WHO LOOKS AFTER THE BOSS?

We need to talk about leaders' well-being!

Being a leader is fantastic – most of the time. But the many changes, expectations and emotional demands can also sometimes feel overwhelming when the leader is there in the middle of it all, trying to manage both well-being and results. That creates a high-risk work environment, which can put the leader’s well-being at risk.

Leaders and managers, like anyone else, can come under strain. When their work environment and well-being are under pressure, vast reserves of energy and drive are drained away. This affects the organisation’s results, and it affects lives – both the leaders’ own and those of their employees.

Drawing on research and many years of practical and professional leadership experience, the two authors of WHO LOOKS AFTER THE BOSS? provide a language and a direction for working with leaders’ well-being. They argue that the key to leader well-being does not lie with the individual leader alone, but in strategic prevention and the involvement of multiple actors. Leaders’ well-being is not simply about an individual leader’s busyness and workload; it is a shared responsibility. The conditions for well-being, satisfaction and engagement in the leadership role must be created collectively and across the organisation.

About the authors:
Louise Dinesen is a business and crisis psychologist specialising in high-risk contexts, organisational preparedness, and preventive practices. Louise is the founder of Dinesen & You and Better Worklife.

Lill Palmblad is a business psychologist specialising in psychosocial work environment, leadership, and leader well-being. She is the founder of Palmblad Business Psychology and Better Worklife.