Embracing Anxiety as a Leadership Strength
The first Wise and Zeal book club of 2025 focused on Morra Aarons-Mele’s ‘The Anxious Achiever’. It was also the first book club meeting we opened up to guests, and we’re so delighted we did.
The book club discussion was lively, as was our related conversation about anxiety’s role in the workplace. Overall feedback was that the book was an invaluable eye-opener in positioning anxiety as a strength, rather than a weakness. As conversations around mental health in professional settings gain momentum again, with work/life balance reconsidered alongside new return to office (RTO) mandates, we agreed the perspective shared in the book, and during the discussion, were timely.
Given the passionate opinions and interest around the subject of anxiety, we thought it may be useful to share some of the key insights our group discussion touched upon:
Anxiety as an Asset
Anxiety has traditionally been seen as something to be managed or hidden. We celebrated the fact that The Anxious Achiever flips this perspective and presents anxiety as a potential strength. Our book club participants noted that anxiety-driven traits like empathy lead to a heightened awareness of how others are feeling, creating stronger, more supportive teams in the longer term. The potential downsides, such as overthinking and perfectionism, were also acknowledged.
Self-Awareness is Strength
For some, the book had helped to recognise personal anxious behaviours. This self-awareness was discussed as being a critical first step in proactively managing personal anxiety by way of recognising triggers and adopting personal coping mechanisms without apology.
Identifying anxiety manifesting in physical symptoms, such as a racing heart, and addressing them before they escalated was considered key. Such self-assessment processes were highlighted by some of the group as having been transformative in managing daily stress levels.
Creating Mental Health-Friendly Workplaces
With working environments at the forefront of our minds, the discussion moved to look at the growing importance of how workplaces support mental health. The question “What role do leaders play in fostering these environments?” encouraged a number of positive contributions.
Understanding individual needs was considered crucial, as what works for one might not work for another. It was felt that leaders must be open to tailoring their approach in how they support anxious colleagues. Experiences of working with bosses who intuitively understood and minimised stress triggers, were compared with past leadership teams who had ‘completely missed the mark’ or who had simply introduced positive mental-health policies as a tick-box exercise rather than genuinely believing they were needed, and of value. Empathy and open communication were also cited as fundamental.
We also took some time to reflect on the shift in workplace culture – contrasting the silence around mental health in past years with the levels of openness and acceptance we appear to be experiencing today. It was noted however that progress (any is of course positive) is still somewhat slow, and certain industries still carry significant stigma around the subject.
Managing Anxiety in High-Stress Situations
One of the more passionate topics was maintaining healthy coping strategies during busy periods, when facing tight deadlines or coping with a work crisis. Interestingly, an example of being “too good” at coping was also shared —a habit shaped by past professional environments that had rewarded overworking and long hours. The solution, learning to speak up sooner when noticing the slow creep of overwhelm, and to be aware of delegating or leaning on team members, were disciplines that still required a regular reminder.
Taking moments of mindfulness that allow individuals to recharge and refocus without sacrificing productivity were also debated and techniques were shared. The value in doing this was abundantly clear.
Challenging Harmful Perceptions of Anxiety
A recurring theme was the importance of continuing to break down the stigma around anxiety. Normalising conversations about mental health and openly challenging harmful stereotypes were examples of change that the participants were already very active in.
One contributor highlighted the importance of setting boundaries and feeling confident to communicate them. Modelling healthy behaviours such as this was said to help individuals not only improve their own well-being but had the additional benefit of also subtly encouraging others to do the same.
Another talked about their learnings; that an increasingly valuable insight had come in appreciating that the anxieties of others can often alleviate your own. Pre-emptively addressing a colleague’s concerns can indeed reduce your own stressors, whilst displaying empathy and encouraging proactive upfront communication creates a ripple effect of calm.
Practical Strategies for Leaders and Teams
Ultimately, the group agreed that business leaders play a vital role in cultivating supportive environments. Strategies discussed included:
- Encouraging open conversations about mental health.
- Creating an empathetic environment, to avoid creating a ‘tick box’ one.
- Providing flexible work options to accommodate different needs.
- Leading by example by setting boundaries and taking breaks.
- Offering tailored support based on individual triggers and preferences.
Final Thoughts
The Anxious Achiever encourages readers to “learn to love your anxious self” and the crux of the book’s central message – anxiety isn’t inherently negative – got a metaphorical cheer from the group. By understanding and embracing it, we can unlock new strengths in ourselves, and others, and enjoy the results both personally and professionally.
We closed this book club meeting on a hopeful note – that small, consistent steps, taken individually and all together, will help create workplaces that truly appreciate the importance of positive mental health.
If you’re interested in becoming part of the conversation, please register for our next book club: Wise & Zeal Business Book Club: and we’ll send you the joining details.
Date: 3rd April 12:15 GMT
We’ll be discussing “Ganbette! : The Japanese Art of Always Moving Forward” by Albert Liebermann.
