Leading a Team When Mental Illness is Present

Photo by Adam Custer on Unsplash

I’m (Not) Sorry Your Team Member Has a Mental Illness. They didn’t ask for it. Neither did you. But you did ask for humans to join your team, and every human will eventually need medical care. Full stop.

As a leader, you need to be prepared for the complexity. When someone is experiencing symptoms of mental illness, their performance will likely dip—often before they even realize what’s happening. Shame can push them to hide it, smiling on the outside while wrestling with paranoia, depression, or early psychosis inside. Frenetic bursts of energy can be just as confusing. In the early stages, they’re as bewildered as you are.

And many people self medicate these symptoms with alcohol, prescription or illegal drugs. It’s part of the deal sometimes. There’s help for that too!

That’s why your first conversation must come from curiosity, care, and compassion. Something as simple as: “I’ve noticed a few things and wanted to check in. But first, how are you feeling? I’m concerned, and I want you to know we can navigate this.”

Mental illness is a medical condition—no different in that sense from diabetes or heart disease. It impacts performance, and that’s why you provide health coverage, sick leave, and medical leave. There’s no shame in that.

What’s on you, as a leader, is to model destigmatization. No armchair diagnoses. No whispers. Set the tone that symptoms are normal and resources are available. Bring in wellness professionals. If I had a magic wand, every workplace would also have mental health and recovery support peer specialists as part of employee assistance programs. They’re often the best partners to help people navigate toward a recovery that works best for them.

So let’s leave it here: normalize mental illness. Remind people of resources. Destigmatize symptoms. Address performance with compassion and curiosity.

September is both Recovery Month and Suicide Awareness Month. It’s not too late to honor both.

If you’d like to explore how leadership training can lay the foundation for compassionate and accountable teams, reach out. https://calendly.com/dougsmithmssw/d-degree-info

Care and accountability are not opposites—they go hand in hand.

Mental Health Recovery IS Leadership.