Successfully managing stress for strategic high performance

Hello Reader

"Dad, I’m going to leave the legal profession."

We were walking through the forest, leaves crunching underfoot.

My palms were sweaty, my voice shaky - but the moment I said the words, I could finally breathe again.

No rant. No disappointment. Just understanding from my dad.

And that’s when it hit me - this wasn’t just my story.

It was the story of so many others in law.

70% of lawyers will experience burnout at some stage of their career.

And burnout doesn’t just cost people - it costs organisations:

~ Lost fee income

~ Rising risk

~ Cultural instability

And behind those figures are real people, like I was:

~ Confidence knocked

~ Self-esteem diminished

~ Mental fitness drained

That’s the hidden cost of unrelenting pace and invisible pressure of high performance and stress that's not successfully managed.

The opposite of what we are all striving for, surely? - High performance that's healthy and we can sustain.

As HR and People Leaders, we see it every day - and we know the answer isn’t more firefighting.

It’s strategic stress management.

That’s why I created the Elite Leadership Programme and the StressLess Academy - giving leaders and individuals the tools and frameworks to:

~ Spot issues and make changes before crisis point (when our ROI is highest)

~ Strengthen resilience and performance

~ Confidently create high performance that’s healthy, sustainable, and measurable

So this week, to honour National Stress Awareness Day, with the theme “Optimising Employee Wellbeing through Strategic Stress Management,” let’s move from awareness to action.

Because when we manage stress well, we don’t just protect wellbeing - we protect performance.

If you’d like to explore what that could look like in your organisation - from a one hour webinar to a full 9 month programme or simply one-to-one - hit reply and say "hi"

If you’re not ready quite yet, save this email if you’re reviewing your firm’s stress management strategy this quarter.

With warmth,

Vikki x

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