2019 saw the biggest year yet in online therapy, with men and women from all walks of life and locales seeking help online for depression, anxiety, addiction, trauma, grief, and relationship challenges.
With the average cost of an in-office therapy visit running anywhere between $150 to $300 an hour, many are turning to the online therapy platform as a welcome alternative. Discreet, affordable and convenient, online therapy websites have empowered countless individuals to take control of their mental health and wellbeing; now a new generation of prospective leaders and entrepreneurs are acknowledging its benefits.
Life coaching is one of the many areas of expertise online therapy boasts, and in recent years a number of professionals in the workplace have been turning to the effective and convenient model to hone their own leadership skills.
While we like to think our work and personal lives are separate, they’re more intertwined than we realize; behavioral patterns instilled and adopted since childhood inevitably affect the way we navigate our relationships both in and outside of the workplace.
If you are in the position of boss at your own place of employment, you probably understand better than most the weight of that responsibility. How do you balance maintaining a peaceful and supportive workplace community while motivating your employees to perform at their very best? How do your own habits and ways of processing your thoughts and emotions affect those who look up to you?
Here we’ll discuss the benefits of seeking online therapy in pursuit of being the best boss possible.
1. Strengthen Your Leadership Skills
Online therapy isn’t just designed to help you target and resolve the more negative influences in your life, but strengthen the positive aspects as well. Being a good boss is akin to being a good leader; the two are essentially one and the same.
Your employees need to be able to look to you with trust and respect, no matter the circumstances, as well as follow your lead in terms of resolving conflicts among coworkers, problem solving, and confidence boosting.
We often don’t think of ourselves as leaders due to our own insecurities or previous experiences with less than stellar bosses, but the truth is we each have it in us to take on a leadership role. An online therapist can work with you to overcome self-imposed limitations, as well as adopt successful leadership methods.
2. Healthy Conflict Resolution
Conflict is unavoidable, particularly in high-stress environments. A good boss is able to diffuse tensions, settle disputes, and establish clear and healthy communication amongst coworkers.
In order to do this, however, one must be able to detect potential conflicts before they arise, and treat all concerned parties with equal regard while working towards a solution.
Online therapists frequently help patients by teaching them the right vocabulary and approaches that, when combined, ensure that peace is kept without sacrificing personal ethics.
3. Attitude + Performance: Encouraging Excellence
Think back to some of your favorite bosses and leadership figures: what about them inspired you to do your best? Did they applaud your achievements and likewise guide you through difficulties with patience and empathy? Did they make an effort to know you as an individual, and not just one of the “staff?”
As a boss you need to be able to encourage your employees to deliver at the highest standard, and enthusiastically. This means using language and practices that keep both morale and productivity high.
Sometimes we don’t realize that the approaches we take with others mimics some of the behavioral patterns we grew up with; for example, if an authority figure from your childhood used harsh words and minimal encouragement in order to get the best out of you, there’s a good chance you may be unknowingly applying similar tactics with your subordinates.
An online therapist can help you navigate such tendencies, and transform them into true leadership qualities.
4. Superior Anger Management Skills
Learning to manage your anger isn’t just crucial to workplace success, but to life in general. How we process our emotions and articulate them to others (friends, family, and coworkers) largely determines the overall quality of our existence.
A boss who can’t control their temper, is quick to take offense, or has no filter when airing their grievances will not only render themselves extremely unpopular, but in all probability incapable of getting the performance they desire out of their employees.
How we manage our anger can often be traced back to childhood teachings and the treatment we received from parental and authority figures. An online therapist can help you break unhealthy habits (and potentially dangerous) regarding your anger, and alternately adopt a healthier means of channeling your emotions into constructive outcomes.
Remember, your employees need to feel safe at work, and a boss with anger issues is a recipe for eventual ethical and legal consequences.
5. Establish The Ideal Workplace Environment
It takes time to build a successful team and workspace, with the majority of the responsibility resting squarely on the boss’s shoulders. As a leader, you set the tone for how your workplace operates, how employees perform and likewise treat one another, what they’re comfortable bringing to the table, and the confidence with which they express new and innovative ideas.
Most of us have shown up to jobs that hardly motivated us to do anything more than meet the bar, so why not be the change and much-needed inspiration so many are looking for in a boss?
In helping you strengthen and fortify your own mental health by way of resolving long-standing issues and achieving a better standard of living, an online therapist can further enable you to step into the role of a true leader.