[0:00] The holidays are upon us. And if you're a corporate leader, that just means that your really long to-do list just got longer. In this week's episode of The Happy Leader, I share some really actionable strategies that will help you decrease the stress this holiday season as a corporate leader while ensuring that you have a holiday season that you will enjoy. My very first tip is to lower expectations. Don't worry about what Mariah Carey says as she streams through your living room. And don't worry about Norman Rockwell or those Hallmark movies that we're watching. That is not realistic when you're a corporate leader. Think about the experience that you want to deliver that's going to allow you to really enjoy the people around you, as you never know when it's going to be your last or their last holiday. I also include actionable tips about how to manage staffing shortages and how to balance the festive season with also delivering on productivity. Welcome to The Happy Leader. I'm Amy Sanchez, executive coach to some of the most innovative leaders and teams in Silicon Valley. I'll share stories and tips to help you navigate the most common leadership challenges so you can amplify what matters most. Happiness.
[1:08] Music.
[1:13] We are about to embark on the holiday season where lights are all around us. Families and friends get together to feast and celebrate together. Presents and food are abundant, and there is no shortage of things to do around the house and to prepare for those gatherings on top of your already busy corporate leadership role. This episode is squarely about helping you very intentionally decrease some of the stress and expectations in this holiday season. And so as you're continuing to balance your role as a corporate leader and move into the holiday season, this is one that you can actually enjoy. So let me start with just some statistics to normalize this for you. In a recent Harvard Medical School study, 62% of people described their stress level as very or somewhat elevated during the holidays.
[2:11] Now, the media paints a very different picture. This is a year where we see Norman Rockwell paintings, we hear Mariah Carey tunes, we watch Hallmark movies that all depict this time of year as the most jolly and magical season. However, the statistic from the Harvard Medical School is a jarring reality of what actually happens during this season. But you deserve to enjoy the holiday season too. So let's talk about some very actionable tips and strategies that you can employ. So that you take some of the burden off of your plate and you are able to enjoy the holiday season. First off, let's explore why stress tends to increase during the holidays. And then we're going to talk strategies to very intentionally decrease that stress. Number one, stress.
[2:57] I don't know about you, but I know I do this. I set unrealistic expectations about what the holiday should look like for my family. This is driven by a media that represents the magic of the season, the Martha stewards of the world who are decorating their house to a T and preparing these beautiful candy canes that look like Santa Claus's. I get this really big picture of what the holidays should be in my head. And a lot of this also comes from the way I grew up. I had a mom who was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom and had a lot more time and energy to devote to creating a really magical season for us. I work full-time and I expect that same level of holiday excitement and entertainment to be delivered. And I end up making myself exhausted.
[3:50] So this is something I'm going to try this year. If this works for you too, then I invite you to join me. Instead of having these really, really high expectations of copying what we saw from our non-working moms as we grew up, instead, let's decide that we're going to lower expectations. Right now, what I know as a corporate leader you do is you plan in advance so that you can be very productive and efficient as you're delivering on projects. What if we apply that same strategy to the holidays? Set aside 30 minutes to plan ahead. During that time, just be really realistic about the experience that you can and want to deliver this holiday season while still remaining jolly and present. That is the piece that we often forget as we're prepping for the holidays. We're thinking about the family. We're thinking about the kids. We're thinking about our parents, our friends. But we often stop and think about, okay, wait a minute. If I really execute on all these plans, what kind of holiday am I going to have? Block your work calendar right now to devote some time to holiday activities. These are activities that are going to bring you joy. Perhaps online shopping brings you joy.
[5:07] Perhaps buying that cute little blow up reindeer that you've been eyeing that's on sale right now at Home Depot is going to bring you joy. Whatever that thing is that brings you joy, just have time blocked in your calendar to be realistic about, hey, this is my holiday time. Also, look for ways to outsource. Just like you would at work, this is something that you can employ for the holidays. So for example, instead of making the entire holiday meal from scratch, a really great idea is to order fresh holiday food in advance.
[5:38] There are now places that offer really nice holiday meals like Costco or your local grocery store. You can order delivery or send your partner or your teenager who's driving out to pick up the family meal, somebody who perhaps can't cook, but they still can contribute. The other thing that you can do to decrease just the amount of time and stress on your plate so you can actually enjoy the holiday season is pick just two or three presents for each of your kids and maybe start to decrease the amount of presents that you buy for your extended family. A lot of families have now moved to a secret Santa, for example. If you've got a family of 20, you choose one person to buy a gift for and everyone else chooses one person. Believe me, everyone's going to appreciate going to this approach and decrease the amount of gifts that they can buy. The other thing that you can do is hire somebody on TaskRabbit or Thumbtack to take care of some of the holiday things for you. They can help you with the wrapping. They can help you put up Christmas lights or holiday lights. They can help you decorate your house. Remember, the idea here is to outsource the things that don't bring you joy. The other thing that you can try to do is decrease.
[6:52] Decrease the amount of decorations that you put up around the house. Recruit your kids or your partner to help you for a fun day of decorating. If no one rallies to help you during this day of decoration, designate a certain amount of time that you're going to put on Bing Crosby.
[7:08] Swing around to Mariah Carey, decorate the house, and then at the end of that time, stop. Now you have just set boundaries for yourself where you know you're not going to move into that zone of regret and frustration at those around you for not helping you decorate. If after you set the clock, the timer goes off and you relieve yourself of holiday decorating, knowing that you're doing this so that resentment does not follow, if you start to feel that twinge of guilt as you're looking at your tree and you notice that there's no tinsel on it, just remember to reconnect with your intention for this holiday. It is not to create this picture-perfect holiday season that we grew up with or that we saw on TV. The goal this season is for you to enjoy and have fun and be present and create these wonderful holiday memories with your family and friends.
[8:03] We never know when a holiday is going to be our last or the last with somebody that we really, really love. So focus on that as the intent as you move into this holiday season. Another challenge as a corporate leader during the holiday season can be ensuing timelines that don't go away, even though people are taking time off and we're adding a lot of holiday parties and celebrations into the mix. This is another place where advanced planning can help. Ask employees in advance to identify times that they're going to take off for the holidays. Then ask them to look at project timelines. And if their time off coincides with important deadlines, task them with cross-training another employee on key responsibilities so someone else on the team can fill in during their absence. If you don't already do this, offer more options like remote work or flexible work hours during the holiday. This can really boost morale while also maintaining output.
[9:04] The third most common challenge for corporate leaders during the holidays is really balancing this productivity with the festive energy at work. It's a really easy time of year to get distracted. However, as a manager, you know that the team needs to deliver on productivity. There's a fine balance here between the importance of holiday celebrations for the team to increase trust, bonding, camaraderie, and overall just feeling good about being at work. But then you also have deadlines that you need to continue to hit and financial expectations that you need to meet at the end of the year. To help find the right balance, try these things. Number one.
[9:43] Try to host your holiday celebration after a major milestone, like a holiday lunch after wrapping up a big presentation. Look to incorporate fun without asking people to join in holiday celebrations and festivities when they are under a lot of pressure. Two, let enthusiastic event coordinators on your team or in your company organize a cookie exchange, but ensure they do so while still emphasizing the optional nature of the exercise. This keeps morale high without adding stress or pressure to your teammates who might not want to participate because they need to balance their time during the holidays too. Finally, be sure to take the opportunity at the end of the year to recognize the hard work that you and your team have put in. And when I make those two distinctions, I mean, actively acknowledge by saying out loud to your team how great that they did, but also take a silent moment to yourself to recognize everything that you've done this year. We often spend a lot of time thinking about what we haven't gotten done, but the key here is really to focus on what you have accomplished, because I bet if you think about it and reflect, it's been an awful lot this year.
[10:56] Whether this looks like a simple thank you during a team meeting to your team or a thoughtful gift, gratitude is going to go a long way. If you want a quick and easy way to give gifts that aren't going to be tossed in the closet, how many of us have have just stacked up on the T-shirts and the mugs?
[11:14] Try try to think of a slightly different gift this year without adding to your plate. Check out websites like Goody or Choose Your Gifts where you can pay the gift amount and your employee chooses the gifts from that price point that best suits them from a variety of options. It's really the options like those are really a win win. I'm going to put those links in my notes so you have access to those. My final tip to help you navigate the holiday season as a corporate leader while still trying to enjoy the abundance all around you is try not to deprioritize exercise during the holiday season as that's a really big helper in bringing down our stress levels and keeping our minds and bodies feeling good. Now, I say that, but let me be really honest. I know when the holiday season hits, the volume of times that I am at the gym is not nearly as high as other times of the year. There's a note of realism too, because there is just more that happens during the holidays. So the key is to try to continue to exercise, but also give yourself a little grace and a little patience. If you decided to trade your morning cardio for sleep after a late night holiday party, that's okay. So grab that holiday eggnog, choose to say no to guilt and truly enjoy this holiday season.
[12:35] Spend a little bit of time if you want to, to do some advanced planning, lower expectations and deliver the experience that's going to work for both your family, your friends, your employees, as well as you.
[12:48] I'm executive coach Amy Sanchez. It's been a pleasure to be with you today. And as always, stay happy out there. Thanks for listening to The Happy Leader. If you would like more information about me amy sanchez and our executive coaching and team leadership services at swim against the current visit swim-against.com and if you liked this podcast help others who could use the support find it by giving us a rating until next time life is short stay happy.
[13:18] Music.
