During these last years working around the world, and spending +2000 hours coaching executives of more than 25 different nationalities, we gathered insights that changed forever the way we look at performance in companies and our private lives. This made a big impact on me, personally, because I noticed how much this correlates with our wellbeing and enjoying our life-experiences at work and home. 

 

We all experience constant pressure around us most of the time, and this is taking a toll on our performance and health. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the rates of depression and anxiety have risen by close to 20% since 2005, making them the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. What concerned profoundly it’s the lack of attention, especially in companies, we are experiencing at the moment. The lack of support for the mental health combined with a common fear of stigma means that many do not receive the help they need to live healthy, productive lives.* In the long-term, this will make us lose our purpose, a sense of meaning, and therefore impact negatively on our levels of energy, wellbeing, and reasons to enjoy life.

 

At work and in life, there is a lot of noise and distractions around us all the time and as well as short-term distractions: emails, presentations, calls, urgent problems that need to be fixed, taking the kids to their activities, etc. One common symptom we have observed in many companies, for example, is having full agendas of meetings and being overbooked to the point of having to prepare for the working week on Sundays. This lack of downtime space has a negative impact on the execution of the company's strategy and our performance. Similar behaviors can also be observed in our private lives. Our calendars are full of activities, but no time is dedicated to ourselves to nurture our roots and regain our energy levels. We need high levels of self-awareness and constant work on our inner drivers to maintain our purpose in life.

 

When developing ”Sustainable Executives,” we go beyond the traditional work focus or what it is called the “work-life balance.” We look at it as a whole, as one unique system, because everything is related to the final performance experienced. There are simple principles and approaches we can pursue on a daily basis to calm our minds, at work and in other areas of life. By transforming our view of these experiences and learning how to create a space for calmness in our minds, we become better at perceiving the context. Some of us respond to adversity by feeling threatened and some by seeing it as an opportunity. The latter approach is what we call a Growth Mindset. It is manifested in the moments when we are able to make better decisions, be more productive and creative, and enjoy a higher level of wellbeing.

 

*https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-depression-idUSKBN1711BT