3 Actions Help You Lead Powerfully This Week

          Want to positively impact your bottom line? These 3 actions help you lead powerfully this week and feel energized.

Have you had this conversation with yourself?

           My road as a leader is so lonely. I’m feeling disconnected, exhausted, and uninspired. Why doesn’t my staff get it?! We’ve gone over the same practices, but no one gets it. Why? (heavy sigh) I feel so depleted. Ugh…40 new emails…I can’t stand it. I’m so tired.

           Sound familiar? I don’t know a single leader that is not having an internal dialogue that sounds similar.  Leaders are urged to cultivate the “right” behaviors, attitudes, traits. We are excited to tick off 80% of the behaviors, attitudes, or traits the research says make us “better” leaders.

           In my 25 years of diverse leadership experience, the military, corporate, nonprofit, and small business owner–this internal leader dialogue is rarely addressed.

What is the cost of this conversation?

The “Right” Traits Are Not Enough

           Do you know it’s costing you to ignore this internal dialogue? If you’re not burned out, you might be unhappy, frustrated, or depressed. The impact on our leadership and the effect on everything we touch is profound.

           In my leadership journey, I realized that the less I cared for and attended to my personal self the less effective I was as a coach, mentor, guide, and gauge of the organization and my staff’s temperature.

           But I learned a valuable lesson. I now prioritize several key rejuvenating activities in my daily schedule. I am vigilant in ensuring my leadership role and activities do not overshadow my self-care.

Fill Your Tank

Leadership is a full-out, high participation activity. In our leadership roles, we give significant mental, emotional, and physical energy to our teams and company. We rush, rush, rush. Every day, we are so hurried we fail to refill our fuel tank. Just like a car, when there is no more gas, the car becomes useless. Leading is no different. A depleted leader is useless to everyone.

3 Actions Help You Lead Powerfully This Week

1. Dedicate 20-minutes to connect with you. Start each morning with 20-minutes filling your cup. Meditate, pray, journal, take a walk to connect with you. Get up before your family for deep, quiet time. In just 20-minutes, you’ll feel great!
2. Unplug from technology for one hour each day. Unless there is an immediate life or death issue that demands your attention and expertise, you can afford to unplug for 60-minutes. Have a personal conversation with a friend. Think about your family, your personal dreams, goals, or interests—anything but work. Give yourself permission to let your mind rest and rejuvenate.
3. Take lunch away from your desk and office. Get some fresh air and sun. You deserve to feel refreshed for the afternoon activities. When did it become fashionable to be chained to our desks, eat lunch, and continue working? Research shows that we are less effective the more we work and multitask. Take a full lunch, relax, refresh, and rejuvenate. Your decision-making, clarity, and productivity will multiply.

           If you desire to be a leader that positively influences your people and organization, refilling your tank daily must become the rule of your leadership, not the exception.

Jenny DuFresne is the CEO, Leaders Transform. Our mission is to develop leaders who grow, inspire, and evolve people, culture, and impact. Our team supports executive and mid-level leaders with executive coaching, leader, team, and culture development in mid-market companies. Learn more at www.LeadersTransform.com