May’s Mental Health Awareness Month tends to highlight familiar conversations around resilience, self-care and workplace wellbeing. But the underlying reality for leaders this year doesn’t fit neatly inside a monthly campaign. Navigating macroeconomic uncertainty and an ever-evolving labor force isn’t a periodic challenge. In 2026, it’s part of the job.
However, a 2026 Gallup report reveals a striking paradox for women in the US workforce: despite being more engaged at work than men (34% versus 28%), women simultaneously report significantly higher levels of burnout (31% versus 23%). This gap widens further at senior levels, with 29% of women leaders experiencing burnout compared to just 19% of men.
Gallup joins a chorus of evidence signaling an intensifying trend. The latest McKinsey and LeanIn Women in the Workplace study found that burnout among senior-level women is at its highest point in five years, while Deloitte’s latest Women @ Work research also found that 36% of women globally report higher stress levels than a year ago.
And to be clear, external workplace demands are only part of the story. Women overwhelmingly continue to shoulder caregiving responsibilities and 2026 Pew Research finds that women remain significantly more likely than men to report caregiving negatively impacts their emotional wellbeing (47% versus 30%).
The data makes clear how external pressures can contribute to internal experiences of stress and overwhelm. The natural concern is this: the only certainty – in business and beyond – is uncertainty itself. And until magic eight balls become crystal clear or humans reliably predict the future, that’s unlikely to change.
But perhaps the most practical leadership advantage for women isn’t learning to control uncertainty; it’s learning how to manage the response to it.
Leadership, Stress and the Power of Nervous System Regulation
Decision-making, time management and strategic clarity often take center stage as essential leadership capabilities. Yet, rarely mentioned is the critical foundation underpinning their effectiveness: the nervous system.
The nervous system directly influences these executive functions. However, sustained stress can trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response, impairing the very functions effective leadership requires.
Why does this matter? Because while society continues to evolve, human biology hasn’t fully adapted to distinguish between physical threats and modern workplace stressors. A difficult conversation, a sudden layoff or urgent caregiving emergency can trigger physiological stress responses such as increased heart rate, tense muscles and shallow breathing.
Gabriella Taylor, founder of Extraordinary Woman, a women’s leadership advisory practice, frames the implications in an email interview: “The pressure you are feeling is real. The uncertainty is real. However, the greatest obstacle to women’s power is not just the world around us. It is the world within us. And that world can change.”
Three Leadership Strategies for Managing Stress
Taylor, who has spent over 30 years working with corporate leaders, philanthropists and policy makers, explains that managing deeply ingrained stress signals doesn’t necessarily require sophisticated new strategies.
Instead, she outlines three simple strategies to counteract stress, mitigate burnout risk and lead from a regulated state – even when the world feels complex.
1) Name the Stress Signal and Emotion
Taylor notes that high-stakes moments can make the body move into threat mode, whether the danger is real or anticipated.
Strategy: Before an important meeting or difficult conversation, for example, try this reset:
Pause and identify where the stress is registering physically, for example, the chest, throat or stomach.
Breathe into the area of tension for 60 seconds.
As she explains, “You are not trying to make the stress go away. You are signaling to your nervous system that it is safe to feel what you feel, and leveraging that safety to speak from an authentic place – not an adaptive, reactionary state.”
Why It Matters: UCLA research highlights the power of “affect-labeling,” or putting feelings into words. The practice can help quiet activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain involved in threat detection, while engaging parts of the prefrontal cortex associated with processing emotion.
In other words, identifying stress in your body and naming the associated emotion can help your brain manage the pressure and move toward clearer thinking before the moment demands it.
Takeaway: Stressful moments will arrive without warning. This practice can help you take back control and lead effectively when they do.
2) Interrupt the Reflex to Over-Accommodate
Taylor observes that many high-achieving women have difficulty asking for help and fully accepting generosity. She explains that rejecting support or deflecting praise often masks a deeper stress response: “What looks like self-sufficiency from the outside is often…a nervous system pattern where self-sacrifice became the primary strategy for staying safe and loved.”
Strategy: At least once a day, try this reset:
Accept one small form of support without minimizing it, deflecting or immediately reciprocating – whether that be accepting a compliment with a simple thank you or delegating a task.
Afterwards, briefly pause to acknowledge how accepting this support made you feel.
Why It Matters: According to CDC research, one in four U.S. adults lacks adequate social and emotional support, significantly raising the likelihood of anxiety and depression. For leaders who repeatedly dismiss offers of help, stress can accelerate chronic exhaustion and burnout. Taylor emphasizes that consciously noticing positive feelings when receiving generosity gradually rewires the nervous system’s association between receiving and safety.
Takeaway: Accepting help isn’t weakness – it’s a leadership skill that preserves your energy and clarity.
3) Counteract Loneliness by Self-Witnessing
Taylor notes that loneliness is surprisingly common among leaders, especially as they increase visibility and responsibility: “The higher women rise, the more people want something – time, access or resources. These women become skilled at reading rooms and motivations. And that very skill makes genuine intimacy harder.”
Strategy: At the end of each day, try this reset:
Reflect briefly by naming three specific things you appreciate about how you showed up.
Consider moments of courage, personal commitments you kept or past wins.
Why It Matters: Loneliness remains a well-documented health risk associated with higher incidences of anxiety, depression and physical health problems. For leaders who spend most days responding to external demands without genuine emotional connection, Taylor explains that this simple act of self-witnessing creates an inner sense of being seen.
Takeaway: Recognizing your own achievement isn’t arrogant – it’s essential for maintaining motivation and staying connected to the value of your leadership.
Leadership and Mental Health: Managing the World Within
Ultimately, managing stress effectively isn’t about eliminating uncertainty or perfectly controlling external demands. It’s about recognizing stress as a signal worth responding to. For women leaders facing ongoing pressure, these practical strategies can help prevent stress from quietly escalating into burnout, keeping their clarity, voice and impact intact long after May’s mental health conversations have ended.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
