Great Leadership & Great Wellbeing

Great leadership and great wellbeing go hand in hand so, if you're currently planning your training and development schedule for 2015, remember to include content that helps everyone perform at their best every day.

We design and deliver wellbeing modules to fit leadership programmes of all durations.  Take a look at our recent blog demonstrating how effective it can be to position wellness as a component of great leadership - with the right initiatives, dramatic results can be achieved in weeks, consolidated over months and will last for years. 

Click the link to read more: How long does it take to change healthy living habits?

As far as impacting individuals is concerned, here's just one example of the great results that are possible.  Imagine your whole business full of people like this...
 
'Since the programme, I am pleased and proud to report that I have lost 22lb in weight.  I ran my first half marathon in June and have registered for another in 8 weeks time.  I bought a bike and have fallen in love with cycling and now even enjoy the time I spend in the gym which was previously my idea of hell!
 
I have transformed my diet and I have never felt so alive and healthy.  I stay hydrated and sleep at least 8 hours every night, more if I can.  Long may this new lifestyle continue, thank you.'

You can read further examples of great wellbeing results here: Feel healthier, sleep better, balance life, feel great

So if you'd like some dramatic results for your colleagues and your business in 2015, contact us today to find out how you can best incorporate wellness initiatives on your leadership, training and development programmes.

In the meantime, we've compiled The Top Ten Quickest and Most Effective Healthy Lifestyle Changes.  Email info@the-tonic.com today to request your copy of this fact sheet.

For regular wellbeing updates and motivation follow The Tonic on Twitter.

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Achieving Your Ideal Wellness Results: The 3 most important questions to ask yourself

Many people express the desire to make different lifestyle choices and sharpen up their health, fitness and energy levels.  In the quest to turn this desire into action, we've identified 3 key questions that you must ask yourself.

1. What specifically do I want to achieve with my personal wellbeing?

If you're serious about great wellness results you need to think beyond the headline aims to tone up, get fit or lose weight. 

(If you really want to lose weight by the way you need to read my book, The NLP Diet) 

For quick success your objectives need to be more precise. A second level of more specific questions could include:

• How fit do you want to be? 
• How will you measure progress? 
• What does a healthy eating routine look like for you and your family? 
• What does better work life balance mean to you? 
• How much weight do you want to lose or gain and by when? 
• When you consider better sleep routines, what will these consist of?

2. Why do I want to achieve these results?

This is crucial. We are all exposed to millions of messages telling us we should be thinner, richer, healthier, fitter, faster, more dynamic, better balanced and more successful. The secret is only to pay attention to the messages that are relevant and interesting to you for specific and compelling reasons. Use these messages to develop your individual plan and turn your desires into a clear mission statement like this one:

'I want to be fit enough to complete a 10K run in 50 minutes because the training to achieve this will give me a focus to my weekly exercise, keep me on track with my food routine and my sleep pattern, and give me more energy to perform better at work and be in a better frame of mind to support my family. Achieving my goal within three months will give me a huge sense of satisfaction and boost my confidence.' 

3. When do I want to begin experiencing benefits of making lifestyle changes and when will the landmark moments in my progress appear?

The time frame you choose to achieve your objectives needs to be appropriate and exciting. Losing 7 pounds in 18 months or running a marathon within 5 years probably won't change much that you do right now. Too much time can be as bad as too little so be precise.  Focus on the combination of a) changes that are quick to implement so you can experience immediate benefits, and b) make sure your actions lead toward some clear key benchmarks of notable progress.  

For example, a walk or run every day leading towards completing a marathon in 6-months will improve daily energy levels, improve fitness, enhance creativity and boost mood and provide you with a real sense of achievement when you cross the finish line on the chosen date of the event.

Consider carefully what will you do every day to move yourself towards your chosen objectives. Only with regular input, daily sharpening the saw as Stephen Covey puts it, will you reach your goal quickly and effectively.  Read our post on the power of consistent wellbeing action. 

Remember these questions are all probably a natural part of the processes you go through in your  professional role and in any business project. You're familiar with tackling the finer details at work so always make sure you apply this approach to your wellness goals. 

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Beat the Clock Part 11

The January edition of Men's Running Magazine has some fantastic motivation for the New Year including a feature called 'Man vs Jan' - a great reminder that, whether you're a man or not, and regardless of the month, a great strategy in the quest for health and fitness is to do something positive towards your goal every single day.

You'll also find our monthly Beat the Clock feature to help you stay in shape during a busy schedule.

You can read all the previous instalments of the series starting here.

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Wellness, Energy & Engagement For Your Organisation in 2014

We're often asked what difference wellness initiatives can make to employees and organisations, so in a previous post, A Little New Year Wellness Motivation, I shared some comments from individuals that describe how lifestyle changes have had a positive impact on their lives.  These comments demonstrate that identifying and making key changes can be hugely beneficial.

When it comes to helping people reach their wellness goals, it's important how you communicate with them and inspire them in an area that may have been on their to-do list for a while but they may still be struggling with.  That's why we're so pleased when we get positive feedback for our wellness workshops and events.

So here I wanted to share some comments we've received on recent work; feedback which constitutes 9 great reasons why we are the right people to help you design and implement wellness initiatives in your business:

I have had excellent feedback from my colleagues who all thoroughly enjoyed your sessions! 

I thought your presentation to us was excellent, by the way. Really informative.

I'd like to take the opportunity to say I very much enjoyed your sessions on the course.

I found your session remarkable, not only in content, but simply the fact that this had been put on the agenda at all – that in itself was an epiphany!  Realising that putting my health at the HEART of my working life, instead of trying to tag it on the side was a revaluation and has completely changed the way I see it.

Thanks again for a really good workshop.

The Tonic and Jeff were recommended to us as a provider of wellness solutions. Staff wellbeing and mental health is important to Roffey Park and we promote and encourage health and wellbeing through a range of activities, aligned to our purpose and values. We wanted to offer all staff the opportunity to attend a half day workshop on Health and Wellbeing covering exercise, diet, sleep and relaxation. Staff feedback was overwhelmingly positive with comments such as “An excellent and informative session”, “Useful insights particularly the sleep cycle” and “Opportunity to reflect on small changes which I could make to improve my wellbeing.  

Jeff Archer from The Tonic joined our team day yesterday to deliver a workshop on building resilience, it was a great session so big thanks to Jeff and to yourself for setting it up – thank you.

The wellness sessions were a highlight of the programme.

Thanks for the session, I found it very useful and it's good that the company thinks this type of thing is important for its employees.

If you'd like to discuss how best to use wellness initiatives to boost energy and engagement in your business for 2014, please get in touch and we'd be happy to help.

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Six Steps to Build Cast Iron Resilience

This article we wrote first appeared recently on the HR Zone Website.

Personal resilience – simply expressed as our ability to deal with everyday challenges and maintain a positive state of resourcefulness – is influenced by two factors: how we feel physically and how we feel mentally.

The issue for many people is that their approach to maintaining a resilient state is reactive rather than proactive. We’re happy to bowl along quite happily from day to day under ‘normal’ working conditions – normal usually implying busy for most people these days – but when the pressure ramps up, we begin to feel the strain. 

Not only do we find ourselves underprepared for our periods of peak challenge, when we experience extra pressure, we resort to ‘emergency measures’ that often make the situation worse and actually make performing to the best of our abilities more difficult. 

We steal time from sleep to pack more into our schedule, load up on caffeine to get us through each busy day, grab sugary snacks to keep our energy levels up and dedicate more hours to the job to wade through our ‘to do’ list at the cost of our family, hobbies, exercise time and social life.

While these coping strategies might see us through challenging periods, there’s a danger that we may need to take time to recover from pushing ourselves in this way, but most workers don’t have the luxury of quiet periods during which they can recharge their batteries. Add up all these ‘recovery’ periods where we might end up operating at half pace or less, and that's a lot of potentially productive time wasted over the course of a working year. 

An additional danger lies in the fact that the coping strategies we adopt to see us through busy periods often turn into our everyday behavior patterns. Before you know it, people find they’re working a 12-hour day fuelled by caffeine, skipping meals and exercise and sleeping poorly as the norm rather than as the response to a ‘one off’ period of peak demand.

The key to developing personal resilience, mental and physical, for the short, medium and long-term, lies with planning and routine. A little bit of time spent designing strategies for success in this area will pay dividends every single day. You’ll breeze through the demands of everyday working life and rise to the challenge of even the most overwhelming of circumstances. 

The Resilient Body

1) Why exercise is your friend

When work gets busy, time gets squeezed and all too often exercise slots disappear.  But when the pressure is on, physical activity is one of the best ways to deal with the stress that can build up within us.  Not only does it help to keep you calm, it provides you with valuable time to clear the head, organize your thoughts, deliver oxygen to the brain and come up with creative solutions.  Make sure you always:

• Focus on short, regular bursts of activity
• Plan your time for exercise and protect these slots
• Associate exercise with success, not as something that takes time away from you being successful. Knowing you make better decisions when your mind and body are alert will ensure you get active and get the best possible results at work

2) Eat for energy, not for comfort

The link is clear between how we fuel ourselves and how we are able to perform.  Priority issues for most people are energy levels and mood management, so the simplest way to achieve a healthy eating routine that boosts resilience is to ask yourself – and answer honestly – ‘is what I’m about to eat or drink going to provide me with positive energy and good mood for the day, or rob me of energy and good mood for the day?’

• If you’re unsure about what works for you and what doesn’t, keep a diary for a few days
• Experiment with a variety of meal and snack options so you can establish the food routine that leads you towards your best performance state
• Stick with your successful food routine when things get really busy. If you begin veering towards increasing amounts of caffeine, sugar, fat and alcohol you’ll dramatically impair your ability to perform, just when you need to be at your most resourceful

3) Sleep well, perform well

A good night’s sleep is directly linked to the two points above. If you manage your energy levels with good food choices, and offset any stress with exercise, you’ll be far more likely to rest and recover well through the night. Beyond this you need to:

• Establish your optimum quantity of sleep and set your bed time and waking time accordingly
• Endeavour to disrupt your sleep routine as little as possible through the week and weekend
• Design a pre-sleep routine that will lead you gently towards the moment when you fall asleep quickly and experience a guaranteed night of quality sleep

Sleep is vital for efficient performance and effective recovery so should always be a priority in your quest for resilience, never an afterthought.

The Resilient Mind

When it comes to achieving the most resilient state of mind, the rules are pretty similar as those for managing your energy levels – you need to think of all your daily activities in terms of whether or not tasks drain your energy, or provide you with energy and motivation. The bottom line is usually that the tasks that help us feel as though we’re making progress will energise us, while those that are repetitive or seemingly pointless will drain our energy.

Some examples are obvious – making sales, winning business, making successful decisions are all motivating and fuel our resilient state. Admin, expenses and jobs we’ve done a thousand times before can slowly but surely suck the life out of your resilient state. But what about some of the elements of day-to-day office life that could go either way? How to we approach these?

4) Make meetings count

One of the elements of office life that people say drains their energy is meetings, however, this needn’t be the case.

• Have a clear agenda for every meeting, a schedule, and someone in charge of sticking to the agenda and the schedule
• Establish in advance what each meeting needs to achieve. People need to bring ideas and opinions to meetings rather than simply trying to organise their thoughts during the meeting
• Summarise clear action points and deadlines for these actions to be completed. Too many people spend their time running from meeting to meeting collecting a list of things to do that they never get around to actioning.  Add some accountability and urgency. You’re looking for results, not more meetings to discuss what didn’t get done

5) Take charge of your email

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier but there’s nothing like an ever-growing inbox to steadily grind down your resilience.  There are some simple strategies that help in this situation:

• Set specific times to check and respond to email. Turn it off in between these times
• Assess each block of email time for efficiency and continually refine your plan for how you can manage your email most effectively
• Lead by example. Consider everyone who will receive the messages you send out and how they might respond. Avoid unnecessary clogging up of others’ inboxes and ask yourself how you would respond to the emails you’re sending
• For some email traffic, ask yourself if there’s an alternative, particularly if the person you’re emailing sits not far away from you. Although effective at times, email can be limiting. Sometimes you’ll progress things far quicker by talking than emailing. Which brings us to our last point…

6) Communication: it’s not what you know, but who you know

A major challenge for many people is…other people.  Like them or not though, we have to work with them. Some of the most resilience-testing moments occur in business when the pressure is on and we’re relying on teamwork, but there’s a lack of understanding between colleagues.  This is generally due to relationships being built on weak foundations meaning the team isn’t as solid as it needs to be when things get squeezed.

• Invest in relationships. It pays to be proactive. People will be there for you when you need them if you were there for them in the past
• Get to know people, not job titles. A faceless colleague might help you out of a tight spot if you’re lucky.  A friend in the office who you know well and spend time with definitely will, without question
• Be honest, authentic and congruent, and others will be too

Resilience is a vital skill: practice every day

Ultimately many people know what they should be doing to maintain a resilient state, but they often think they don’t have time.  So while it is true to say that you probably don’t have time to think about all of the above in great detail every single day, you do have time to spend a few moments each day reviewing your approach and making changes where necessary.  This takes no time at all and before you know it you’ll be equipped with the habits you need to be effective, successful and resilient all day, every day.

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Leadership Lessons From Wimbledon

Yesterday I was at Wimbledon for day 2 of the tennis.

I watched Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer all pretty much cruise to victory despite each of their opponents pulling off some fantastic shots.

Even at this early stage it's an amazing experience and there's a lot to learn from the live action when it comes to what makes people successful.

Here's what all three winners had in common.

The ability to stay focused
Whenever they played a shot that didn't win a point, they moved on quickly.  They didn't dwell on any 'mistakes' but quickly took the learning from the experience and moved on to what was happening next.  By contrast, each of their opponents was clearly haunted by losing strokes for a little while after they happened.

Confidence in their skills
Although they didn't dwell on the fact that a particular shot had lost them a point or let this distract them, they were all very quick to play that same shot again as if to prove to themselves they knew how to do it right. Each time they corrected a wayward shot you could see it boost their confidence.

Know when to take things to the next level (and have the resources to do it)
They were all playing extremely well but whenever required, for crucial game or set points, they were all able to up the tempo.  And for each there were visible signs when this was happening - a more purposeful walk around the court, some breathing techniques, subtle physical gestures or a clear pause for thought.  All small indicators to themselves that it was time to take things to the next level.  Which they subsequently did.

How can we use these observations to help us work, lead and perform better?

Even in the most emotionally charged situations, we must always look and move forwards without distraction.  It's a great skill to be able to quickly assess what was supposed to happen, what actually happened and how this feedback will affect what will happen next.  We can then decide to try the same approach again with subtle improvements or we adopt a new approach altogether.  Either way we avoid dwelling on whatever didn't go as well as we'd hoped and focus instead on behaviour that will achieve the desired results.

When it comes to the need to raise our game, much depends on experience but there's also an awful lot that can be achieved with practice and preparation.  This is one area where athletes traditionally focus more attention than business people.  At work we're often too busy dealing with what's current to spend a great deal of time working on what's to come, although many people do manage to carve out the time when the stakes are higher.

Preparation is often much more considered when presenting projects to key stakeholders or public speaking than it is for departmental meetings or conference calls, but most people have powerful examples of when they spent a little extra time prepping and achieved a much better result.  So, although we don't feel we have the time to prepare, doing so can save an awful lot of time and effort further down the line.  It's a good habit to get into and some would say it can be the difference between success now or your desired results taking longer than you would like.

There's still a long way to go in this year's Wimbledon so keep your eyes on what the winners do best and think about what other aspects of successful behaviour on the tennis court can be translated into success in the workplace.

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Simple Strategies for Healthy Blood Pressure

There are two reasons for tackling this topic today. 

Firstly, it’s the beginning of Men’s Health Week and high blood pressure can be an issue for men in all sectors of business.  Read our blog on Men’s Health Week here.

Secondly, as we mentioned in our press release last week, we come across an awful lot of executives at all levels, male and female, who have high blood pressure.  Some already know about it and some don’t. 

So, starting today, we’ll be highlighting a few simple daily behaviours that will employees with high blood pressure bring the numbers back down to healthy levels, and will ensure that everyone else can maintain a healthy, efficient circulatory system for now and long into the future. 

Every business should ensure their people are equipped with this knowledge so they can take responsibility and make informed lifestyle choices.

We’re kicking off with simple food choices that anyone can make, that will help regulate blood pressure.

Get your 5-a-day

You’ve heard it many times and here’s just another reason to make it happen.  A calm internal environment will keep your system running smoothly and reduce the likelihood of physical stress which can in turn aggravate mental stress, both of which will increase blood pressure. 

Fruit and vegetables supply us with vitamins, minerals and nutrients that will improve the strength, immunity and efficiency of the body.  Eating plenty of fresh stuff also leaves less of an appetite for the meals and snacks that rob us of energy, increase stress and aggravate blood pressure.

And forget aiming for 5-a-day as that often means you end up with 2 or 3.  Plan for at least 8 and you’ll make sure you end up with 5 without doubt.  I’m sure that sounds like a challenge for some, but here are some suggestions of how to make it happen.

Breakfast

Porridge with bananas, blueberries & strawberries or omelette with tomato and peppers

Morning snack

Orange and walnuts or carrots, cucumber and hummus

Lunch

Wrap with turkey, spinach and peppers or fish with rocket, tomatoes, avocado and pineapple

Afternoon snack

Apple and oatcakes or banana and rice cakes

Evening meal

Chicken with noodles, onion, peppers and garlic or fish with rice and steamed broccoli and green beans

How to make it work...

Obviously, each person’s food routine needs to be appropriate for their schedule, tastes, objectives and ideas have to be practical, but following these guidelines will help keep blood pressure optimum as well as improving the chances of a productive week with high energy and great sleep.  Even the busiest of employees should be able to try some of the suggestions over the coming days.

Image by Flickr: comedy_nose

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Press Release: Busy Workers Risk 'Premature Ageing'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: 4^th June 2013

Contact: Jeff Archer

Tel: 020 8995 1302

Email: jeff@the-tonic.com

Busy Workers Risk ‘Premature Ageing’

80% of executives record a body age 10-20 years older than their actual age

Modern working life is taking such a toll on the health of busy executives that the majority fail to achieve ‘normal’ results during targeted health assessments.  One sample found that 80% had a 'body age' between 10 and 20 years older than their true age.  

In a wider study, 37% had blood pressure readings indicating hypertension and 52% had a body fat percentage above the recommended healthy range.  

These statistics were gathered during leadership programmes attended by participants from a variety of global businesses.  Data was collected by wellness and resilience companies The Tonic and Fit2Lead.  

Tonic Director Jeff Archer explained, ‘We provide these lifestyle assessments to business leaders and executives to help them better understand how to manage their health and energy for improved day-to-day performance.  Positioning wellness and resilience as integral components of successful leadership provides participants with the ideal opportunity to assess the effectiveness of their current lifestyle routines and get motivated about priority areas for change.’

This format has proved to be an enormous success.  One participant commented that, 'the stress relief and energising effects are by far the biggest benefits for me’ while another felt that, following the programme, their ‘energy levels are more under control as are my productivity and ability to achieve more’. ’ Other participants reported that ‘finding out my body age was a real wake up call’ and ‘this provided me with the reality check I needed to start to make changes’.

Fit2Lead Director Adrian Smith added, ‘More and more companies are recognising the importance of resilience, ‘the bounce back factor’, in today’s complex and challenging business environments. The body age analysis has been a brilliant way for executives to learn more about the extent to which the rigours of modern working life affect the body, and it provides the ideal starting point for developing a resilience action plan to achieve a more positive balance.

To find out more about corporate wellbeing and resilience programmes contact Jeff Archer at The Tonic on 020 8995 1302/ jeff@the-tonic.com  

Image by Flickr:  TheeErin

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