LEADERSHIP
training and support to increase energy , mental agility , resilience and stamina if they are going to win .
According to Tignum data , 67 percent of top executives have metabolic dysfunctions or other health related risk factors that decrease performance and productivity , and an alarming 84 percent report that they don ’ t have sufficient energy to meet all their daily demands .
At the simple ‘ functioning level ’, being healthy is the obvious priority . Paul Hemp said in the Harvard Business Review that “ unlike absenteeism , presenteeism isn ’ t always apparent . You know when someone doesn ’ t show up for work , but you often can ’ t tell when or how much illness or a medical condition hinders someone ’ s performance .”
The point is that if you aren ’ t healthy , you aren ’ t performing at your best . This is one of many reasons companies are investing so much in executive physicals , company wellness and vitality programmes and health incentives . But is being healthy enough ?
No , it isn ’ t . Let ’ s look beyond ‘ functioning ’ at optimising human performance . At this level , a successful executive is consistently energised and bringing energy to others . They have strategies to bounce back from setbacks , to prepare for their daily events and to recover from the stresses they face . Ideally , this means having the same energy at 3pm as at 9am .
But research shows that executives who try to optimise performance by just focusing on exercise or nutrition often fall short . They may lose weight and even ‘ feel better ’ but they aren ’ t necessarily higher performers , or more sustainable . When you integrate strategies relating to mindset , nutrition , movement and recovery , you get a far more significant effect .
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that one-third of American workers aren ’ t sleeping enough to function at peak levels , and that chronic exhaustion is costing billions of dollars in lost productivity . Yet high-quality sleep is the foundation of recovery .
And so to peak performance . Every day and week there are certain events that are critical . In sports or in the fire service , these events are obvious . But in business they too often are hidden in all the other noise
16 April 2015