Eight Resolutions for a Healthy Leader

Resolutions Image

Resolutions ImageWhether you call it a resolution or a goal, it’s all the same thing. We’re all looking for that one thing we want to do differently in 2018 to make it our best year yet. The vast majority of personal New Year’s Resolutions involve becoming more healthy (eat less, work out more, etc). When we think about health, we think about the things that are easily measured: pounds, inches, calories, grams of sugar, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Rarely do we measure our mental health or consider the impact it has on our physical health.

The role of a leader is inherently stressful. The responsibility that role bears in addition to the demanding hours and unforgiving performance metrics can often impact the leader’s overall well-being. Healthy well-balanced meals are exchanged for vending machine snacks between meetings. After-work trips to the gym are cancelled due to pressing deadlines. And in the blink of an eye the year has passed and nothing changed.

Do something different this year. Set yourself up for success on your personal health goals by making healthier choices at work. Here are 8 suggestions for a mentally and physically healthy 2018:

  1. Send fewer emails. Walk to the team member’s desk to communicate in person. Issues will be resolved faster, you’ll get in more steps, and get your blood flowing.
  2. Schedule walking meetings. Get everyone in on the action. If you meet while walking, not only will you get a change in perspective for the day, but you’ll find your meetings are more candid and productive.
  3. Leave the office. Take a long lunch. Go on vacation. This will rejuvenate your mental energy and build trust with your team.
  4. Delegate more. Make sure you give the team the space, freedom and authority to take action and make safe mistakes.
  5. One thing at a time. Stop multi-tasking and take on one thing at a time. Dividing your cognitive resources is depleting them too quickly and opening up chances for costly mistakes.
  6. Bring a smile to work. Emotions are contagious. The positive energy you bring to work will be mirrored by your team. On days when your emotions are low, they’ll be primed to return the favor.
  7. Rip off the band-aid. Avoiding a problem never made it go away. Like a cavity that turns to an abscess, you’ll find that you spend fewer emotional resources by handling the problem immediately than by losing countless hours of productivity/sleep worrying about the confrontation.
  8. Dress up. The old adage is true- when you look good, you feel good! Dressing in a way that makes you feel confident sets you up with the power to take on the challenges of the day.