The Leadership Advice No One Puts on a Slide
Last week I had the chance to talk about leadership in two very different rooms.
First was a 50 minute virtual keynote on “Great Leaders Eat Lunch” to a group of current leaders in the banking industry. Than later in the week, I spent four hours with 26 engineers in an emerging leaders program on "Leading People in a Professional Services Firm."
Two very different audiences. But there was one theme connected both conversations.
Leaders set the pace.
Teams watch what leaders do more than what they say. We live in a culture where burnout is often worn like a badge of honor. We praise grind culture. We admire 12-hour days. We celebrate people who never seem to stop working. We think this is what's necessary to succeed.
But it raises the question:
Is that leadership or just exhaustion with a name tag?
If you send emails at midnight, your team assumes that is the expectation (even if you tell them it's not). If you skip lunch and stack meetings all day, they think that’s what leadership looks like.
But when leaders take breaks, protect their time, and create space to think, they give their teams permission to do the same.
And there’s science behind it. Our brains need fuel and recovery to perform well. As humans, we know from science that people who take breaks make better decisions, communicate more clearly, and are less reactive. (check out this great article on the topic from Knowledge at Wharton)
My advice to all the leaders I worked with last week:
Want to communicate better? Eat lunch.
Want to respond instead of react? Take a quick walk.
Want to retain great talent? Model balance.
Leadership is often overcomplicated. But more often than not, it comes down to modeling the behavior you want from your team and for them to believe it is possible. The best leaders don’t just manage work; they model how great work gets done.
Before you head into next week, think about the pace are you setting for the people around you. Is it sustainable? Or are you setting everyone up to burn out quickly.
Are you looking for ways to help your leadership team grow this year without burning out? Grab a time on my calendar and let's make a plan together!
