LEVEL UP AND SUSTAIN EXECUTIVE TEAM RESILIENCE
Level up capacity and performance of your executive team by focusing on resilience
An executive team’s RESILIENCE is crucial but so often neglected or forgotten about. How come?
First of all, we often speak of and reflect on so-called high performance in false terms. It may well be that we don’t really know what true high-level performance is. Neither do we know what resilience is and means. Well, I’ll tell you one thing: it’s not GRIT, meaning it’s not just about pushing through because we have the perseverance, drive, motivation, experience, position, and can cope under high pressure.
A resilient team is stronger together and will get through change, tough periods and crises healthier, whole and with a faster rebound time than those who aren’t. And they will come out of these periods most likely stronger than burnt out and broken (to take the other end of the spectrum). “I need a vacation, I can’t cope”.
When investing in people, leaders and exec teams often speak in terms of “rest of the organization” – not the executive team themselves. “When we design wellness programs, it’s the staff who participate, not the C-suite”. “Leadership programs are for mid management; they are the ones needing most support.“ Ok, one one hand… but on the other hand…?
Becoming resilient is business critical
And why is that? Is it because we don’t see these types of projects and investments as “business critical” after all? I want to challenge anyone thinking that way. Investing in the resilience and capacity (one could include the words health and wellbeing) of the top team will be most likely more critical for our future businesses than we even realize. Not just as people do get older and the world is a busier place, more demanding than ever perhaps.. but also from investors’ points of view. Stake and shareholders will value a company whose executive team is truthfully as strong as they say they are. These individuals need to be as resilient as the company and its products are said to be on a volatile market. That’s where we can trust leaders making timely, right choices – because they simply are the best version of themselves.
How’s your brain working today? How would you like it to be working in 10 years time? Think of a leadership team with brains that are foggy, or breaths that are heavy. Risky.
Okay… Well how do you make sure the team in the ultimate leadership role and responsibility, has what it takes to succeed, survive, develop? The impact of a dysfunctional or unwell leadership team carries a long way, within and worst case beyond, to customers and other stakeholders. Can we truly afford NOT to invest in the executive team? How do we know we are in “our top performing capacity” this year, or next year? OR is it in each individual’s responsibility to secure and kind of “let’s hope for the best”.
“Of course they will perform and deliver. They have long careers behind them, hours and hours of work and demanding roles. I mean, of course they can cope with stress, pressure, and whatever comes with it. They are leaders, that’s what they get paid for!” Is this realistic?
We know it’s stressful, long hours, stretching the limits… The question is, how is an individual’s lifestyle and choices they make (everything from sleep, nutrition, recovery, vacations, movement, breathing.. etc.) truly supporting their high performance and delivery demands? Do YOU know what’s best for you or even – how to get the best performance out of yourself? And even more importantly, how to sustain it? How to navigate through rough seas and be confident you will bounce back, because of your resilient, healthy baseline.
To be honest, many don’t know. We see high performers in their 40’s and 50’s severely misusing their own capacity with a high risk of not being able to sustain the level for another 10-20 years. This should not be the case. We can protect and actually develop our cognitive and physical capacity for years to come. But in order to do that, we need to decide what matters. And for many executive teams (although it shouldn’t) it is about understanding how business crucial this actually is. “Long term wins over short term”. Well, we are here for the long run, aren’t we? We need to have the willingness to learn.
Stress creates an obstacle
As said there are many senior executives and leadership teams that are fragile, when they needn’t. More importantly and unfortunately, they are not getting the best out of themselves as individuals nor as groups. Why? Well, in many cases due to lack of understanding and know-how but also prioritizing (due to lack in knowledge) in the field of performance, capacity and health. And… What kind of crucial roles these play in our decision making, strategic thinking, risk taking capacity, collaboration skills etc.
One key topic when speaking of resilience is of course stress. So let’s address that.
Stress can be experienced in many forms. Stress will always be there and has a role in our lives. Physiologically, our autonomic nervous system switches between the parasympathetic and sympathetic, commonly known as rest & digest and fight or flight (or freeze) states. When we experience “stress”, we are spending more time on the sympathetic side – preferably only shorter periods at a time.
Going out of the box, challenging yourself, showing yourself, you indeed can perform under tough conditions (short term), is all great! That’s something leaders and executive teams are familiar with and maybe part of the reason one climbs up the career ladder towards the top (if you are a fan of the traditional corporate hierarchy) really is to experience more, get challenged (and be able to challenge..?) and so on. This is how we grow! Part of this growth and development surely happens within the fight/flight/freeze zone however we do need to take time for digesting everything that’s happening to us or around us to be able to recover and build resilience. This is where we need to lead and move ourselves towards the parasympathetic side.
As a team of executives, you need to secure stress isn’t becoming a hurdle or barrier, slowing you down or making it harder to see clearly, aka decision-making power, cognitive capacity etc.
Stress can lead to sleepless nights, we all know that. Not to worry.
A resilient person will cope and know how to work with and around stress, how to lead stress instead of stress taking over.
From the individual perspective
After all it is about knowing when to push the pedal, when to pull the break. And in which areas (of life)! Stressful period at work? Don’t plan to run that marathon AND have a party to attend right after. Pull back on the training but don’t stop moving! Visit that party but go home early? Don’t think your brain needs 3 glasses of wine to rewind and recover. Find strategies that truly assist your “system recovery”.
Think about the “hormetic effect” concept where a small amount of something is good but going overboard it will have a negative effect on your system. For instance, intermittent fasting (trending) vs starvation mode. A good amount of stress on your system will make you stronger. Too much or uncontrollable stress will make you weaker.
Hear and listen to signals at an early stage, before they are too loud! Having sudden back problems? Pull back on intensity in some areas of life. It’s your body signaling stress. Having stomach issues? Make sure your eating is on point when you are under a hectic period.
Different forms of stress may lead to inflammation. Inflammation has an effect on brain cells, which should be helping us make good decisions and control our emotions (put things in perspective, see beyond problems for instance.)
Aim to understand what brings you energy, what fuels you, what drains your energy, empties the tank so to speak. These analyses need to be both subjective and objective, wherever possible, using data to support your individual decision making and self-leadership. This is where wearable technology, data driven assessments with a professional can be of great help!
Routines are a great support for resilience. Routines are the key to coping with an intense period. Routines free time for what is important. Healthy routines (think sleep, evening, morning routines) support building that healthy, resilient baseline we all need. Routines enable creativity, ever thought of that?
So what about periods when it’s not intense or hectic then? Enjoy them! Use the time to build resilience, educate, learn, test, push your limits.
Think like an athlete, act like a strategic corporate professional.
Working on your resilience and performance is not about talking. It’s about learning and practicing. We recommend a data driven approach to resilience also for the corporate leadership rooms.
A resilient team has a plan and looks under the hood, on regular basis
A well-functioning leadership team is resilient, objective, diverse. A team that is able to look and see beyond, think strategically, act fast when needed, lead and be an example to everyone in the organization. A team in sync. A team that communicates and collaborates. We need individuals who know themselves, their strengths, capacity and are able to lead, own and optimize their own performance. By taking a step back and looking at ourselves not just as members of the executive team – but truly looking under the hood, how are we doing, how are we feeling - with the help of data and objective measurements. This way we build self-awareness but even more importantly, understanding how we may react a certain way, communicate a certain way – especially when under pressure, stress or dealing with multiple obstacles. This is crucial, if we want to have a functional team where the team is stronger together than as individuals.
An individual with a resilient baseline will have a healthier relation with themselves, peers, family, friends – and can not only get the best out of themselves but also support others. They are usually more prone towards collaboration than securing their own race.
For anyone to perform at the top, and lead by example, “walk the talk” - they need to be resilient (and actually, vice versa when you think of it). They need to be able to manage stress, know how to recover. Improved focus, enhancing cognitive performance and productivity are key areas for us to focus on. In order to adjust and modify behavior, you need the right attitude, the necessary knowledge, data sources, and the skills.
Where to start? Start with creating a plan. Put resilience on the executive team meeting agenda. Discuss, reflect and start acting upon. And on an individual level, here’s a thought: start focusing on recovery. Create your own recovery strategy for the days to come. And no, the box cannot be ticked with sleep. ;)
”Sustainable top performance enables bottom line results.”
Want to assess your team’s resilience?
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Want to continue reading? Check out the following articles:
Ultimate Guide to Handling Negotiation Stress by our partner, negotiation expert Pavel Novak
Stress, health, and high performance by Satu Ahlman
If you want step by step professional guidance, apply to our data driven fully tailored high performer coaching programs (all virtual), by scheduling a first meeting.
About the author
Satu Ahlman is the Founder and Performance Advisor at Saga Performance. Her passion is for people development through a systems approach to performance, leadership, and life. This leads to incredible results with top executives, athletes, and entrepreneurs around the world.
About Saga Performance
Saga Performance works with corporate professionals as the catalyst to achieving and sustaining high performance. Typically, our clients are executives, entrepreneurs, and driven corporate professionals who seek to optimize performance, get the best out of themselves. And organizations that aim to secure healthy high performing cultures and walk the talk leadership.