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From stress to success

Business expert Liz McKeon looks at channelling your energies effectively.

Most people don’t mind stress, as long as it’s someone else’s and they don’t have to deal with it!

Of course you know that stress impacts on your work life, but what if you could turn that stress into success? What kind of life could you then lead and what sort of salon or Spa could you build? Let’s look at the common mistakes many people make when trying to deal with stress…

You think you can do it all alone

Salon owners and managers sometimes take on too much, thinking they can cope without additional support. Perhaps you think you are saving your salon money by covering
a number of responsibilities, but in reality you could be wasting money in missed opportunities and inefficiency. Often, under stress, the one thing we become incapable of doing well is delegating work appropriately.

Better communication and prioritising objectives are therefore essential. Identifying better resource management, prioritising the workload, anticipating pressure points, delegating and monitoring progress are all important in dealing with stress.

You don’t say ‘No’

Perhaps you are one of those managers who is capable of sustaining high levels of activity over a long period of time, and it has become expected that you always perform at that pitch. Your team are unlikely to be aware of the sacrifices being made. Worse again, there may be no reward for your sacrifice – in fact, you may even have additional work dumped on you! The solution is being assertive and saying ‘no’ when the pressure is too great.

You succumb to a ‘long hours culture’ at work

In some salons, stress creates status, where stress is interpreted as accomplishment. Many salon managers put in long hours in the hope that their hard work will be noticed and rewarded, but are secretly resentful that they have to do this. Better to be productive and happy than exhausted, stressed and sick of the salon and all that goes with it.

Watch your time management – make every moment effective by being truly focused and not dividing your energies by worrying. For fast acting relief, try slowing down.

You take it out on others

Stress is no respecter of boundaries. Stress from your role within the salon will eventually affect all other elements of your life too. Try not to transfer the work pressure to those who are not part of the problem, either in or out of the salon. Work on the causes of your work-related stress, and not the symptoms.

Steps to success

1. Recognising the symptoms and understanding the causes of workplace stress are vital in preventing it becoming an issue.

2. The changing nature of work makes stress more complex, varied and quite possibly more common. It is important to acknowledge that you are stressed and act upon that knowledge quickly – draw up a plan of action and follow it.

3. Remember that you have to work at reducing stress – it won’t happen by itself! The time you devote to managing stress will be repaid by increased efficiency and enjoyment of your time, both in the salon and at home.

4. Reward yourself for your accomplishments – go out of your way to acknowledge your everyday achievements. Give yourself some little reward for doing so well at work and for doing your best on all occasions: success in your salon demands self acknowledgement. Doing all of this will transform ‘stress to success’!

Liz McKeon is a Business Consultant, Coach and Trainer, specialising in the beauty industry. For further information on upcoming seminars and programmes call 086 386 1243.