Taking Care Of Your Health As A Leader

There is one thing that everyone knows about a CEO's routine, it is stressful. Even when there is no emergency CEOs stay under pressure, they have to create business strategies, engage thousands of employees, go through investors, and fend off rivals.?

But can the role literally make their lives shorter?

According to a study by Frederik Anseel, Professor of Management and Senior Deputy Dean (Research & Enterprise) at UNSW Business School, the pressure of the corporate environment has severe effects on CEOs' health and mortality. His study found that in a crisis which causes the company's share price to fall by 30% or more, CEO mortality rates increased and the ageing process accelerated.?

“Through a very clever analysis researchers were able to show that the mortality rates of CEOs increase if the company goes through a serious crisis, while the CEO would on average age a year-and-a-half during that period,” he explained.

The data proves that being a CEO can take a toll on one's mental and physical health.?

Being highly effective people, CEOs want to spend as much time being productive for their company as possible. Thus they neglect their health.

But people need to be healthy to stay productive.?

According to Headspace Health’s 2022 Workforce Attitudes Toward Mental Health Report

"83% of CEOs report missing at least one day of work due to stress, burnout and mental health challenges.”

Undesired Feeling/Beliefs & Impact of Believing It

The responsibility of taking the company forward is on your shoulders as a CEO, and with this comes a really tough schedule and light levels of stress. Both of these are not good for your health, especially your mental health.

Ignoring your mental health has some undesirable consequences, for you as well as the business. A recent study by the American Heart Association estimates that by 2030, mental health issues will cost companies $6.1 trillion annually. In that same span, the cumulative cost of dealing with mental health is expected to surpass estimated costs for treating cancer and cardiovascular disease.

A lot of stress leading to poor mental health in CEOs has been normalized for too long. They are expected to put work challenges before their self-care.

And many CEOs feel like they’re running in a tunnel which has no light in the end…

The most common reasons for this stress are:

• Even when there is no crisis, executives take on a lot of responsibility and working hours. They have the pressure of managing the future of their companies and teams, as well as their workloads.
• It's not always possible to stay in touch with the team, as in the case of long business trips. They worry about whether your team will suffer without direct access to their leader. There is also the stress of knowing that without them managing or directing things, productivity, engagement, or happiness might dip.
• CEOs are driven people and when a challenging situation comes, their natural response is to become even more driven. As a result of which they put in extra effort and time, which adds up the stress.

As a result of constant stress

• 83% of CEOs report missing at least one day of work due to “stress, burnout and mental health challenges.” ?(Headspace Health’s 2022 Workforce Attitudes Toward Mental Health Report).

• 70% of the C-suite are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being.
• 74% of executives say they’re facing obstacles when it comes to achieving their well-being goal.

Desired Feeling/Beliefs & Positives of Shifting To This Pattern?

To enjoy life and make the most of your time here, you must be healthy. Because without health, the world is nothing but a pit hole of suffering.

Taking Care of your well-being is not only good for yourself but also your business. The healthier you are, the more concentration and focus you'll be able to give to your work.?

A healthy executive also inspires his employees to take care of their well-being.

Here are 3 ways your health matters as a CEO:

1.Being healthy makes you effective:

Healthy leadership makes a healthy company. For example, you need a proper good sleep to be able to make decisions with a sharp and clear head the next day. To be efficient at your work you must have a clear mind and a healthy body.

2. A Healthy CEO makes a healthy corporate culture:

Your company's wellness starts with you, your employees look up to you to create a growth-oriented workplace.? When you are in charge of the wellness of your company you cannot afford to put your own health at risk. You must lead by example. Put your employee’s health first and stay determined to build a healthier company.

3. Looking healthy matters more than looking smart:

It's proven that when choosing a leader companies prefer people with a healthy complexion, but the most intelligent-looking candidates are not favoured.

A healthy leader has a greater chance I'd inspiring people and gaining followers to initiate a change.?

3 Practical Steps To Take Care Of Your Health As An Executive?

1.Unpack:

Admit if something's wrong. If you're having a hard time staying physically or mentally healthy, you need to admit it's there.

Admitting something is wrong is the first step to making it right.

2. Take your time:

Yes, business is important, but so is your well-being. If you feel too stressed, take time to relax.

Remember, it's okay to prioritize your well-being.

3. Learn to say 'NO':

It's okay to say no. You've to set healthy boundaries with your work life if you want to take care of your health.

One of our CEO clients?Bobby Brannigan?had this to say about his time working with Lifestyle Perfected:

“I feel amazing in my life and leadership of my company. I’ve elevated my health and lost over 15lbs in just 1 month. The Alignment Methodology has literally changed my brain patterns for the better.”

Think it sounds great, but wondering if it’s really possible to shift your?Undesired Mindsets?into?Desired?ones to grow your business?

At Lifestyle Perfected, we empower you to feel, think and experience life and business the way you want by implementing our?Align, Automate, Achieve?methodology.

We’ll equip you with leadership tools and resources that span all life and business areas.

You’ll benefit from rituals that create time, growth, happiness, peace, personal financial planning, project management systems, and communication tools guaranteed to elevate your performance to new heights.

If you would like to learn more about how you can shift your?Undesired Mindsets?into?Desired?ones to grow your business,?schedule your demo session here?and I’ll walk you through it.