Make Leadership Self-Care a Priority in the New Year

Anyone who has flown on a commercial airliner has likely heard the pre-flight safety spiel that includes the following: “In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, emergency masks will deploy automatically. If you are traveling with a child, put your mask on first before attempting to help the child with theirs.”

The logic behind this seemingly selfish directive is obvious. If you’re debilitated, you’re in no condition to help someone else. This same reasoning holds true in the C-suite as it does traveling in an aluminum tube at 30,000 feet: If you’re in a position of authority, you have a duty to see to your own needs before turning your attention to those in your care.

Seeing to your own needs is not selfish (narcissists and other toxic personalities aside), but necessary if you are to care for others.? If you are like a car running on fumes instead of a full tank of gas because you are ignoring your own physical and emotional needs, you have nothing left to give those you lead.

For those leaders wanting to put self-care first, here are some foundational ideas:

• Make sure to get 6.5 to 8 hours of sleep per night and eat a healthy diet.
• Ensure you get enough exercise, even when you travel.
• Take micro-breaks during the day. Just 5 minutes moving around away from your desk refreshes and resets your brain.
• Be kind to yourself.? Give yourself a break when you make mistakes or feel you don’t measure up to your own high standards for yourself.
• Learn to access and label your emotions and ask yourself what is behind them (Dr. Susan David’s book Emotional Agility is a great place to start.)
• Ask for help when you need it.? Great leaders don’t know all the answers, they know where to find them.? And, often insights can be found from a set of trusted advisors and friends, and perhaps your employees.
• Maintain a small group of friends (outside your immediate family), with whom you can “dump the truck” and not be judged or rejected, even when things get messy. Having a group of friends who understand you and are in your corner to support you is imperative for any effective leader.

Making sure that leaders stay at the top of their game is one of the many business consulting services we offer. We have found that with expert coaching, even people who struggle with seeing their needs as important can learn to “put their oxygen masks on first” before seeing to the welfare of their direct reports.?

To learn more about how leadership training can deliver optimum results in both good times and bad, contact us at [email protected].

In these challenging times, you may find us to be a breath of fresh air.

#leadership? #leaderselfcare? #balancedleadership? #leaderwellness