A Practical Way to Work Through Anxiety as a Group

Many of us know the experience of reacting in ways we later wish we hadn’t—feeling anxious in a meeting, defensive in a conversation, or overwhelmed in leadership. Often the challenge isn’t just learning new ideas, but learning how to notice ourselves in the moment and responding with greater awareness and presence. 

That’s one of the reasons we created the Managing Anxiety: Yours and Theirs workbooks.

These workbooks were designed to help individuals and groups work through the Managing Leadership Anxiety video series together in a structured, practical way. Rather than simply watching the videos and moving on, the workbook creates space to slow down, reflect, and practice the tools in community.

A Rhythm for Group Learning

Each workbook follows the same simple three-part rhythm for every session.

1. Follow the teaching

The first section includes fill-in-the-blank notes that help participants follow along with the video teaching. Each video in the series is about 10–20 minutes, making it easy to watch before a meeting or together at the beginning of a gathering.

This section helps people capture key ideas and language from the training—especially around noticing reactivity, identifying triggers, and understanding how anxiety moves through relationships.

2. Discuss together

The second section guides the group through a discussion or activity. We often suggest breaking into groups of five to seven people, which tends to create enough safety for people to share honestly while still benefiting from different perspectives.

Leadership anxiety is rarely solved by information alone. Externalizing our experiences—naming what’s happening inside us and hearing others do the same—is often where deeper learning begins.

The shared language from the videos helps groups talk about these dynamics in a thoughtful and constructive way.

3. Reflect and practice

The final section invites personal reflection. Each session ends with a “brave practice”—a small but meaningful step participants can take in their real lives.

These practices are not meant to be dramatic changes, but simple experiments that help people grow in awareness, connection, and presence.

Designed for Group Leaders

We also included a Leader’s Guide with facilitation tips to help groups create meaningful conversations. You don’t need to be an expert in the material to guide a group—just someone willing to create space for learning together.

Easy Access to the Videos

Each workbook includes a QR code that provides streaming access to the full video series, so participants don’t need a Capable Life membership to engage with the material.

Groups can simply scan the code and watch the videos as they move through the workbook.

A Flexible Resource for Many Contexts

We’ve seen these workbooks used in a variety of settings:

• leadership teams 
• church staff and volunteer groups
• small groups
• counseling cohorts 
• ministry training environments

For organizations that prefer a version without explicit faith language, we also offer a marketplace edition.

Learning Leadership Together

Leadership formation rarely happens in isolation. It grows when we learn to notice ourselves, listen well, and practice new ways of showing up with others.

Our hope is that these workbooks create a simple structure for that kind of learning—where groups can engage the material together, reflect honestly, and take small steps toward becoming more aware and connected leaders.

If you’re interested in working through the Managing Leadership Anxiety series with a team, small group, or leadership cohort, the companion workbook was designed to make that process simple and accessible. You can learn more about the workbook and how groups are using it here.