Making the best of downtime

Well, it’s day 2 of our family summer holiday. We just got back from a mammoth 6-hour, 24K-steps (according to fitbit) hike and everyone is bushed. 

What to do in the lull before we head out to dinner? Have a refreshment (of course) but instead of reaching for my phone and idly surfing, I made a conscious effort this holiday to use *some* of the downtime for learning. Learn to make a better version of myself. No seriously, don’t stick a finger down your throat because we’ve all read one too many posts like that ??. 

In a first, I brought a “work” book with me on holiday. Too often in the past I have been so tired by the time I arrived on day #1 of the holiday, the mere concept of spending downtime reading anything more lengthy than a page or so would have made my head hurt. As I’ve grown in years I’ve realised how important it is that (I) we have to bring our whole authentic self to work. To do anything else is setting ourselves up for emotional burden. So why try and distinguish between the 2? Surely if I care about the content and the outcome they are the same? In fact, they are the same. So now I’ve fixed the habit of being flaked out by day 1 of our holiday, I can open my mind to learning more on the fly.

More about the book which, was gifted to me by my manager. I am a true believer if someone gives you a book it is one of the highest value gifts you will ever be fortunate to receive. So here I am, 30-odd pages in and very thankful to be reading "Leaders eat last". 

First impressions: I’ll be the first to share that as someone who has had the privilege of building and leading teams, I have got it wrong from time to time. I've learned this as I always ask for feedback. Sometimes it's not what you want to hear, but that's the gift of feedback. Accordingly, any book or learning that grounds me and helps open my eyes will get a lot of time investment from me.

Here in “Leaders eat last” , the foreward all but sets the scene for what’s to come: 

In the Marine corps, if you witness meal time, you will see the most junior marines served first and most senior last. No order is given. Marines just do it. At the heart of this very simple action is the Marine Corps approach to leadership. Marine leaders are expected to eat last because the true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others ahead of your own. Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of leadership comes at the expense of self-interest. 

I hope the author - Simon Sinek - does not mind me quoting this directly from this foreward, but it sets the scene of the book so well. The reason I love this is it talks to the first of 5 underpinnings - "Team first" - I believe passionately underpin being part of a team.

From what I’ve seen so far I can’t recommend this book enough. I am looking forwards to learning more and having the chance to apply this in my life as a father, husband, friend and team-mate to many people in my life who I admire, respect and make me laugh.

Here's to happy (and fulfilling) holidays.

More about the book: https://startwithwhy.com/