How History's Greatest Leaders Managed Anxiety, Fear, and Depression

“Abraham Lincoln, who probably today would be diagnosed with clinical depression, came to recognize what he called the ‘moments of the hypo arriving’ (hypo was the word he used for depression). He developed ways of dealing with it: ‘who are the people in my support system?’ ‘Who will keep the razors away from me?’ when he got very, very, despairing. ‘What do I do to pick myself up and go out into the world and take a step away from the chasm of giving up?’” 

That’s my guest Nancy Koehn, Harvard Business School professor and historian, who I speak to about great leaders-- leaders like Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Winston Churchill, and Rachel Carson-- and their mental health. Nancy goes deep into the lives of history’s greatest leaders to understand why and how they became great, especially during moments of crisis.

And when I asked Nancy how many of the legendary leaders she intimately studies dealt with anxiety and depression, she said without a beat, “The vast majority.” Koehn’s work examines how leaders work from within to create global impact. She says, “with all honesty and 25 years of research, all great leaders have to deal with a real variant or a real important aspect of their own fear, confusion, and often just, you know, borderline despair.”

When leaders find themselves in pivotal moments, Koehn notes, “even if they weren't prone to anxiety, they find themselves suddenly caught up in the gales of worry and fear.”

And yet, they prevail. They accept their anxiety, they accept that their fortune is wound up with those whom they lead, and that it’s on their shoulders. And they tap into a larger purpose. 

Purpose, and working for others, says Koehn, “fortifies the stronger parts of you. It lowers the fear volume.” 

Here are my takeaways from our conversation:

Great leaders know themselves

Koehn notes that they recognize that one of the critical things leaders must do is to navigate through “the valleys…Dealing with their own anxiety, depression, confusion, disillusionment.” They commit to understanding themselves and “part of that work on myself includes navigating through the storms of [my] emotional being.”

Nancy even says, “They talk to themselves. You can't wait for a coach or a deity or Gandalf from Lord of the Rings to arrive with their white wand. You have to figure out some of this from self knowledge and coach yourself forward.”

They take calculated risks

I asked Nancy Koehn: when leaders feel anxious in the face of crisis, do they still take risks? Absolutely, but she says these risks are deeply calculated. Koehn offers the example of Washington Post CEO Katharine Graham, an initially hesitant leader. Before publishing the Pentagon Papers, she “calculated, estimated the costs-- both tangible and intangible-- on aspects like energy, morale, team cohesion, and the reputation of the paper. They calculate the risk and then they decide to move forward. And some of what they know about risk, some of the calculation, is greatly enriched by self knowledge.”

They keep healthy boundaries

This is fascinating. As great leaders are taking everyone else into consideration, they also consider the impact on their own mental health and their own tendency towards depression or fear or despondence or anxiety.

And then, they protect their boundaries. Says Koehn, “they discover how to use distance. First to increase distance between themselves and the people they're responsible for. Because if everyone believes the leader is just like them, they ask “why should I follow this person? So distance is important for leaders. You can shrink it when you need to. It’s like learning to drive a stick shift car that has a very sensitive clutch. It's ultimately an act of empathy, self knowledge, and depth. And it's very, very important because a leader can't be wide open. The doctor is in, most of the time.”

They have a great team to help

As he grew in his leadership, “Lincoln understood better how to navigate through these very thick fogs of depression and, and in some cases despair. And I think one of the things that he learned really early on was ‘there are people that will help me with this and I can't do it alone.’ And he got better and better and better at asking: ‘who are the people that can help me here and how can I bring them in?’ And that was true all the way to the White House and his moments of great doubt during the Civil War. He got very good at asking ‘who will help me with this and how do I make sure they know they’re part of my circle?’”

They make space for recovery

The harder the work is, the more anxiety you feel, so the more you need to be rigorous in taking care of yourself. Koehn says recovery is underestimated but that it’s crucial. You’re giving yourself time to reflect, and time to recover-- which can mean having fun or whatever relaxes you.

Whether you’re a leader who’s anxious by nature or your anxiety springs from a situation at work, we must all be aware of the activating events and circumstances that can bring on tremendous anxiety. But that doesn't mean we avoid them. We learn to create the working conditions that propel us to our highest achievement—and we learn to prepare ourselves for the moments when anxiety-provoking circumstances arrive. When they do, we remind ourselves that all of these feelings are normal and the healthiest thing we can do is allow ourselves to feel them, and to respond with self-compassion and curiosity. 

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