It's Time To Put Yourself First
Leadership is a marathon, not a sprint.
Over the past couple of weeks, in workshops and mentoring sessions, there have been some tears. Leaders are showing me and telling me that they're tired and for some of them, they have nothing left in the tank. It's understandable, right?
I was going to discuss today how leaders can reinvigorate their teams but I think we should put that to one side and instead focus on you, the leader. Right now, your number one priority in leadership is to reinvigorate and recharge yourself. It’s time to put yourself first.
When COVID first hit, our fight or flight response kicked in. We had a surge of adrenaline and cortisol and we responded. We leapt into action. We set up remote teams and made sure they had IT access. We home schooled our children and set up our home offices with Ikea furniture. We bought our gym equipment with the intention of getting into shape. We were busy, busy, busy.
It’s now months later and reality (at least for the foreseeable future) has set in. The initial rush is over and some of us are left feeling fatigued. We still need to lead our teams and provide service to our clients but we’re struggling.
I think now more than ever before, leaders want to be there for their people and support them through this time. One of my mentoring clients this week, was feeling so down on herself. A team member in Melbourne had called in tears and said that she needed the rest of the week off work because she just wasn't coping and needed a break.
This leader said to me, "I can't believe that I didn't know that things were so bad for her. What kind of leader am I?"
I told her firstly to put the baseball bat away and not to be so hard on herself. Be kind. Then I told her that what she needs is to put some rituals into place, so she can show up day after day and be the leader that she wants to be.
You need to prioritise your health and well-being by:
Making sure you’re getting a good night’s sleep every night (so simple but so undervalued by many leaders)
Doing something every day that makes you laugh
Carving out some ‘you’ time every day – mediate, read, listen to a podcast or a song - whatever works for you
Connecting with people who uplift you, make that phone call or facetime (my friend Emma and I have never Facetimed as much – I love it!)
I know that you know this stuff but the real challenge is implementing it and making it a non-negotiable in your day. For a few of my clients, I'm now sending a text at 6:00 every night with a couple of questions just to check in, so that they can form these new habits.
These self-care rituals need to come before the emails, before the meetings and the deadlines and all of that other stuff that seems urgent right now. YOU are your most urgent and pressing priority.
Remember it’s the long game you’re playing and I want you to love your leadership role. It’s a privilege to be in a position where you influence others but in order to do so, you have to look after yourself first.
Champagne and Sunshine,
Midja x