It’s hard to be the one expected to motivate a team every day, even when you are dealing with your own problems. Carving out time for yourself is essential, writes HELLEN WARD

My friend Susannah is headmistress of a state school, a role with tremendous responsibilities. We were talking recently and I was asking her what she found the most challenging aspect of her job: managing the finances, finding the right staff, the parents, the curriculum, concerns about child poverty, league tables, social media and the pressures it brings to young lives, mental wellbeing among students and staff – there was a seemingly endless list of things that could send her stress levels soaring.

But the most challenging was none of the above. She told me, “It’s the fact that I bring the weather”. I asked her what she meant and her analogy stuck with me, drawing parallels for anyone who is responsible for a team of people.

“As a boss, you bring the weather. The team look upon you to create the sunshine, and sometimes you’re the one who feels drab, grey, drizzly and stormy. The desire to bring summer feels like such a responsibility when inside you feel like it’s snowing.”

Management challenges

Isn’t that true of our sector? Who motivates the motivator? Most people gauge the atmosphere of their job by what mood their boss is in, but bosses have challenges, and often don’t feel like being up-tempo. They have worries, concerns, and issues that they stress about too, even if they try not to breed a negative mindset among their team members.

My team are very sensitive to my mood, that I know. I can pretty much guarantee that if I am in my sunny mode, they will be too. And most of the time I am. But sometimes it’s hard when things feel overwhelming and you’re coping with business challenges that the staff on the salon floor are oblivious to. Being a Gemini and mercurial of nature doesn’t help; I can switch between Jekyll and Hyde in a heartbeat.

I believe that some people are here on the planet with the sole purpose to bring the glitterball to other people’s lives. People are attracted to them like moths to a flame. Spiritually, they’re called lightworkers, and many people who are leaders and managers have this impact (whether they know it or not). They instinctively know how to make things better for everyone they meet – and have an overwhelming need to heal the world. People are drawn to them for a reason they can’t put their finger on, whether in the supermarket or on the salon floor. They silently convey an assurance that everything will be OK.

“Being the one who others depend on to have all the answers all of the time can be exhausting”

Most people have to work much harder to appear in control and at ease. Regardless, being the one who others depend on to have all the answers all of the time can be exhausting. Some days, any boss will agree, just one more question is enough to make you scream (even if it’s just about what you want to do for dinner).

So, what to do? Time out is key. Finding something that makes you relax (yoga for me) and gives you precious alone time. Sometimes, I must admit, I dream of working in Sainsburys on the till – ringing a bell when I have a problem, coat on and out the door on the dot. In reality, I know that would be my idea of hell. I’m a bringer of weather – whether I like it or not.

Hellen Ward is managing director of Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa in London, one of the most profitable independent salons in the UK. She is beauty ambassador for The National Beauty Federation (NBF). Send your feedback to hellen@professionalbeauty.co.uk