How to Stay Human When Leadership Pressures Rise
Leadership can stretch us in ways few job descriptions capture. Deadlines, decision-making, and the invisible responsibility to “hold it all together” can feel relentless. And when leadership pressures rise, it doesn’t stay contained. Research shows that leaders’ stress affects team wellbeing, engagement, and even performance.
A few years ago, I noticed those pressures in myself.
My thoughts were racing, my breathing was shallow, and my tone had started to turn snippy. I’d previously been on the receiving end of managers who didn’t notice how their stress impacted the team, and I was determined not to repeat that pattern. So I stepped outside, found a quiet spot, and just started to breathe.
Research shows that even short, intentional pauses and physiological resets can improve cognitive flexibility, reduce reactivity, and restore clarity, allowing leaders to act rather than react.
“Leaders’ emotions shape team performance: emotional leadership predicts higher job performance through contagion of positive emotions.”
Why Leadership Pressures and Mental Health Are Inseparable
The human side of leadership matters not only for your well-being but also for your team’s performance.
Studies on workplace mental health consistently highlight that depression, anxiety, and stress are leading causes of lost working days globally. In the UK alone, hundreds of thousands of workers report work-related stress, depression, or anxiety each year, resulting in millions of lost days.
Poor leadership behaviour is a significant contributor to this impact. You can learn more in this blog on mental health in the workplace.
When leaders fail to manage leadership pressures, the consequences ripple through the team, affecting engagement, trust, and productivity.
“Supervisor incivility increases work–family conflict, showing how a leader’s rudeness can spill beyond work into employees’ home lives.”
Research also highlights emotional contagion: employees mirror the emotions and stress levels of leaders.
A leader’s defensive or curt response can quickly become a team norm, reducing psychological safety and undermining trust. Conversely, leaders who intentionally regulate themselves create a stabilising influence, supporting both mental health and performance.
And sadly, team members refuse to call this behaviour out for fear of putting their head above the parapet and committing professional suicide. This fear results in further permission for the leader to continue with their unacceptable tone and behaviour. It becomes a lose-lose situation for all. Psychological safety erodes, and people stay quiet because they feel trust diminish and fear grow.
“Psychological safety allows teams to speak up, take risks and learn from mistakes - and it correlates strongly with higher team performance.””
The Human Cost of Leadership Pressure on Teams
Leaders often underestimate how leadership pressures show up in everyday interactions.
Studies show that low-level rudeness from supervisors and managers increases work-family conflict, causes emotional exhaustion, and lowers engagement. Teams exposed to incivility are more likely to make mistakes, withdraw from participation, and disengage from innovation.
The impact is measurable and cumulative.
I have personally seen these dynamics. When I notice my tone hardening, I understand that it affects not only the task at hand but also how safe my team feels to speak up, challenge ideas, or admit mistakes. I remember how a terrible boss of mine in my early career became the focus of conversation at home. My resilience levels were rock bottom, and it eroded away at my wellbeing, my family life and my energy. It was all-consuming.
When you notice your behaviours changing due to raised leadership pressures, recognising this is the first step toward maintaining a harmonious, positive environment. Otherwise, it may be too late. It’s up to you as the leader to be very self-aware and to own your leadership for the sake of the wider team (and yourself).
How Human-Centred Leadership Protects Team Wellbeing
Human-centred leadership is not about performing “niceness”; it is about being effective, self-aware, and intentional.
Research on psychological safety shows that teams perform better when members feel safe to take interpersonal risks - to ask questions, suggest new ideas, and speak openly without fear of reprimand.
And here’s the key. Leaders set the tone.
It’s crucial to develop some micro leadership behaviours that will help you ‘save the day’ before you respond in an unregulated way that could damage the trust of your team. Those behaviours are as simple as pausing before responding, acknowledging your emotions, and repairing missteps by apologising for your tone/ actions/ behaviour. They’re the honourable, right thing to do, which requires great self-awareness and great self-leadership too. They show your vulnerability and your humanness, and are such important leadership skills to have.
“Short breaks (under 10 minutes) significantly reduce fatigue and increase vigour, helping leaders and teams recover more effectively.”
Small, practical resets help leaders model self-regulation. A two-minute outdoor pause, slow exhalation breathing, or a tactile grounding technique - like the fingertip-hold method I tried recently - are all backed by evidence showing measurable reductions in stress, improved attention, and clearer decision-making.
“Small breaks have been shown in workplace studies to lower heart rate, reduce stress, and reset cognitive focus.”
Small Self-Regulation Practices That Change Impact
Step away briefly. Even a minute outside or in a quiet space lowers stimulation and helps the nervous system recover.
Slow your breath. Long exhalations stimulate the parasympathetic system, counteracting fight-or-flight responses and enhancing clarity.
Use embodied anchors. Tactile techniques, like holding a finger for a few breaths, interrupt stress cycles and provide space to respond rather than react.
Reconnect with values. Asking yourself, “Who do I want to be in this moment?” helps align behaviour with intention.
Repair quickly if you slip. Sincere, timely acknowledgement of a sharp word or curt tone restores trust faster than avoidance, e.g, “I’m sorry — that came out sharper than I intended. Let me try again.”
These small practices are simple but scale to create ripple effects: psychologically safe teams, less stress contagion, better engagement, and higher productivity.
Building Sustainable Leadership Habits That Support Everyone’s Mental Health
By integrating brief, intentional resets into your day, you protect not only your own mental health but also your team’s.
Leaders who practise self-regulation reduce the risk of burnout, improve decision-making, and maintain presence with their teams. Evidence shows that workplaces with psychologically safe climates see higher engagement, lower turnover, and improved organisational outcomes.
This is why human-centred leadership is not soft - it is strategic.
What Leaders Gain From Staying Human
When you stay human in leadership:
Your team feels safer and more engaged.
Communication improves and mistakes decrease.
Innovation and learning increase.
Stress does not cascade through the team, or beyond into home-life.
You protect your own well-being and prevent burnout.
Practising human-centred leadership creates sustainable impact without overwhelm.
If you’re looking for guided practices to embed these habits, then I’ve got just the thing for you:
Meditation Moments: Short guided audio practices to reset and regain clarity in real time.
Leadership SOS 90-Minute Coaching Session: A deep dive to restore clarity, manage stress, and lead intentionally under pressure.
Staying human is not indulgent - it’s evidence-based leadership that protects both people and performance.
By prioritising self-awareness, psychological safety, and practical reset habits, leaders can meet leadership pressures head-on and maintain sustainable impact.
If you’re not sure where to begin, or would like some support to change your leadership habits or mindset, then please take the opportunity to engage in a free discovery call to see how I can support you and your team to be better.
References
(5) Blog - Focused Solutions - The Science and Wellness Benefits of Microbreaks, Janet Lamb, 24 June 2025