CEOs Need To Rethink Their Approach To Wellbeing

“It was just a tick the box exercise for the business”

So said the former HR Director to me after an event I was speaking at recently. We had been talking about wellbeing and the events and seminars organisations run throughout the year but especially around certain high profile dates like National Wellbeing Day.

It’s a statement I’ve heard from many leaders over the last 10 years, once they leave a business or trust me enough to speak off the record. The reality is that while many organisations will talk a good game in relation to how they look after their people, there are not many that really walk that talk.

The reason for this is that if the CEO or primary leader doesn’t really buy into the idea, at a core level, it just won’t be given the attention or resources it deserves. As a result, current approaches to creating sustainable wellbeing is more like giving aspirin to someone with a headache - yes it relieves pain but it doesn’t get to the root of the problem.

The CEO’s Perspective Is Key

If I’m honest I rarely use the word Wellbeing when I’m working with a CEO. Normally it’s a phrase like High Performance, State of Mind, Next Level Success or Being At Your Best. I’ve learned over the years that a word like ‘Wellbeing’ is a bit like ‘Work/Life Balance’ to a CEO. They rarely will admit this publicly but inside, they’re often thinking ‘This is going to reduce the productivity of the organisation and people will be clocking out earlier’.

Part of the reason for this is our unconscious conditioning from the industrial age, where everything was linked to time. That’s where the factory mindset and the 9 to 5 model came from. Plus the industrial age was more about manual labour and sweating the assets.

But that approach doesn’t work anymore, because the real assets in a knowledge and creative economy are the minds of the people in your team. But in a world that is connected 24/7, volatile and uncertain, the minds of people are over-loaded and most people feel over-worked, over-whelmed and unable to juggle the demands of work and life.

According to research from Gallup, about 65% of the working population is on the edge of burnout. Engagement levels are low. Stress is high. This is despite more money than ever being spent on Leadership and so called Wellbeing initiatives.

Surely we have to look at the results we’re creating as a society and organisations and question the process?

From Burnout To Thriving

A couple of years ago, I was speaking with the CEO of a very fast growing company. They were asking me to work with their C-Suite team to create a more sustainable model for high performance.

I explained that I needed to work with the CEO first to show how my own model worked and to have them experience the difference in terms of results.

“But I’m fine. I don’t need your help. It’s a demanding job for sure but I’m good.”

Fast forward 10 minutes later following a very direct discussion and there was a long pause…then this:

“I’m hanging on by my fingernails. I exhausted, my thinking is off, so is my sleep. There’s huge opportunity in front of us but I’m dreading the year ahead. And to top it off, my wife just told me that our marriage is in trouble.”

This is a conversation I have had many times in my career over the last 25 years. Do you think that kind of reality for a CEO or leader is an indicator of someone being at their best? Do you think they can lead others to perform at a high level, consistently?

To illustrate the point further, consider this:

Imagine yourself at 4/10 in terms of your energy, mood and wellbeing, doing a 9 to 5 day. Now picture yourself at 8/10 doing a 10am to 1pm day. Which version of yourself do you think will have better impact and output? I think there’s no contest.?

I’ve often been shocked at how productive, creative and focused I can be in 2 hours when I am in a high energy, upbeat state and how slow, reactive and foggy I am when my mood is low. And it’s very possible to become better at managing your state to be at a higher level because it’s a skill.

When you translate this into an organisation, the potential is incredible.

A New Kind Of Leadership Survey

In March of this year, I ran a unique survey this year to leaders on my mailing list. Unique in so far as it was about the ‘inner game’ of business and leadership. The results of the first Inside Out Business Report are now available and it’s showing some interesting trends and perceptions.

One of the findings was that the average mood of leaders surveyed was 6/10 for the last 6 months. That alone says that leaders are not at their best. Which is a big problem but also a big opportunity.

In a chapter titled ‘State Champion’ in my book The Inner CEO, I share research that makes a strong case for having real wellbeing at the core of your company’s strategy.

Conducted by McKinsey & Company, the U.S. management consulting ?rm, conducted a ten-year study on the optimal states of performance (known as ?ow state) and found that it made top executives 500% more e?ective. Other research has found that ?ow creates a 400% to 700% increase in creativity, a jump in problem-solving ability of +300% and an ability to learn skills 230% faster.

Research published in the Harvard Business Review reported ?ndings from a survey of 740 leaders internationally on the impact of the leaders’ state of mind on their performance and e?ectiveness.

Ninety-four percent of the leaders identi?ed the states that drove the highest levels of performance as ‘Calm’, ‘Happy’ and ‘Energised’ (CHE) i.e. a state of wellbeing.

The question then is, ‘How do I achieve that state of wellbeing for myself and my team?’

From Darkness Into Light

I had a first hand experience of the impact of poor wellbeing management in my 20s. I had managed to get myself into a spiral of depression and I ended up in a very dangerous emotional state. It was a very hard, dark time but luckily I had incredible support around me and I thank myself fortunate to still be here.

On the outside looking in, I had nothing to be down about. Indeed people who were working with me then had no idea I was so down. I was functional in my job but was I giving my best? Absolutely not. I was treading water, putting on a brave face but I was dying inside.

Like many who recover from depression, I discovered my physical wellbeing was vital to being better. But I went on to discover that there were three more important areas - mental, emotional and spiritual (yes, even and especially for commercially driven leaders!).

Those 3 areas are what I collectively refer to as my ‘inner world’ and they’re all vital.?

Some companies are making an effort. They are providing access to counsellors and psychologists. They have guest speakers in to talk about things like mindfulness, sleep and meditation. This helps for a little bit but for most people the impact of these things doesn’t last. It’s a bit like putting a plaster on a cut. We can feel good about helping the cut to heal but isn’t it better to figure out how to stop the cutting?

This means going upstream to the real cause of sustainable wellbeing, which is getting a better understanding of how our inner worlds work. True wellbeing is an inside job, which means it’s about educating people on how to better use their minds to allow the best of themselves to emerge, consistently.?

In particular it’s about enabling people to create a quiet mind, even in the midst of a busy, uncertain and fast moving life. That kind of mind has more clarity to better navigate the world we are in right now. But doing this requires the CEO to buy in completely and bring their people’s wellbeing to the top of the agenda, not an occasional add-on.

CEOs Need To Rethink Their Approach To People’s Wellbeing

I was talking to a senior leader earlier this year about the possibility of bringing what I call Sustainable High Performance training into their organisation. The business in question is owned by a private equity firm and I was told that they had no interest in doing something like that with their people.?

When I asked why, I was told that their focus was to scale rapidly, sweat the asset and maximise their return for investors in 3-4 years. I told them that we were on the same page, and that by investing in their leaders in the way I was suggesting, the probability of success at a higher level would increase. They said they’d think about it but I knew I wasn’t talking to the right person because they weren’t the CEO. So let’s just say I’m still waiting for the phone call. :)

Having guest speakers in to talk about wellbeing, mindfulness and being at your best is better than nothing.?

But there is so much more that’s possible.

Shane Cradock is the author of the best-selling book, The Inner CEO, and an advisor and coach to high performing CEOs and their organisations.

The Inside Out Business Report 2024 is available for a limited time here.