7 Ways to Cultivate Mental Resilience in Your Team

Naluri founder Azran Osman Rani, no stranger to the ups and downs of personal and business life, gives seven tips that has seen him through some truly tough times

As an entrepreneur over the last 19 years, I have faced many unexpected setbacks. There was the 1998 Asian financial crisis. And then, there was the global financial crisis in 2008, just when I started an airline in 2008—my business took the brunt of it, as the banks providing financing to us all pulled out. In the same year, oil volatility went crazy. We survived, but 50 airlines around the world weren't as lucky.

In 2018, I was hit by a car in Kuala Lumpur while bicycling and woke up in the intensive care unit with fractures on my skull, bleeding in my brain, three vertebrae in spine fractured, and three of my four limbs in a cast, along with a broken shoulder that required painful surgery.

Sometimes life knocks you down hard. As I lay in my hospital bed, I was overwhelmed by stress, anxiety and depression. What was going to happen to me? The accident happened a few weeks after my wife was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She had to postpone treatment to help me.

But we got through the crisis. I realized that when things were overwhelming, I needed to focus on the smallest things that I could do that were within my control and celebrate small wins. I focused on behavior goals—actions we do daily and weekly—not outcome goals. These were action goals, like going for a walk, rather than avoidance goals, like avoiding social media. I got back on my bike by Day 84 after the accident. By Day 174, I was able to complete another Ironman triathlon.

In today’s world, we all need to be aware of our own mental health and of the people around us, not just on World Mental Health Day, but year-round. In our company, Naluri, which provides behavioral coaching and psychological support for those at risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and mental health, we have seen spikes of depression and anxiety of 40 to 50 per cent among our client’s employees since the pandemic.

Building mental fitness, resilience, optimism, focus and curiosity don’t happen by accident. Strength, whether mental or physical, comes from daily or regular routines and practices. Here are my recommendations for turning stress and energy into positive energy for yourself and your team at work.

1. Make mental wellness part of your regular routine.

Most people only get help when they are already distressed. Mental health shouldn’t be reactive. Taking a proactive approach to being mentally fit can help anyone better handle stress and pressure and avoid spiralling into depression and anxiety.

2. Limit interruptions when you can.

Constant interruption, even by activities such as toggling between several different types of software applications, can drain your mental health. Imagine driving a car where you keep accelerating, braking, then accelerating again. That wears down the engine very quickly and burns more petrol. Driving at a constant speed in one direction is more efficient. Embrace the same attitude in your workplace. Give yourself and your team time to work on one thing at a time.

3. Embrace mindfulness throughout the day.

You can practice mindfulness in your daily routine even if you don’t have time for a formal meditation session. For instance, if you’re going to spend the next 25 minutes writing a report, shut down all notifications on your computer and don’t look at your phone. If you’re answering emails, do that in batches and then close down the browser. If you’re having dinner with your family, put your phone away instead of simultaneously sending WhatsApp messages or watching TV.

Allow your team these freedoms, too. Say no to an always-on culture by defining clearly when you will communicate synchronously, like 15-minute daily standup meetings. Move most communications to asynchronous channels like Slack or project management tools such as Trello or ClickUp.

4. Work out.

Exercise plays an important part in being able to handle stress and pressure. Working out 5 or 6 days a week is ideal, even if you can only fit in 10 minutes some days. Some exercises are better than others for managing stress. The right heart rate intensity is not too low, not too intense—about 120 to 140 beats per minute, depending on your age and experience. It’s the intensity that most benefits our hippocampus, which regulates and stabilises our moods.

5. Prioritise sleep.

When you sleep, glial cells in our brains act like a gardener taking out weeds, pruning away anxious or depressive thoughts. That’s why many of us feel so much more clear-headed after a good night’s sleep.

6. Nurture your network.

The “cuddle” hormone oxytocin helps us build the human bonds of connection, helping to draw us together in the face of threats like cold winters and attacks by predators over thousands of years. A key part of resilience is to build a support network of mentors, coaches and friends who energise us and replenish our spirit and are there for us, without judging us. Choosing the right people and nurturing these relationships are important to the path of resilience.

7. Use the CARE framework to help colleagues.

To keep mental health top of mind, remember this acronym: Check for signals of your colleague’s frame of mind. Apply non-judgmental conversation. Reassure them information. Ensure help is received—that may mean bringing in a trusted professional if a problem appears to be serious.

Resilience doesn’t happen overnight, but fortunately, it is something that can be nurtured and developed. Through training and awareness-building, you and your team can strengthen your mental fitness so you can not only cope with whatever the future has in store but also thrive.

Azran Osman Rani is currently the founding CEO of Naluri, a digital health technology company that provides a cost-effective and accessible digital health psychology service, to help users adopt healthier lifestyle behaviour changes. He is active in the internet technology space as a co-founder, investor and advisor to iflix.

Previously, he worked for iflix—a disruptive internet television video-on-demand service that was launched in Kuala Lumpur in May 2015—as the CEO of the company in Malaysia and its group COO. Prior to that, he was the founding CEO of AirAsia X, the world's first truly low-cost long-haul airline. He led AirAsia X to its IPO in 2013, and subsequently reached the US$1 billion annual revenue milestone in 2014.

This piece is part of a collaboration between Tatler Asia and Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO), a global leadership community of chief executives, which counts more than 30,000 members from 142 countries among its members.