Mental Health Awareness Week

This week’s theme is community. But once again, there is a group being overlooked.Leaders.

The people at the top are often expected to have the answers, carry the weight, fix the mess, and stay strong while doing it. They are praised for resilience and strategic thinking but rarely asked how they are coping.

The assumption is simple. They can handle it.

But let’s be honest. Many cannot. Not without support. Not without cost. Not without it spilling over into their health, their relationships, and their sense of self.

The reality for UK business leaders

Recent data paints a stark picture:

• 69% of UK C-suite executives report experiencing work-related stress. Over half face burnout or exhaustion (Mental Health in the UK, Wikipedia)

• 72% of executives have experienced depression, and 34% have faced severe depression

• 51% of business owners have lost sleep due to stress, and 47% say work is bleeding into home life (Startups Magazine)

  
  

This is not just the cost of leadership. It is the cost of a system that treats leaders as separate. As somehow beyond the need for support.

At wavemind, we work with founders and directors who arrive feeling overwhelmed, disconnected or stuck. They are keeping things going for everyone else, but underneath the surface they are exhausted. Some feel like frauds. Some are close to burnout. All of them are carrying more than they should.

It is not supposed to be like this

The idea that leadership must be lonely is outdated. The best teams do not rely on one person to hold everything together. They share ownership. They challenge and support each other. They have structure. They talk. They ask hard questions before things go wrong.

What we see too often are cultures that rely on the MD or founder to be the only one with answers. That is not leadership. That is co-dependence.

If your team needs you to solve every problem, then you do not have a team. You have followers.

The leadership myth we need to kill

We must stop celebrating the heroic, self-sacrificing leader who powers through everything alone. That person will either burn out or check out.

Strong leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room. It is about knowing when to step forward and when to let others lead. It is about creating an environment where challenge and support go both ways. It is about taking care of your own mental health as seriously as you take care of the business.

Leadership should not cost you your health

In 2022 and 2023, 875,000 UK workers reported stress, depression or anxiety caused or made worse by work. That resulted in 17.1 million days lost (Mental Health Foundation).

When leaders are suffering, the impact runs deep. It affects decisions, culture, communication and results. If the leader is running on empty, the team will feel it.

Time to lead differently

At wavemind, we are calling time on the myth of the bulletproof leader. Leadership should be fulfilling. It should challenge you, not break you. You should not have to sacrifice your health, your family or your peace of mind to succeed.

If you are a leader and you are feeling the strain, you are not alone. You do not have to stay stuck in this cycle.There is another way to lead. A healthier way. A more human one.

We are here to help you find it.