Allen and I hiked Mount Rogers for Mother’s Day. What a gorgeous day! I hope all of you gorgeous mothers were honored today and that you took a moment to celebrate your awesomeness whether you have children that walk on 2 legs or 4!
Consider this. Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance according to the authors of The Power of Full Engagement, written by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. A client of mine in Pittsburgh, Dawn Lewis, whose Chaikhana Chai was recently placed in Whole Foods, pointed me to the book on Friday when I was explaining the new sprint system I was working with clients to start using. I devoured the additional research!
FIRST TRY THIS QUICK, FREE, ENERGY ASSESSMENT from the book: FREE ENERGY ASSESSMENT
The book is great, but if you don’t have the time to read it, check out the article about managing energy in Harvard Business Review that can quickly transform the results you are getting for yourself and your team. The article points out that “To recharge themselves, individuals need to recognize the costs of energy-depleting behaviors and then take responsibility for changing them, regardless of the circumstances they’re facing.” Also to consider was the statement, “Very few people help build and sustain their capacity—their energy—which is typically taken for granted. In fact, greater capacity makes it possible to get more done in less time at a higher level of engagement and with more sustainability. “
What is your current capacity physically, mentally, emotional and spiritually? What do you think is the quality of the energy you have in each of those areas?
One of the main points in the book and article is that you need to carefully plan your activities based on your core values. (If you haven’t done that exercise yet, Value exercise for you and your teamon creating that list for yourself and your team.) YOU ARE NOT A MACHINE. You are not just a human DOing. Breaks that are distraction free are not just going to happen. You need to schedule them and protect them. Learning the practice of scheduling sprints and recovery periods is the key to getting the right things done, quickly. You cannot indefinitely sprint. Your body, mind and spirit need rest to work optimally.
An exercise for your team this week:
Have them take the Energy Assessment and discuss in your next team meeting what type of rituals are leading to the results they are getting.
The first step in any change process is raising awareness to the current reality and comparing it to the desired outcomes you want to reach.