Why Emotionally Balanced Leaders Build Stronger Workplaces
- Brainz Magazine
- May 21
- 4 min read
Written by Lisa Skeffington, Psychotherapist
Lisa Skeffington is a psychotherapist and thought leader shaping the future of mental health. She is the founder of the Empowered Momentum Community and hosts coastal escapes empowering high-functioning mid-life women to authentically remove the mask they wear in their outwardly successful life; author of the book From Anxious to Empowered.
In today's fast-paced professional world, emotional stress is no longer a private issue confined to the therapist’s office. It has become a strategic workplace concern and an urgent one. The Mental Health Foundation reports that 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point in the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. In a business context, stress is more than just an individual wellbeing issue. It is a performance issue, a communication issue, and a retention issue.
When senior leaders are emotionally overloaded, it filters down. Decision-making becomes reactive. Communication becomes strained. Creativity flatlines. For high-achieving women, particularly in leadership roles, the situation is compounded by internal pressures, the need to appear calm, competent, and always in control, even when anxiety or exhaustion is quietly taking hold.
Emotional stress doesn’t stay at home
High-functioning anxiety is a term many successful women resonate with. It’s not the obvious kind of anxiety that stops someone from functioning. In fact, it often presents as over-achievement: the one who never misses a deadline, stays late, and takes on too much.
But behind the scenes, there may be racing thoughts, poor sleep, irritability, or burnout. And when emotional needs are consistently ignored, especially in high-pressure roles, the result can be disconnection from self and others.
Psychologically, stress narrows our focus. It becomes harder to zoom out, to see the bigger picture, to communicate from a place of calm intention. Leaders under emotional pressure are more likely to micromanage, misinterpret, or withdraw. Teams pick up on this... morale dips, relationships strain, and productivity suffers.
Why traditional wellbeing solutions often fall short
More companies than ever are recognising the need for workplace wellbeing. Mental health awareness campaigns, on-site mindfulness sessions, and employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are now commonplace.
But while these initiatives are a step in the right direction, many still fall short in one key area: they don’t address the underlying emotional patterns that drive stress.
One-size-fits-all solutions may offer short-term relief, but they rarely create lasting change. For sustainable emotional wellbeing, individuals (especially those in senior or emotionally demanding roles), need more personalised, reflective approaches. This is where psychodynamic understanding, and nature-based strategies, can make a significant impact.
The role of reflective time away
Evidence continues to show the benefits of stepping out of habitual environments to reset emotional balance. A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology (2023) found that individuals who spent time in natural settings reported a 21% improvement in mood and a 20% reduction in cortisol levels, the body’s primary stress hormone.
Lisa Skeffington, a consultant psychotherapist who specialises in workplace emotional resilience, argues that creating structured time away from daily pressures, not as a reward, but as a preventative tool, is crucial for leaders to maintain emotional intelligence and relational balance.
As part of her consultancy, Skeffington advocates for innovative workplace wellbeing strategies that go beyond surface-level fixes. Her model includes confidential psychodynamic mentoring, alongside nature-based ‘coastal escapes’ on the Dorset coastline; bespoke two-day breaks designed for individuals to process emotional stress quietly and effectively.
These escapes are not retreats in the traditional sense. They offer therapeutic mentoring in nature for women to attend alone, or with a partner or family member. These escapes help with emotional healing of past wounds, imposter syndrome and burnout but also crucially improve communication and deepen healthier connection. More importantly, they symbolise a growing shift in corporate thinking: that emotional health must be addressed at depth, not simply patched over with platitudes.
Innovative approaches to workplace wellbeing
Forward-thinking organisations are now exploring ways to embed deeper emotional support into their culture. Some effective practices include:
Mentoring for emotional intelligence: Providing leaders with regular access to confidential mentoring that helps them unpack personal emotional dynamics affecting their communication and leadership.
Nature-based interventions: Encouraging team days or reflective breaks in natural settings, where physiological stress responses can reset more easily than in urban environments.
Time-away strategies: Building “emotional maintenance” days into wellbeing budgets, allowing staff to access reflective, therapeutic support before they reach burnout.
Training for healthy communication: Teaching teams to recognise anxiety-based behaviours in themselves and others, and offering tools for honest, non-defensive dialogue.
These approaches move beyond checkbox culture. They demonstrate a genuine commitment to mental health that not only supports the individual but boosts team cohesion, engagement, and overall organisational performance.
A cultural shift in the making
The CIPD’s 2024 Health and Wellbeing at Work survey revealed that 67% of HR professionals believe stress-related absence is on the rise, particularly among senior staff. More significantly, 43% said their organisations are still not taking a strategic approach to mental health.
If organisations want to future-proof their workforce, emotional health must be seen as mission-critical. Not just for avoiding burnout, but for unlocking creativity, collaboration, and psychological safety in the workplace.
Ultimately, helping leaders regulate emotional stress is not just a kindness; it's a competitive advantage.
Read more from Lisa Skeffington
Lisa Skeffington, Psychotherapist
Lisa Skeffington, Psychotherapist of the Year 2024/25, is the leading light for wounded women worldwide. Her own personal story, from trauma to triumph, led her to dedicate her support to mid-life women and their families to heal their emotional wounds so that they feel enough as they are, break free from anxiety, and communicate confidently in healthy relationships. Over her 25 years in mental health, she has developed a unique psychological approach with a seamless blend of psychological therapies, which she calls psychodynamic mentoring. Based on the UK Dorset coast, Lisa runs exclusive coastal escapes and one-day events helping women to remove the mask and thrive in their lives today, without excuse or apology.
