Wanted: Leaders who can go the distance

Hi there,

With summer rapidly approaching, your mind may be turning to holidays, or at least thinking about your next break. Or maybe just looking forward to some downtime at the weekend. When we take breaks from work, it’s so that we can rest, recharge and maintain our performance when we start working again. So that we can work and live in a sustainable way. Neglecting rest and recovery is a short-cut to lowered productivity and eventual burnout.

Last month, I kicked off a new campaign with a focus on something we call 'Sustainable Leadership'. Between now and the end of the year, we'll be sharing our perspective on this topic from a range of angles on the podcast, on YouTube and on the blog. Our goal is to flag the need for a more sustainable approach to work among organisational leaders - the very antithesis of the approach that leads to burnout.

What is 'Sustainable leadership'? 

Don't worry, this isn't yet another model of leadership for you to add to that already plentiful list! Consider it a philosophy, one that emphasises the importance of selecting and developing organisational leaders who think and act sustainably when it comes to:

• Their own performance and wellbeing
• The impact they have on others' performance and wellbeing
• The impact they have on organisational performance
• The impact their organisation has on the wider community and environment

Leaders who think, feel and behave sustainably don't just focus on getting through today's crisis, as I said in Ep 185 of 'My Pocket Psych':

 It's not that you had a successful day today. It's: what if you did that day every day from now on? Who's going to get hurt? Who's going to leave? What's going to happen to the organisation? You got through today... do we want leadership to be about just getting through, just surviving the day, or to have a longer timeline in our minds?

We summarise the concept in the following three reminders for leaders (as well as those who select and develop them):

• Be intentional: Engage mindfully with people and tasks in the here and now
• Be adaptable: Navigate the psychological barriers you encounter flexibly
• Be purposeful: Bring your values to life in your everyday behaviour

(As an aside, our focus on leaders shouldn't imply that we think they are somehow special or that their wellbeing trumps the wellbeing of everyone else! Our focus on leaders simply reflects the significant impact leaders have on the workplace experience for everyone else and the footprint the organisation leaves in the world.)

We're very aware that leadership is a tough gig. We expect so much from our organisational leaders. Setting and pursuing strategy and organisational targets. Inspiring and coaching direct reports. Making the toughest of decisions. But do they always receive the developmental support that will enable them to thrive? With a plethora of leadership myths, outdated development advice and truisms permeating the literature, we're calling for organisations to adopt a more evidence-based approach, one that is rooted in their own organisational context. 

Because what leaders do and say really matters. What we want to do is give them the self-awareness, the interpersonal skills and the contextual sensitivity so that they can do more of what matters and support the development, performance and wellbeing of those around them. 

How you can learn more

• Obviously, I'd love it if you downloaded the Sustainable Leadership white paper from the website. It outlines the challenges of being a leader, the need to provide timely and evidence-based leadership development interventions, and a detailed breakdown of the sustainable leadership approach. 
• You can sign up for our free sustainable leadership webinars. Check out this recording of the session I ran with Dr. Rachael Skews, making the case for increasing leaders' psychological flexibility to address common challenges.

• Next up: a webinar with Ross McIntosh, outlining why leaders really need emotional literacy. Later in the series, we'll be looking at the mental health of leaders with a clinical psychologist, underlining the need for self-care, the importance of developing leaders' self-awareness and the contributions leadership coaching makes. And much more!
• You can also read this introductory post from yours truly on the blog, along with a call from Dr. Wayne Mullen for leaders to act 'on purpose' and with intention. 

Read all about it!

On a slightly related note (managing challenges effectively, that is) I was delighted to collaborate with Dr. Rachael Skews and Ross McIntosh on a journal article for 'The Coaching Psychologist'. Despite working as a practitioner for over 20 years, this was actually my first peer-reviewed publication, so it represents something of a landmark for me. 🎉

Details of the article - and all the other brilliant pieces stemming from last year's Chichester Coaching Psychology Conference - can be found here. Simply put, we explore the benefits of increasing psychological flexibility to navigate the inevitable experience of psychological discomfort at work.

Thanks to my collaborators and to Dr. Ian Tyndall from the University of Chichester, who invited me to speak at the conference and to co-write this article for the journal.  (I also recorded a short video following my presentation at the Chichester conference, for those who couldn't make it on the day. You can find this here.)

Thanks for reading - and don't hesitate to get in touch with your questions and/or feedback. It's always great to hear from readers!

All the best,

Richard