As Leaders we end up running fast on the treadmill, with little space to reflect on what our real Direction should be. Whether to take a career risk, lead our teams differently, or be a different (& hopefully better) partner or parent.
Hopefully we might have had a summer break, when everyone else has a similar rhythm. And that has helped us create a reflective space to pause. And to see ourselves, our colleagues and loved ones in a different light.
However, as we get back to work it’s easy to lose our Perspective all over again. Remember that most of us will work over 90,000 hours over our lifetimes. So it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Here are six tips to help maintain that Perspective, even in the heat of a proverbial battle.
1. Read & listen one afternoon, but to different influences.
If you normally binge on business books, take a weekend afternoon to pick up those novels by the bedside drawer. If you’re a podcast hound, check out the latest Afrobeats or classical. What a great time to explore more of what Life has to offer.
2. Limit day to day triggers, to give your mind time to wander, for just one weekend.
Switch on your email OOO for just one weekend and ask colleagues to call (not text or message) if there’s something really urgent. You’ll find that few things really are that urgent. But if something does blow up, you can still respond.
3. Set up different rhythms and routines for a week.
If you’re a lark (early bird), now’s the time to play owl. If you like to be indoors, boost that Vitamin D. Just shift gears for one week and see what difference it makes.
4. Be fully “in the moment” for your loved ones and friends when you return home.
Often we give the remnants – the leftovers – of our time to our loved ones. Now’s the chance to reverse that trend. Take a deep breath and relax a few hours, half-an-hour before you arrive at your home doorstep. Be fully present when you do arrive.
5. Let your loved ones see a different side of you for a weekend.
If you’re the Family Organiser, now’s the time to be playful and carefree one weekend. Throw off the labels & realise that there are many sides of yourself. Explore them, embrace them. And don’t be afraid of revealing these to your loved ones.
6. If important issues are weighing on your mind, don’t try to settle them. Give them room to settle themselves.
If you’re weighing a big professional or personal decision, don’t obsess. Trusting the space, you’ve given yourself will help your mind to process it subconsciously. You’ll find there may be a moment of piercing clarity: when it appears, just take a moment to write whatever emerges down. For me the bittersweet realisation that I needed to step down from being CEO of my organisation, came on a long winding journey in the Moroccan hills.
Even in the midst of the battle of returning to work, you can still find time for a fresh Perspective. And in the process, let your Friends & Loved Ones get to see the best & breadth of you.
About the author:
Sharath Jeevan OBE is a world-leading expert on Intrinsic Leadership & Motivation, and the Founder & Executive Chairman of Intrinsic Labs. He is the author of ground-breaking book “Intrinsic” and was awarded an OBE in the 2022 Queen’s New Year’s Honours for founding and leading STiR Education, arguably the world’s largest intrinsic motivation initiative.
