It’s a common feeling that business leaders need to make sacrifices to get to the top. For many, this involves spending long hours at work, often alone in an office.
While this can have great benefits for a business, the side effect is that CEOs and other bosses spend less time with their partners, with their families and with their friends.
If you’re starting to feel isolated, know that you’re not alone and there are ways to improve things.
Why do business leaders get lonely?
Loneliness
is a subjective term, but it is often felt most by those who work
alone. From small business owners to the heads of multinational
corporations, it’s often the person at the top who feels the most
isolated.
While staff members often have teams or colleagues
they can share common issues and challenges with, those at the top can
feel like they have no peers to bounce ideas off or talk to about
problems.
How many business leaders feel lonely?
According to a study done by the Harvard Business Review, half of the CEOs they questioned felt lonely. What’s more, three-fifths of them thought that their loneliness had a negative impact on their performance.
How do you feel less lonely?
Once you’ve started to have feelings of loneliness, it can be difficult to get back on track and to feel included.
Three options that can help greatly include:
1. Improve your work-life balance
While you may feel that you need to slave away to run a successful business, it can be beneficial to decrease your work hours and focus on what makes you happy. Spending more time with friends and family can improve your mental health, which can lead to you being more productive and happier at work.
2. Get a coach or mentor
When
you’re a team of one, it can be hard to find someone to talk to about
work problems. Some bosses don’t like to speak to their employees about
these issues, as they feel it makes them look weak or can cause workers
to lose confidence in the business. Other times, there’s simply no one
with the qualifications to help.
By signing up to get a coach or
mentor, you can speak to someone closer to your business level who has
experience helping people in your situation. This can help to remove the
issues that are contributing to your loneliness.
3. Network more
Sometimes, the help and the inclusion you need comes from people in similar situations. By attending networking events, you can meet other business leaders who can support you in times of need.
Groups such as M Business Club are filled with people who you can learn from and create an instant connection with, allowing you to banish the isolation blues.
Find out more about M Business Club
M Business Club offers support to all its Members. Click here to learn more and consider how improving the average of the people you network and spend time with will offer you the benefits mentioned above (and many more).
