How leaders deal with stress, uncertainty and anxiety
Thirteen actionable leadership habits that help reduce anxiety when everything feels uncertain
Running a business, leading a team and always trying to make good decisions in a fast-moving world is exhausting.
Uncertainty creates a particular kind of stress. It’s not just workload - it’s the constant background noise of decisions, risks and unknown outcomes.
There have been periods where I’ve been overwhelmed, almost like waves. Sometimes you can feel it building, other times it just hits you full force in the face, out of nowhere.
That got me thinking, there are people with way more responsibilities than me, people that lead countries or multi-billion dollar companies.
How do that cope with the stress? It surely doesn’t just keep building.
Here are thirteen ideas from well-known leaders that I thought were interesting and relevant to help you refind (and maintain) focus in challenging and uncertain times:
Positive mindset
Create momentum
Reduce decision fatigue
Schedule time to think
Focus ruthlessly on what matters
Anchor stress to a bigger mission
Get used to operating under pressure
Separate signal from noise
Turn worries into written problems
Build physical resilience
Accept a baseline level of uncertainty
Build a trusted team
End the day with closure
Jump to any that interest you or feel free to comment back with anything else that you find works in your work, or life in general!
1. Practice mindful positivity and gratitude
Martin Seligman
Psychologist Martin Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology, spent decades researching what helps people remain resilient in the face of stress.
One of his most consistent findings is that deliberately focusing on positive aspects of life can significantly improve wellbeing and resilience.
This doesn’t mean ignoring problems. It means avoiding the mental trap of focusing exclusively on what is going wrong.
Practical takeaway
Create a small daily habit of noticing what is going well -
• writing down three things you’re grateful for
• acknowledging a recent win or progress
• recognising something a colleague did well
Small shifts in what you focus on can have a large impact on mental resilience.
2. Create momentum through small wins
Teresa Amabile
Harvard researcher Teresa Amabile studied what motivates people at work and discovered something surprisingly simple. The biggest driver of motivation is making progress.
Even small steps forward create momentum and improve mood and confidence, and I’ve noticed it doesn’t even need to be movement in the same area… for instance, if you’re stuck on a problem, just going for a walk is often enough to get unstuck. Any movement, any way, beats nothing.
Practical takeaway
When overwhelmed, focus on the next achievable step, not the entire problem.
Completing small actions or getting moving in other ways creates momentum, and I find that momentum helps reduces anxiety.
3. Reduce decision fatigue
Barack Obama
As President, Barack Obama had to make huge decisions every day. To protect his mental energy, he deliberately removed trivial choices from his routine - famously limiting his wardrobe to a small number of suits so he wouldn’t waste decision-making energy on small matters.
Practical takeaway
Simplify the trival stuff:
• standardise parts of your morning routine
• repeat simple meals during busy periods
• batch small decisions into weekly planning
Reducing minor choices preserves mental bandwidth for the decisions that actually matter. The challenge I’ve found is that I’m good at repeating habits and behaviours when times are challenging, but often they’re not the most healthy habits!
4. Schedule time to think
Bill Gates
Bill Gates became known for taking periodic “Think Weeks”, where he stepped away from day-to-day operations to read and reflect.
Most of us can’t disappear for a week, but the principle still applies.
Practical takeaway - block regular time purely for thinking.
Even an hour per week without meetings or emails can help you step back, reflect on the bigger picture, and gain clarity on the problems that matter most.
Clarity reduces anxiety more than constant activity, and making space for ‘non deliverable time’ becomes more important the more senior you get.
5. Focus ruthlessly on what matters
Steve Jobs
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the late 1990s, the company had dozens of confusing products. One of his first actions was to simplify everything dramatically.
He replaced complexity with a small number of clear priorities.
Practical takeaway
Each week ask yourself:
• What are the three most important things right now?
• What can safely wait?
Stress often comes from trying to move too many priorities forward at once.
6. Anchor stress to a bigger mission
Elon Musk
Elon Musk often frames challenges in terms of long-term missions rather than short-term problems - having a purpose changes how pressure feels.
Practical takeaway
When something feels overwhelming ask - what bigger goal does this challenge serve?
Connecting day-to-day problems to a meaningful mission can transform stress into motivation.
7. Get used to operating under pressure
Winston Churchill
Leadership rarely becomes easier as responsibility increases.
Over time, many experienced leaders develop what psychologists call stress inoculation - an ability to operate calmly under pressure simply because they’ve experienced it repeatedly.
Churchill led Britain through one of the most uncertain periods in history, yet maintained a steady decision-making rhythm despite constant pressure.
Practical takeaway - don’t expect stress to disappear. Instead aim to become comfortable operating with it.
Pressure becomes easier to handle when it’s familiar.
8. Separate signal from noise
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos has often emphasised the importance of focusing on meaningful signals rather than reacting to every piece of information.
Leaders are constantly exposed to noise - metrics, opinions, news, commentary. Too much input creates the illusion that everything is urgent.
Practical takeaway - create filters:
• limit news consumption
• turn off non-essential notifications
• track a small number of meaningful metrics
Reducing noise dramatically lowers mental clutter.
9. Turn worries into written problems
Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio built Bridgewater on a culture of clear thinking and structured problem-solving.
One key principle is simple: write problems down clearly rather than letting them remain vague worries.
Practical takeaway - when something is causing anxiety, write down:
1. What exactly is the problem?
2. What is the worst realistic outcome?
3. What is the next step?
Turning vague worries into defined problems often makes them far less intimidating.
10. Build physical resilience
Richard Branson
Richard Branson has often credited exercise with giving him the energy to handle the demands of running global businesses.
Physical health directly affects mental resilience.
Practical takeaway - even small amounts of daily movement help.
• walking
• cycling
• strength training
• stretching
My challenge is always waiting for everything to be ‘perfect’ before starting or doing any of this. It’s unrealistic and something I’m working on in 2026!
11. Build a trusted team
Steve Jobs
Great leaders rarely carry the burden alone.
Steve Jobs often emphasised the importance of surrounding himself with talented people he trusted to take ownership of their areas.
Leadership stress increases when every decision flows through one person.
Practical takeaway - invest time in building a small group of people you trust deeply.
Shared responsibility reduces both workload and mental pressure.
13. End the day with closure
Cal Newport
Author Cal Newport advocates a deliberate “shutdown ritual” at the end of the workday.
Without closure, the brain keeps scanning for unfinished tasks, which can maintain background stress.
Practical takeaway - daily winddown time:
1. Review what you accomplished
2. Write tomorrow’s priorities
3. Capture any loose tasks
Then mentally close the day.
This simple habit helps prevent work from following you into the evening.
Final thought
Leadership and responsibility inevitably bring pressure.
But the goal isn’t to eliminate stress completely. It’s to develop habits that help you operate effectively despite it.
Over time, those small systems make uncertainty far easier to handle.
And in a world that’s so uncertain, I think learning to deal with this is probably be the most valuable leadership skill of all.