Approach work holistically
HEALTHY MIND PLATTER: ENSURES TIME DEDICATED TO EVERY ASPECT OF A PRODUCTIVE LIFE
Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual capacities should be aligned.
In March this year I had the amazing experience of riding the Absa Cape Epic, this time with my teammate Craig Denbury for Team NeuroLeadership Institute. The Cape Epic is a two-person, eight-day, 700km mountain bike race through the Western Cape and is considered one of the toughest races of its kind in the world.
This was my third time riding it and I‘m happy to say that we achieved our goal of ranking in the top 70 – 53rd overall – out of 750 that included the world‘s best mountain bikers.
In the months leading up to the Cape Epic, I was often asked how I found time. I have a busy job at the NeuroLeadership Institute and a baby boy to care for, so putting in the required hours to ensure peak physical fitness may have seemed like an impossible task to many.
I was fortunate to have the full support and encouragement of my family and my colleagues.
It wasn‘t just about being extremely fit and feeling the thrill of the competition, the Cape Epic was about me following my passion and fulfilling my bigger purpose.
And my work didn‘t suffer while I was training; in fact, I found I was in peak condition both at the office and on my bike.
The making of a corporate athlete
“The making of a corporate athlete”, an article written by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, has some valuable insights into why some business people continually perform at their peak and why others tend to always crumple under pressure. Although the article was written a few years ago, I believe their findings still hold true, both from personal experience and because of my knowledge of neuroscience, which focuses on the inner workings of the brain and the connection between mind and body.
Loehr and Schwartz suggest that in order to achieve sustained high performance, a person’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual capacity should be aligned, as they influence one another. If one area is not addressed, the experts say, an employee’s functioning can be affected.
They liken high-performing executives to professional athletes, where the focus is not solely on improving work-related skills or talent in a particular sport, but rather on enhancing aspects such as their endurance, flexibility, self control and focus.
Of course, in most sports, the careers of professional athletes are quite short. They are also only expected to perform at their peak when they compete – which is a small amount of time compared to the countless hours of training.
In contrast, executives are expected to perform at their best for at least eight hours a day. There is also no such thing as an off-season and executives usually only retire after 40 or 50 years.
Where the brain fits in optimal performance
It’s important to bear in mind that the brain controls many of the vital elements needed for effective corporate performance, such as collaboration, emotional processing, decision-making and focus.
Often, when we need to achieve more at work, we think that simply putting more hours in is all that is required.
However, when it comes to sports, we would not expect to become a better cyclist by training for 72 consecutive hours.
Our brain, just like other parts of our body, needs the right amount of exertion, rest and nutrients to perform optimally.
Therefore, like an athlete alternates between times of intense training and periods of recovery, so should employees be encouraged to set aside time from work for their own forms of replenishment.
Getting the most out of your people
If so much more is expected of a business professional compared to an athlete, then surely the holistic, 360-degree approach to enhancing performance is even more important?
Here are three ways in which companies can help their employees excel in all aspects of their lives:
1. Give your employees room to find and follow their purpose:
People who experience what they do as meaningful and contributing to a purpose that matters consistently demonstrate higher levels of productivity, resilience and performance.
For me, endurance mountain biking and setting myself a stretch goal of doing my third Cape Epic this year gave me something to work towards.
Being committed to my regular training meant I was in this same focused mindset when I was at work, too.
My company was cognisant of this and knew that although my training might take me away for an hour or two a day, I was 100% present and productive when I was at the office.
Ask your employees what rejuvenates or motivates them most. This could be anything that gives them fulfilment or joy and enables them to come to work with a sound mindset.
2. Encourage employees to take recovery time every 90 to 120 min:
Even 10 min breaks can do wonders for resetting thinking and energy.
It is a physical fact that the body’s hormone, glucose, and blood pressure levels drop every 90 min.
By not taking time out, you override the body’s natural stressrest cycles, which affects performance.
Recovery breaks can include eating something healthy, hydrating, moving and changing channels emotionally and mentally.
Visualisation is a good technique to reset. Meditation or deep breathing are also useful ways to shift gears.
Different tasks require different kinds of thought and by shifting gears we allow different parts of the brain to recover.
This is why you often have those “aha!” moments when you’re not actually focusing directly on a task.
3. Create a conducive work environment for healthy living:
We all know that we should eat right, exercise regularly and sleep for the recommended eight hours each night.
But many of us rarely have the opportunity to do all these things, because we have no time, are too tired or just lack the willpower.
Make it easy for employees. Include multiple healthy food options at your work canteen, start a walking club before or after work and encourage a culture that prioritises time with loved ones.
At the NeuroLeadership Institute we call this the healthy mind platter. This offers a structured process to ensure we dedicate time to the different aspects that have an effect on overall wellbeing and performance. Examples include physical well-being, psychological safety, time to think and reflect and constructive stretch towards rewarding goals.