on behalf of and with others, to develop, protect, maintain and improve their health, wellbeing or wellness”, self-care is focused on taking time out to invest in the business of you.

Some critics have argued that acts of self-care are “simply acts of privilege”, yet industry professionals and researchers have highlighted the contrary opinion. Mental health charity Mind asserts that “self-care techniques can help manage symptoms of many mental health problems”.

Speaking to Retail Week, Fiona Murden, chartered psychologist and author of Defining You, says: “Self-care is often misunderstood as a nice-to-have, say the luxurious bubble bath rather than a quick shower.”

“Self-care is an awareness of knowing when to take a break so you can run faster with your business, rather than breaking because you’ve pushed yourself too hard”

Fiona Murden, chartered psychologist and author of Defining You

“Self-care is actually an essential, especially if you want to perform at your optimum and particularly in times of pressure and stress. It’s an awareness of knowing when to take a break so you can run faster with your business, rather than breaking because you’ve pushed yourself too hard.

“The CEO of a global retail organisation I spoke to last week said that it had been the most pressurised two weeks of his career. As a leader you need to be able to manage your own mental health for your own sake but also to role-model the importance to all employees and maintain your cognitive effectiveness.”

Why self-care matters

Research published by Accenture in 2019 found that nine in 10 people are now touched by mental health issues, making self-care a crucial leadership skill.

However, mental health is even more pressing in times of Covid-19, with the World Health Organization acknowledging in March 2020 that the crisis is “generating greater levels of stress and anxiety”.

Mind’s head of information Stephen Buckley says: “We know that the coronavirus and its impact are causing stress and worry for many people. If you already have a mental health problem, it’s possible that the worries of coronavirus may be affecting how you’re coping.”

According to Terry Streather, director of Oakwood Training, who has been helping retailers look after their mental health and personal safety of their staff during Covid-19: “Understanding how to practise self-care has never been so important.”

“Understanding how to practise self-care has never been so important”

Terry Streather, Oakwood Training

Here, retail chief executives share their advice on what self-care looks like to them under lockdown:

Stay connected

The UK Mental Health Organisation says that at “times of stress, we work better in company and with support” and encourages saying connected.

Beaverbrooks managing director Anna Blackburn echoes this sentiment and says “maintaining personal connections has been key” to her self-care during this period. 

“I love to be busy – normal life is usually 100 miles per hour. And as a working mum there are always other priorities that mean self-care is lower on the agenda, but in these difficult times that has all changed.

“I’m actually making more time for [personal connections] than I usually would, from daily calls with my parents through to family time via Zoom. We have a weekly ‘cocktail hour’ with my brother and family in Durham, and my parents in Cornwall (who are considered high risk).

“I love to be busy – normal life is usually 100 miles per hour. And as a working mum there are always other priorities that mean self-care is lower on the agenda, but in these difficult times that has all changed”

Anna Blackburn, Beaverbrooks

“The kids and I have also been helping out friends and acquaintances who need some extra support, with shopping, prescriptions and home-baking deliveries.

“I’ve been sharing lots of my activities across our internal Beaverbrooks networks – to stay connected and hopefully inspire others too.”

Embrace agile ways of working

Working at home. Evenings at home. Weekends at home. At this point, it can be hard to tell the difference between work hours and ‘life’ hours.

For Emma Heal, partner of beer brand Lucky Saint, work/life balance is a key component of self-care in isolation and involves keeping spirits high for both her and her team.

Heal says agile working and a commitment to new ways of working is essential: “It’s easy to work 24 hours a day at home, so to avoid burnout we’ve committed to being available during work hours only.

“This ensures no one inadvertently distracts a team mate with an odd email or Slack post while they’re unwinding away from work.

“We’re also working as agile as we can. We’ve adapted our team meetings to suit the needs of the team. For the first two weeks of lockdown, we had a daily stand-up short call for the whole team.

“It’s easy to work 24 hours a day at home, so to avoid burnout we’ve committed to being available during work hours only”

Emma Heal, Lucky Saint

“Now we have great plans in place with clear owners, so we have adapted to a trading meeting on Monday to cover performance and strategy, a deep-dive into projects on Wednesday afternoon and a social on Friday afternoon when each team member takes turns putting on a quiz.”

Leaders can also better their mental health by encouraging greater accountability among their workforce, says Heal.

“I’m giving ownership and being crystal clear about who owns which work stream. I also believe in zero turd polishing about the effects of the current trading environment … being clear and honest about the situation we are in, how it affects the business and what the vision is going forward.”

Get physical

Switching off from work under lockdown can look very different from person to person, but a common thread shared among the retail leaders we spoke to was to invest in exercise.

As founder of emerging shoe brand Air & Grace, Claire Burrows says she “initially found it difficult to switch off”.

“I miss the normal routine of coming home from the studio as a trigger to adjust my mindset. I’ve found that finishing work at an earlier hour and going for my exercise walk has helped me make that transition.”

“I miss the normal routine of coming home from the studio as a trigger to adjust my mindset. I’ve found that finishing work at an earlier hour and going for my exercise walk has helped me make that transition”

Claire Burrows, Air & Grace

Likewise, Heal has been taking time out for physical exercise: “I get up before the kids and smash out a 20-minute HIIT session as many days of the week as I can and walk before lunch when possible to clear my head. At the weekend I have as much physical play with the kids as possible – for all our mental health and wellbeing!”

And the same goes for Blackburn: “I have been keeping up religiously with my daily exercise. This helps to clear my head and maintain perspective – and will definitely drive new and better habits going forward.”

Share your ‘peak’ and ‘pit’

Self-care is closely connected to positivity, but this doesn’t mean leaders should overlook or whitewash the negatives. Burrows, for instance, believes in taking time out to acknowledge the good and the bad under lockdown.

“It’s important to get stuff off your chest, so every Thursday we share the ‘peak’ and the ‘pit’ of our week, have a giggle and offer support. It’s been helpful for our team to bond.

“It’s something we look forward to every week, and we always make sure we’ve got hair and make-up done for our Thursday drinks night to make us feel like we’re actually going out!”

Create a routine and stick to it

Streather highlights how several of his retail clients – including Next and Halfords – have been committing to a schedule as part of their self-care.

Next’s lead for health and wellbeing Claire Kershaw says: “As well as looking after everyone else’s wellbeing I realise I must follow my own advice and focus on myself too.

“While working from home I have now come up with a schedule which is kind for me and my family. With so much technology during my day I make sure I have non-screen time for at least a few hours when I finish my work purely to rest my eyes and switch off.

“As well as looking after everyone else’s wellbeing I realise I must follow my own advice and focus on myself too”

Claire Kershaw, Next

“Each day after work I head out for some daily fresh air and exercise, either alone or with my sons. Early to bed – repeat.”

Routine is also critical for Halfords group people director Michelle Burton who says: “I leave my laptop and step outside for regular breaks even if it is just for five minutes [every day].”

A version of this article was first published on March 13, 2019.