Many of us are drawn to executive roles for the variety afforded by the intellectual and mental challenges, the ability to make a meaningful contribution, the prestige, and the influence we can wield. These are demanding roles typically requiring long days, attendance at community events, socializing and, in many cases, frequent travel. In the same way that athletes best perform when they sustain consistent healthy habits, so it is with high-performing leaders.
But what is Leadership Athleticism© and how do you develop it? Leadership Athleticism© has the following hallmarks: resilience, speed, flexibility, and mental acuity. Each component contributes to a leader’s performance and their continued success.
Resilience
Resilience is the ability to sustain energy, mental attention, tolerance, and optimal health for extended periods of time, particularly during exceptional times. Any one of the following could test a leader’s resiliency: A hostile takeover, numerous employee layoffs, severe economic constraints such as the 2008 global financial crisis and plummeting oil prices commencing in 2015, or a brand damaging and ethical crisis such as a large-scale safety incident.
Speed
Leaders may be called upon to meet increased demands with little or no warning. This requires the ability to make important decisions rapidly and sometimes without all the facts.
Flexibility
Leaders must be able to change the course quickly, without lamenting for long the lost career-making deal, the failed acquisitions, or the disappointing product launch before identifying your new course of action.
Mental Acuity
Most professional jobs and certainly all leadership and executive roles require complex mental functioning. Mental acuity is required to most effectively process the considerable volume of information and data at your disposal and the varying opinions provided internally and externally. This is not only a measure of intelligence, but also your ability to concentrate, focus, and understand. Mental acuity is heightened with sufficient sleep, physical exercise, mental breaks, and creative pursuits.
Leaders can develop their Leadership Athleticism© using a variety of methods, including:
- No pretend time off (PTO)
- Maintaining excellent physical health
- Live the examined life
- Energy management
- Keep it fresh
Take some time and evaluate your Leadership Athleticism©. Where are you strong? What areas are you ignoring or not paying enough attention to? If you would like some additional help with examining your Leadership Athleticism©, please feel free to contact me .
I go into detail about this in Feet to the Fire and provide exercises to help with the process. Feet to the Fire is available in both print and Kindle editions through Amazon.
My clients accelerate their results – increasing profitability, leadership performance, innovation, and accountability. I would love to discuss how I might contribute to your success. Contact me today.