Highlights – 23 April

Close your eyes. Take a long breath. April is Stress Awareness Month. And as we’re now back at our desks following the restorative Easter break, we’re taking the opportunity to reflect on how to ensure workplace stress doesn’t creep back in – for you or your teams. 

As a starter, we’ve delved back into our archive to bring you some key tips for reducing workplace stress. 

But managing stress isn’t just about reduction; you also need to know how to react when it strikes. According to the authors of Hostage at the Table (a new book featured in this week’s newsletter), a leader’s ability to handle stress can help create greater productivity, job satisfaction and worker retention. 

Keeping it up

Stress tends to loom a lot larger when the economy and operating environment turn rocky. We recently ran a LinkedIn poll to ask the CMI community what methods they use to motivate their teams during challenging times. The clear winner: leading by example. 

In this week’s newsletter, we meet Carl Nielsen ChMC, our Chartered Management Consultant of the Month, who is a fantastic example of a leader modeling behaviours – in his case, continued learning. Carl says that becoming Chartered allowed him to reflect on his strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for personal and professional growth.

Treating people right

When it comes to motivation – and reducing stress – treating people fairly can go a long way. CMI has collaborated with the FTSE Women Leaders Review to study the link between reducing gender pay gaps and revenue in FTSE 350 firms. Companies like Rightmove and Smiths Group saw double-digit financial gains as they created greater gender balance in their leadership. 

But it’s not just about treating talented people well once they’re working for you. You have to entice them in the first place. A Daily Express article has reflected that many employers are struggling to fill roles, with candidates being “too picky”. One source of tension is demand for remote working, which remains popular among employees. The article cited CMI research that found more and more organisations are insisting people return to the office.  

Sustainable practice

Fair working practices aren’t the only thing that managers need to stay on top of. There’s also the increasing need for green skills in management. Sustainability is ripe for accidental management, and it’s becoming all the more important for leaders to bolster their natural nous with formal training. 

In response, CMI has launched its new Sustainability Leadership Qualifications. In this week’s newsletter, David Jones CMgr MCMI, CMI’s policy and innovation manager, walks us through these pioneering qualifications and how they can help you… 

Best,

Matt Roberts CMgr FCMI

Director of membership and professional development, CMI