I just took over a team of three very anxious people. They are all very valuable to the company, but I also care about them as people. Does anyone have any coaching program recommendations for me to take to help my employees overcome their anxiety?

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Spend 1:1 coaching time with them to understand where their anxiety is coming from. I think many folks are still working through mental health issues that stemmed from the pandemic. Potentially it’s the current economic market. Maybe they’re gunning for promotion.
Spending that time to better understand where they are coming from will help clarify next steps.

likehelpful

I totally agree with what others have said - some of their anxiety is likely stemming from not knowing how the team will function/function differently under new leadership. I would spend a good amount of time with them one on one and getting to know them personally to figure how you can best support them! The fact that you are concerned about this to begin with is awesome!

likehelpful

Agreed!! That's why this post caught my eye. It makes me so happy when managers want to understand and help their employees have peace of mind. 🙌🏼

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Do not schedule meetings with people like this without sharing an itinerary about what the meeting is about. If you just request a 1-1 with anxious types like this they’re immediate thoughts will go to omg what did I do wrong. Am I going to get fired?! Do they hate me?! And could potentially be totally unable to focus on work until the meeting happens.

I had a coworker like this and his anxiety would bleed out into the group and he would be taking his emergency Xanax and just be in a doom spiral for hours over mysterious, short term scheduled meetings. Nothing bad ever happened to him, but until the meeting was over he expected the worse every time.

I would also encourage them to take time off. I would also encourage you to take time off and normalize that as a part of the team dynamic. Don’t let them get burnt out because of economic/work anxiety.

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It is quite possible that they had bad experiences in the past. I agree with scheduling some 1:1s to get to know them, what management style works for each of them, gain their trust, and you'll be able to unpack where the anxiety is coming from.

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It depends on what you mean by Anxious and anxiety. Anxiety is a diagnosis that most likely can’t (and shouldn’t) be diagnosed by a manager or fixed by coaching. If you mean anxious in layman’s terms I am sure there are coaching programs. I don’t know of any, and so know that’s not helpful. Sorry for not having. A solution, but as someone who has people in my life (both professionally and personally) who have diagnosed anxiety I wanted to make a distinction. I hope you can help your team succeed!

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Fair distinction. For the record, I am diagnosed (and medicated) for generalized anxiety disorder and I interpreted it as anxious rather than the former by the context of OPs original prompt.

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Ask questions. "Tell me more about that". Also agree with the other commenter to understand if they are anxious about something specific. I am direct and empathetic and offer context for my decisions so that people understand what I do and why I do it. Share the broader goals of the organization and your team and ask them for feedback.

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Hello dear, first, congrats for your promotion !

Now, let’s talk: it’s your call and not other people’ call to handle the team’s instability in this moment. This is a new moment for them And also for you, that also maybe is feeling anxious. After all It’s a new team, all of you want to do well in this new context. I recommend time together to share vision, goals, listen their opinion, and their vision abs share yours.

You need to lead this- not a Coach. The HR can give you some tips of activities you can do with them to unlock the good vibes and switch This “anxiety” in something creative.

Good work and good luck 🍀

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With my team, we implemented 1:1 meetings called RPIs. Results, Progress, Issues. They are weekly or biweekly meetings that the employee controls they don’t need to be long 15-30mins (depending on role/project).

As a leader you receive the information and once they wrap up you ask if they need anything from you support wise or any follow up questions you may have. It’s Important to allow them to control the meetings and cadence.

helpful

As someone diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, one thing you can keep in mind is that their anxiety might not be something work related or even logical. I have a family member who doesn’t like signing legal documents. They aren’t in an executive position but this is something that causes anxiety. Ask them what you can do to help them deal with their feelings and keep in touch with them periodically to make sure their getting their emotional needs met. I also think it’s great that you are doing this as a manager. I’ve had managers in the past that were understanding that sometimes I would need to step away from my desk to regroup, but they never asked how they could help, just accommodate.

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I appreciate what other folks have shared about leading the group - another aspect to consider is that our bodies can impact one another. We regulate together. Meaning if one person is really anxious their energy can shift the group. And if you focus on being calm and present you can start to shift the group too.

There are lots of variables that play into this that I can’t guess but I wanted to mention this specifically since corporate is really only just starting to become aware we aren’t walking heads.

Good on you for caring for your people. Rooting for you 🙌🏼

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Yes, have 1 on 1s with them and be open about yourself. I recently took over what I thought was a very confident team and in the process of getting to know them all five of my female managers broke down crying in the middle of conversations with me and even some of the guys were intimidated. I thought I had good relationships with them, but the problem was they were terrified of letting me down, and because they didn’t understand that I have a balance of high expectations along with a lot of understanding for people in their situation, they were afraid to open up when they were struggling, and it made them very uneasy. After learning how understanding I can be, and that I was actually willing to help them through difficult times versus just reprimanding them for not performing at the level I wanted, my relationships with everyone of my nine direct reports got much stronger.

helpful

Not sure you need a program yet or that it would come in time. Training is not a magical cure all. Have you managed before? Have you spoken to the team and leadership about their goals and concerns?

Unpack it: Why do they have anxiety? - your first challenge. How does their anxiety impact their work - your second challenge. What will remove or lessen the anxiety - your third challenge. What motivates them to work - your fourth challenge. What does thriving look like like for them - your city challenge. Wash, rinse, and in some cases repeat. Good luck you work with humans! :)

I'm happy to chat with you about this. I know some excellent coaches. Let me know if you want to talk.

While they all may be anxious, it could be for slightly different reasons for each of them.
Meet with them individually and find out what exactly is making them anxious. Is it their change in management, workload, aggressive clients, insufficient training, personal probs, something else? Once you have that information, go from there.

Before jumping into the action of coaching or even understanding where their anxiety might stem from, you need to get a feel for their readiness to change. This is very different from a performance issue, if they’re not ready to address their anxiety then you saying or doing anything (even just trying to understand) could feel very intrusive and off-putting.

Hi I’m glad you noticed your employees, always applaud them let them know how good they do and boost the confidence and in no time the anxiousness will go away. It’s like have three grown children. Push them to do the best and your company will grow

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