What is the cure?
What is the cure?
The pandemic has created multiple challenges for leaders, and it is time to lean into ‘The Cure’.
C – Community
?“95% of the viscosity of your success is down to your sense of belonging and the community with which you interact.” – Daniel McLennan
A strong sense of community adds real value to our lives. It not only helps us feel more connected to the world around us, it is also makes a measurable difference in our happiness… and our health.
A now-classic study of 6,928 adults living in Alameda County, Calif., conducted by Harvard researcher Lisa Berkman, PhD, and University of California, Berkeley, researcher S. Leonard Syme, PhD, found that people with few social ties were two to three times more likely to die of all causes than people with wider and closer relationships.
Gallup research on the qualities of a positive professional community boils down to six essential characteristics:
·?????What are the rituals that provide this lubrication personally and professionally?
?“The people making the biggest difference prioritise connection over everything else!’ – Dave Asprey
U – Understanding
?“75% of client experience and employee engagement is built around how we make people feel.” – Gallup
As a leader, you have a huge impact on how your employees feel. A telling brain imaging study found that, when employees recalled a boss that had been unkind or un-empathic, they showed increased activation in areas of?the brain associated with avoidance and negative emotion while the opposite was true when they recalled an empathic boss.
Moreover, Jane Dutton and her colleagues in the CompassionLab at the University of Michigan suggest that leaders who demonstrate compassion toward employees?foster individual and collective resilience in challenging times.??
·?????What are the quality questions that open up a deeper understanding of yourself and others?
·?????My favourite questions;
o??What would the best version of me do now?
o??What does a great week look like?
o??What is right with me?
o??How can I leverage my strengths?
o??Where can I make a deeper contribution?
o??Where could I show greater compassion?
“Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.” – Dalai Lama
R - Recovery
?“It is the space between the notes that makes the music!” – Wayne Dyer
?I love the insight from Josh Waitzkin around the essential nature of ‘Cultivating empty space as part of your creative process!’ ?Being busy can feel like a badge of honour. So many of us define ourselves by what we do.
?“So, we overdo, overproduce and overwork.”- Dr. Scott Bea
When you don’t give your mind a chance to pause and refresh, it does not work as efficiently. You are also so much more likely to experience burnout and health problems that go ‘hand-in-hand ‘with chronic stress.
Do not confuse ‘downtime’ with ‘leisure activity’ – whilst exercise, going to the museum, reading books, doing puzzles and catching up with friends are wonderful ways to spend your spare time… They are not downtime. To engage in downtime, you need to activate the ‘default mode network – DMN’
Some examples of activities that open up DMN;
·?????Meditation
·?????Bush walks
·?????Walking the dog
·?????Time alone with thoughts
·?????Gardening
·?????Box-Breathing
·?????Afternoon Naps
?“Stress + Recovery = Growth” – Tony Robbins
?E - Enjoyment
?Enjoyment adds power and effectiveness to whatever you’re doing. When you’re enjoying life, you’re functioning at your highest level. Understanding the factors that build enjoyment and facilitate ‘a great week’ give us an opportunity to optimize the quality of our life. It is important to understand that ‘challenge’ is a critical component of enjoyment. ‘Leidenschaft’ – The German word for ‘passion’ (the light within) speaks of the willingness to ‘get into the struggle’ in order to unlock genuine enjoyment.
?“Elevate yourself to the space where your energy, curiosity and passion intersect and then get out of the way!”?- Ric Lewis
Energy – Enthusiasm for your priorities
Curiosity – Enthusiasm for new perspectives
Passion – Enthusiasm for the struggle
?“Enthusiasm and the Ego cannot coexist!” – Ekhart Tolle
?How do we increase enjoyment?
o??Practice Gratitude
o??Work on Mindfulness
o??Put yourself first
o??Celebrate your wins
o??Invest in yourself (Personal ‘compound interest’)
o??Nurture positive relationships
o??Push your social circle wider
o??Declutter
o??Focus on experiences not possessions
o??Exercise regularly – Recover well
o??Spend time ‘outside offline’
o??Limit sugar in your life
o??Own your time
o??Lead through contribution
o??Set compelling goals
o??Live ‘on purpose’
o??Focus on your strengths
?‘It is not enough to have lived…We should be determined to have lived for something!’ – Sir Winston Churchill
Life will open up opportunities or ‘Shards of Light’ where your energy, curiosity and passion will collide and your Gallup StrengthsFinder Strengths, light the way opening up ‘BVOS’ the ‘Best Version of Self’ creating a space where you, your team and your business can create real value.
?“Life is not short… We just don’t use it well enough!’ – Seneca
2b Limitless Founder – Mick Todd: 2022 Professional Services Association – Financial and Legal Services Executive Coach of the Year.
?In order to use your life as effectively as you can contact [email protected] or [email protected] to set up a complimentary intake session with one of the award winning 2b Limitless Team.
Mick Todd – Founder, Partner and C-Suite Executive Coach
Peter Turner – Partner, Head of Coach Training and Certification and Senior Executive Coach
Victoria Tipper – Senior Executive Coach
David Labouchere – Elite Performance Coach
Fiona Brenninkmeijer – Executive Coach
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