Bringing Our 'A' Game by Filling Our Well

My View

Leadership roles are challenging and rewarding. The work’s demands can take us to personal and professional highs while dragging us through mud puddles of consternation.

Amidst the challenges, we strive to be the best version of ourselves when we lead. The people we lead, in turn, are more apt to put forth their best effort when we come to work energized, focused and optimistic. 

How do we behave in ways that help us bring our A-game to the people we lead who deserve our very best? The ancient Greeks and Romans expressed this wish in the Latin phrase “mens sana in corpore sano,” meaning “a healthy mind in a healthy body,” centering on the need to balance the three domains of mind, body and spirit.

Triad of Tactics

In my own pursuit of this balance, I’ve developed a short list of strategies.

The Body

Exercise! This comes as no surprise, as the benefits of regular exercise are well known. One need not look hard to find an abundance of research in this regard, but a notable work,  Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, outlines multiple studies illustrating the positive effects of cardiovascular exercise on cognitive performance, mood and energy. This means getting your heart beating and your lungs pumping; and the more you can push yourself, the better.

The key is to keep it simple and fun, so you will be consistent. If you like to run, then run. Or take brisk walks, swim, ride your bike. Creating habits and rituals that make getting out the door easier can help, such as having your exercise gear ready so you can slip into your clothes upon waking. The key is to get out there!

The Mind

To keep your mind healthy, you must attend to its need for intellectual stimulation and cognitive function. To do so, cultivate knowledge by reading often and widely. It helps to know your learning style and what stimulates your curiosity — e.g., reading, watching YouTube videos, listening to music, sketching, etc.

Try your hand at writing, too, especially in areas around which you are knowledgeable and passionate. However, while you are busy feeding the intellectual parts of your brain, find balance in your mind by quieting it down.

The recent focus in our culture on mindfulness provides a welcome and needed approach, helping to improve the quality and effectiveness of our work and our lives. The key element is to quiet the mind, focus on your breathing and allow pauses that lend perspective, clarity and greater awareness. Practicing mindfulness doesn’t take much time or require sitting. Mindful moments can happen on a walk, in a chair at your desk, or even in the space of a few breaths.

Two helpful resources, both secular in their focus, are Breakthrough Finding from a Leading Neuroscientist: How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman and The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle.

The Spirit

Without sounding too metaphysical, there is a decidedly mysterious nature to the human condition. Consider cultivating the spiritual side of your nature, what I refer to as our deeply human side, through positive social interactions, play and kindness to others.

Cultivating friendships is vital, as strong social bonds are particularly helpful in our stressful roles as leaders. Further, experiencing a sense of play, without concern for failure, helps lighten the spirit and creates joy and happiness. Hobbies such as cooking, gardening or dancing are avenues of play that nourish the spirit.

Finally, as Viktor Frankl pointed out in Man’s Search for Meaning, the power of giving to and volunteering for others, is quite possibly the greatest gift we can give to others and ourselves.