THE OVERLOOKED PRACTICE
Self-care is essential for people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, but it is also essential for anyone who has responsibility, whether it is to be a leader in their small business, a leader in their school, or anyone who has working or emotional responsibility for others.
How can leaders realistically care for their people if they are not looking after themselves?
The common need for leaders of all types is to be better at taking care of themselves and being as attentive to their own needs as they are to those of their employees. Tesla's Elon Musk, an exponent of the old guard, recognized the value of self-care. It has been unusual for high-profile political or business leaders to publicly admit to health issues. For example, the stigma attached to mental health has kept conditions like stress and depression hidden from the general public. However, in recent years, Musk and others have been open about their mental health issues. Musk admitted to having bipolar disorder and working up to 120 hours per week to keep Tesla afloat.
He wrote on Twitter, "Reality is about great highs, terrible lows, and unrelenting stress. I don't think people want to hear about the last two.
Other leaders at multiple levels have admitted to mental health issues due to high and prolonged stress loads. For example, Toto Wolff (Mercedes AMG F1) said:
Some of the most successful people are very, very sensitive and very, very sensitive means very, very vulnerable.
Leadership as a lived experience can be a very lonely and isolated existence. The demands we place on ourselves can be unrealistically high, and our well-being suffers.
Poor health is frequently regarded as an annoyance. Being absent from work to receive needed care makes us feel as if we are neglecting the goals to be achieved, whereas realistically, we may only be doing "our worst" without self-care.
Reflecting on these sentiments, we realize how important to have good health in general, and especially mental health. Unfortunately, this is symptomatic of the larger system in which we all operate, in which we do not have enough time to reflect, focus, learn, innovate, or create.
Given the importance of self-care, business and politics should not be survival of the fittest. People who are aware of the possibility of ending up in a hospital bed continue to feel the pressure to deliver performance and results, even at the expense of their own health and well-being.
Urgent steps to take
The first step is to admit that you are not the invincible human dynamo you imagine yourself to be. You are prone to bad habits and difficult emotions, and your health has an impact on critical aspects of your leadership abilities. When you have the authority and responsibility to make decisions, you must be in good health in order to make those important decisions correctly.
The second step is to make time and space for yourself to care for yourself. The always-on culture that has infiltrated workplaces and homes is not good for everyone. Self-care should be monitored and supported as part of organizational culture.
The third step is to prioritize self-care. As in a climb, where the person leading the climb controls his or her own safety because everyone else depends on it, your self-care will determine the well-being that you as a leader are expected to ensure.
If you are interested in the topic, fill out the contact form for more details. We would like to connect with you.
Σχόλια