Tools & Resources: Self-Care Checklist for Leaders
Because you can’t hold space for others if you’ve abandoned your own.
1. Check your clarity before you communicate.
Before sending that message or leading that meeting, ask: “what’s the one truth I can stand behind right now?”
If you can’t name it clearly, pause. Confusion is contagious; so is calm.
2. Practice emotional containment, not emotional perfection.
You don’t have to be fearless - you just have to model steadiness.
When you feel anxious, say: “I don’t have all the answers yet, but here’s what I do know.”
That single sentence builds more trust than pretending certainty.
3. Monitor your nervous system like you do your metrics.
Schedule decompression time around big communications moments (all-hands, RIFs, reorgs).
Notice when your body is in “broadcast” mode vs. “listening” mode.
Grounding rituals count as strategy: deep breaths, walking between meetings, drinking water, stretching before hard conversations.
4. Protect your cognitive quiet.
Block one no-decision hour per day - no Slack, no email, no meetings.
Change leadership demands perspective; you can’t find that inside your inbox.
Silence is part of your comms plan.
5. Reflect, don’t ruminate.
After a tough interaction, note three things:
What actually happened.
What story I’m telling myself about it.
What’s within my control.
Clarity is built in reflection, not in replaying conversations at 2 a.m.
6. Lean on your peer network - not just your direct reports.
Find 1–2 trusted peers or mentors who aren’t in your reporting line.
Normalize saying, “This one hit hard.”
Leaders who metabolize emotion together prevent burnout downstream.
7. Reconnect with meaning, weekly.
Revisit why the change is happening and who it serves.
Make it visible — write it on a post-it, open meetings with it, remind yourself when the noise gets loud.
Purpose is the anchor when everything else moves.
8. Ask yourself these three grounding questions:
Am I being clear or just busy?
Am I listening as much as I’m speaking?
What do I need to feel human again today?
9. Celebrate micro-moments of integrity.
When you deliver a hard message with honesty and care — pause to acknowledge it.
Leadership through change is emotional labor. Recognition is renewal.
10. Remember: containment, not control.
You can’t eliminate fear or uncertainty — but you can build containers strong enough to hold them. That’s real leadership.
Transformation is collective, but steadiness begins with you.
Arcana Communications ~ Where meaning meets change.
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