When Your Body is Saying ENOUGH!!! Are you listening?

Healthy Leadership

By: Neal Eisenstein, MCC

This morning, I had a catch-up call with an old client we'll call Glenn. After a considerable amount of travel to a series of business events located across the country, Glenn admitted that he's been under the weather, way too often in recent months.  This was the result of too much travel, the desire to show up as an accountable and engaged executive at business meetings and too many late nights partying. The good news is that I didn't need to say much as Glenn's self-assessment was that he had pushed too hard and needed to ratchet down as he was suffering from a range of symptoms including fatigue, malaise and colds.  His body was telling him that it was time to stop.   

One of the lessons in leadership that isn't talked about much is when our health takes a turn for the worse due, in part, due to work-related decisions that are absolutely under our control.  On some level, our bodies are communicating to us.  Our bodies are offering us feedback that our minds may refuse to accept. Yes, we know that we are pushing it but, we tell ourselves, "Somehow I will persevere and get to this meeting, attend this dinner, hit this deadline...I just got to deal with this one last thing, and I'll go to bed."  These somatic messages sometimes show up as a severe health crisis, infections, weight gain, colds or mental or physical or mental fatigue. This is the result of too many company dinners or just the pressure of too much work, unrealistic deadlines, or the desire to have fun with others, often including the consumption of way too much alcohol. We often don't think about our physical health challenges as feedback but, nonetheless it is.   

The Paradox of Feedback 

The complication with feedback, from our boss, our team, our colleagues, or our bodies is that these are powerful insights and wisdom that can be helpful guideposts and insights about where and when we draw the line in how we prioritize our precious time and priorities.  However, in our minds, our ego, our goal orientation, our drive and learned patterns of goal attainment over time...all these things sometimes compete with the need to make healthy changes.  Said differently, sometimes our ego strengths become our ego vulnerabilities.  We delay slowing down, we delay hiring the right people for the right roles who relieve us of unnecessary jobs that we continue to do because, "nobody can do this the way I do it and it only takes me 5 minutes."  Instead, we make unnecessary and unproductive choices that slowly, over time, diminish our energy, presence, and resilience.  This affects how we conduct ourselves, deliver messages, manage the team and lead the way until the body breaks and reminds us that, spoiler alert... we are only human.   

Healthy Boundaries 

In business as in life, I have learned the hard way that it's all about establishing healthy boundaries in behavior, expectations, and interdependencies.  It's all about accepting the truth about rationalization and denial that can prevent us from embracing change.  We do see it in others.  We have wisdom for others. Yet sometimes it can be difficult to establish these same boundaries for ourselves.   

A few of the most important questions that might be helpful might include these very simple reflections.  When we get really honest with ourselves, one can ask:  

1. What are the healthy boundaries that I need to establish in my schedule to take better care of myself?   

   
   

2. What is the lesson I need to learn when my health takes a turn for the worse due to my own hubris, denial, or anticipated downside risk if I make the decision to slow down right now. 

   
   

3. Who are the people in my life that are affected by choices I am making or decisions I have been avoiding because of my own rationalizations?   

As an executive coach and facilitator who has had the privilege of working with highly confident, driven and goal-oriented talent over many years, I know that we all can get caught up in our own rationalizations, career vision and desire to build a sustaining, successful enterprise. 

Want to continue growing and mature as a rising executive?  Take some time to look in the mirror at your own reflection and set some goals and deadlines for initiating the changes that need to be made.  Don't make the mistake of waiting for your body to say, ENOUGH! 

At SZH Consulting, we help leaders set healthy boundaries and lead in ways that honor both their responsibilities and their well-being. Through our executive coaching and leadership development programs, we support leaders in developing the clarity, confidence, and practices needed to sustain high performance without sacrificing personal health. Because thriving organizations start with leaders who know how to care for themselves as they lead others. If you’re ready to unlock your leaders’ and thereby your organization's potential, let’s connect!