As a CEO you must make many decisions and be responsible for your company’s success. You are the face of the company, so people look to you when things go right (and wrong).
It can feel like there is no end to the media pressure and that every move is intensely scrutinized. Things get even more intense if your company is public.
Here are the best tips for dealing with the constant pressure and media focus.
Manage Your Stress Level
The most important thing to do under any circumstances is to take care of yourself so that you don’t get overwhelmed by stress. If your body feels stressed out, it will keep reacting to things in a stressed way – even when those things aren’t stressful at all!
So make time for exercise, meditation, watching comedies, going out with friends, or whatever helps you feel calm and centered. Laughing really helps as well since our bodies react differently to “laughter” than they do to regular emotions like fear and anxiety.
In fact, researchers have found that people who spend time watching comedies on television live longer.
Be In Charge Of The Narrative
You have had a lot of experience in your life, more than most people, and you are the expert in your business. Use that expertise to craft a story or narrative around what is going on at your company – from why it exists to what makes it special.
You can get advice on this from an editor or public relations professional (PR expert) if you choose, but be sure you own the narrative and are comfortable with how it frames things.
Do not lie, obviously – but make sure you put your best foot forward so that the story focuses on good things about your company and its impact rather than on negative factors like competition or mistakes you may have made.
Invest in PR Professionals
In addition to keeping media pressure off of yourself by controlling the narrative, PR professionals can also act as a buffer between you and the media. This is especially helpful if you are not very outgoing, which many CEOs are not!
These professionals will help you craft your message on important topics and communicate with reporters/interviewers so that they focus on the right things.
They can also set up interviews for you so that you don’t feel forced to do them but have time to prepare yourself rather than feeling put on the spot because of an impromptu interview request.
Don’t Obsess Over The Stock Price
Even though it is usually public companies that attract most of the media attention, private company CEOs often get just as much pressure from investors – particularly those looking for quick fixes! As a CEO, you have to remember that your job is to build the company for long-term success, and this means building a good product/service, creating jobs (or value in other ways), and contributing to society in a positive way. Wall Street will judge your performance at some point – but it should not be the only measure of whether or not you are doing well.
Be Yourself
If you are an extrovert with a lot of energy who loves media attention – great! If you are more introverted and prefer time alone or with close friends – fantastic!
Either way, try to be as true to yourself as possible so that people can relate to what you do rather than thinking “I could never do something like that” or “that guy is a fraud.”
It will also be easier for you to do what you need and want if you aren’t trying to put on some facade of who you think people want or expect you to be.
Take Care Of Your Health
Our bodies are built for survival, so they can handle many stressful situations with no ill effects at all – but putting yourself under constant pressure usually leads to physical problems down the road!
So make sure that you drink enough water every day (at least eight glasses), eat healthy foods, exercise regularly (your body needs it!), take time out for yourself daily, and get plenty of sleep at night. Try these options: Yoga, martial arts, massages, acupuncture, and meditation.
Meditation helps a lot and can be done wherever you have a few minutes – particularly focused breathing or counting your inhalations and exhalations.
In addition, try to find at least one person you can talk with about your day and any tension you are feeling – it can be a family member, friend, or professional counselor.
Use Imagery To Avoid Anxiety
You might have noticed in the previous tip that we mention meditation as something useful for taking care of yourself.
This is because meditation involves imagining what you want to happen and then closing your eyes and seeing this image without reacting negatively if things do not go exactly according to plan.
It sounds silly, but studies have shown that people who practice meditation regularly actually react less strongly than others when things don’t go their way!
For example, rather than feeling stress over an upcoming interview or speech (or whatever), visualizing yourself doing well and enjoying the interview/speech beforehand and then reacting calmly if there are problems will help you feel less pressure in a real-life situation.
Meditation also works really well for stress and trauma, so if you ever go through something traumatic it might be useful to try it out.
Do things that give you energy
As mentioned before, your body is conditioned to survive difficult situations by releasing adrenaline and other stress hormones when you are anxious or afraid, this can lead to a lack of sleep – which in turn causes even more problems!
So do what gives you energy – whether that is dancing, playing sports, or spending time with others who make your day awesome.
If you have no idea what really energizes you personally, start writing about how you feel each day and what you are doing – this can help you figure out if there is a pattern or trigger that may be leading to those feelings.
Zoom Out
You might find it helpful to write down your big priorities on a piece of paper each morning after breakfast and tape it up somewhere where you will see it often throughout the day (or week).
It will help remind you why you do what you do and not get overwhelmed by any problems that arise. We also recommend keeping a gratitude journal, which helps remind us of all the good things in life we just take for granted.
Take breaks when needed! Being stressed all the time isn’t good for anyone, so make sure to take “mental health days” when you need them. Even if this means going somewhere alone by yourself – just disconnecting from your routine and focusing on doing something fun for a day can really help!
Remember – it’s ok to not be ok. If problems arise, don’t make things harder on yourself or others by trying to pretend that everything is fine.
Take time to acknowledge what’s happened, sort it out with someone you trust (not the internet!) and then move forward with your life.
If people try to make you feel bad about it afterward, remember that they are letting their own issues get in the way of what should be a productive relationship for both parties.
