You
matter. That is one of the things that
we believe passionately at Signify. Your
health is important, your family responsibilities,
your mind, your body, your emotions, your
spirit...
However, we are not just getting sentimental...
This might all sound like 'soft issues',
not worth bothering with because they
have nothing to do with the 'bottom line'
- profit, performance and success. In
fact, the 'soft issues' are now 'hard
issues' - they have everything to do with
the bottom line and more.
Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, have spent
years working with both business people
and world-class athletes and make the
following point. "The problem with
most approaches...is that they deal with
people only from the neck up, connecting
high performance primarily with cognitive
capacity... A few theorists have addressed
the spiritual dimension - how deeper value
and a sense of purpose influence performance.
Almost no one has paid any attention to
the role played by physical capacities.
A successful approach to sustained high
performance, we have found, must pull
together all these elements and consider
the person as a whole."
The following case study illustrates
this suggestion very clearly; "Once
in the morning and again in the afternoon,
Sklar retreats from the frenetic trading
floor to a quiet office, where he spends
15 minutes doing deep-breathing exercises.
At lunch, he leaves the office - something
he once would have found unthinkable -
and walks outdoors for at least 15 minutes.
He also works out five or six times a
week after work. At home, he and his wife,
Sherry, a busy executive herself, made
a pact never to talk business after 8pm.
They also swore off work on the weekends,
and they have stuck to their vow for nearly
two years. During each of those years,
Sklar's earnings have increased by more
than 65%.1" Soft issues? A waste
of time? It seems not. This man's performance
at least has everything to do with his
health and body, his relationships and
his leisure time.
For most leaders this must pose a challenge.
How can we sustain high performance in
the face of pressure and change? Do we
use our day wisely, not just to get through
everything in our in-tray or on our 'to
do' list but to ensure that we don't burn
out or neglect the things in our lives
that should rate highly on our priorities
but are so often overlooked. The key issue,
a major focus for much of our content
is sustainability. Do you have the 'right'
life/time/work style that will enable
you to make the big calls when they come?
As leaders, are we creating a culture
that says to other people 'you matter'?
What would that kind of environment look
like? Probably quite different from the
trend at work where, often, to be successful
is to get to work earlier than the others,
to leave work later, to miss lunch and
work a few weekends as well in order to
prove a point. We might feel that we work
in that kind of environment, but do we
sometimes help to create or perpetuate
that culture?
To finish, here are some practical tips
for putting this into practice:
- Breakfast is the most important meal
of the day. Always try to eat breakfast
and have a number of small meals throughout
the day rather than one or two large
ones.
- The most important sleeping hours
are those before midnight. Go to bed
early and wake up early - you can establish
new sleeping patterns. Maintain these
bed and wake-up times consistently.
- Stop and 'recover' every hour and
a half to two hours. Have a drink, eat
some fruit, walk around - have a focused
break, which will aid recovery from
stress and lethargy. Do this for yourself
and also help create a culture where
others can freely do the same.
- Set some rules for when to leave/finish
work and stick to them. Encourage those
you are responsible for to do the same
and then respect those decisions.
Reflective Questions
What does my leadership say to other people
about how much they matter?
How could I use my day better to invest
in others and myself mentally, physically,
spiritually and emotionally?
What changes do I have to make in my attitude
or working style to ensure that I put
into practice that 'I matter'?
Further than that, what changes do I have
to make in my attitude or working style
to ensure that I put into practice that
people, as individuals, matter?
1The Making of
a Corporate Athlete - Jim Loehr and Tony
Schwartz. Harvard Business Review.
Phil Wall
CEO |
