why do Some Leaders Succeed while Others Don't?
Being a successful leader is no simple task. Expertise, insight, and a little luck all come together to provide the foundation for effective leadership. But something else is also needed that is often overlooked: the ability to maintain your wellbeing. After all, how can we expect to lead if we are struggling just to stay afloat ourselves?
It is clear that entrenched in the root of strong leadership lies an unseen reliance on good health and wellness habits. That being said, let's examine some healthy practices that enable chaotically busy leaders to approach their work with clarity, energy, and enthusiasm.
The Problem:
Leaders are very busy juggling multiple priorities. Typically overworked, many can't see how to fit another task like exercise into a full day and find the energy to do it. They don't realize that lifestyle changes can make a significant improvement to having more energy, creativity and self-control.
The Solution:
Seeing is believing. You need to understand how your lifestyle is either serving you or holding you back from greater efficiency and effectiveness. You won't know the body/mind difference until you adopt new healthy habits and experience the change after consistent application for 90-100 days yourself.
Top 5 Healthy Habits - Lifestyle
For optimal performance, you should adopt healthy habits that nourish the whole self: body, mind, and spirit.
The top five healthy habits are as follows.
- A balanced diet of vital nutrients is essential for sustaining energy levels and mental clarity.
- Regular sleep helps replenish the body's energy reserves and keep stress levels low.
- Daily exercise builds clarity, physical endurance and mental resilience.
- Work/life harmony is when your individual values align with organizational values. To ensure synergy between work and personal life, leaders should prioritize creating healthy work boundaries that help to honour their personal responsibilities and protect their well-being.
- Supportive network. It's vital to maintain friendships for moral support, signifying a great source of strength during tough times.
Leaders who employ these five healthy habits in their daily routine will benefit from enhanced well-being and overall performance.
Do you need more convincing? Read the story of two executives who took opposite approaches to their new leadership roles.
One leader took a proactive approach and the other leader was reactive. Learn how their actions (or lack thereof) created entirely different outcomes.
A brief Case Study of two Executives
1. Anne, GM Transportation Co. with 350 Employees
Anne was promoted internally following a big win over the employees union which saved the company thousands of dollars and was recognized by top brass. However, resources were tight, so the promotion came without formalized leadership development or internal mentoring support,
Committed to achieving her goals and knowing what the company valued, Anne employed the same tactics that got her promoted. She worked 80+ hours a week and was available 24 hours a day/7 days a week - Sundays too!
After a year under this schedule, Anne had become short with employees and had grievances filed against her and complaints from her management team. After viewing all sides of the issue, it was clear that Anne was burnt out.
Anne worked on her communication skills with her coach and her entire network noticed the improvement. But, against her coach's advice, she did change her lifestyle. She continued working excessive hours and did not time for rest or working out at the gym.
Eventually, a stressed-out Anne overreacted to an employee in a public space and was relieved of her six figure position.
2. Karen, CEO Financial Institution - 450 Employees
Karen was first promoted to VP eight years before becoming the CEO.
Shortly after becoming VP, Karen began working with a coach and also started a running routine during the first half of her lunch hour every day. In addition, she had a healthy diet and maintained good sleep habits to help her stay on top of her game. Karen also received leadership training.
By the time she became CEO years later, Karen had a well-ingrained lifestyle which helped her navigate the company through a tight recession and a successful merger until she retired twelve years later with a generous pension.
Other Factors: company Culture and Lack of Support
While this article focuses on the importance of physical health in leadership, one cannot overlook the fact that one company (the financial institution) provided coaching and leadership training at the start of Karen's new role, while the other transportation company waited until there were problems under Anne's leadership.
Furthermore, the financial institution fostered a learning culture, therefore, setting their new VP up for long-term success. In contrast, the other company did not.
Takeaways:
A choice that Anne had within her control was to take better care of their health, specifically, returning to the gym where she had an membership. This is a common mistake many leaders make, so Anne is far from being alone in her thinking.
Anne knew that returning to the gym would be helpful, but didn't follow through. The hard truth is that Anne could still be in the job she loved had she prioritized her health.
Conclusion:
Regular exercise is good for the body and good for the mind. It helps you to sleep easier, maintain body weight and build fortitude. Exercise is also an excellent mood regulator, highly beneficial for those who work in stressful occupations like leaders.
There is nothing more important than taking care of your health first. It's essential for your wellbeing and, in turn, the success of your company you lead.
For this reason, we insist that healthy living is a must for high-performing leadership. It's also why lifestyle design is an integral part of our new leadership program, The Leader Within.
Do you agree? Let us know below.
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