Do you have the energy to lead well?

Photo by Aditya Saxena on Unsplash

So many leaders I speak with care about their teams and want to help them thrive while driving strong business results. The challenge I see is that those same people-focused, dedicated leaders are tired. Their energy stores are often close to depleted.

We need our energy stores at full capacity so that we can:

• Present effectively to a client or customer

• Synthesize data and draw appropriate conclusions

• Evaluate the health of a project

• Identify new ideas or continuous improvement opportunities

All of these are important, but none are as important or as challenging as leading your team. Leading a team requires you to be at your best so that you can:

• Show up as the leader you want to be

• Support your team members as they work their way through challenges

• Navigate and address team conflicts

• Identify opportunities for the team members to grow and develop

• Craft the ideal organizational design for the capabilities and capacity you have

• Bring out the best in each team member

The people side of leadership often feels more challenging than managing the projects and deliverables because it requires you to use both your heart and mind. When we’re working with depleted energy stores for too long, we struggle with being able to do this well.

Our teams deserve us to be at our best.

To make sure our energy levels are high, I recommend trying to incorporate as many of these tips as possible into your life:

📌 Prioritize sleep…without this, we struggle (even if we think we’re ok).

📌 Build in break times to your day…we’re not at our best going from meeting to meeting to meeting

📌 Set a time to end work…most of us could work 24x7. We benefit from formalizing the end of our work day.

📌 Make time to plan and reflect…if we’re always doing, we can’t be confident we’re still doing the right things as circumstances change.

📌 Make healthy eating choices…our bodies need fuel with good nutrients to function at our best

📌 Take regular time away from work…this means your weekends and vacation time. This downtime allows you to come back re-energized.

📌 Build fun into your schedule…this is another way to restore your energy.

📌 Find people with whom you can share your challenges…having this sounding board or place to vent allows us to feel that we’re not alone.

Leading people is a fantastic opportunity. Make sure you’re ready to do your best work.