Want to lead with resilience and clarity — for years to come? Learn to find peace and balance, and it is possible! Here are the six most important practices to find peace and balance as a leader.
Leaders That Last
Great, high-performing leaders deliver more than a “flash-in-the-pan” boost — they leave a legacy of greatness. This requires that they take care of themselves, their well-being, and their health so that they can last! And, great leaders learn to not only endure but thrive over the long haul. How? By finding peace and by finding balance.
Finding Balance
Balance is not about perfectly dividing time; it’s about integrating our various life roles harmoniously. It means prioritizing what matters most for each life role and creating a sustainable rhythm. Here are the three most important practices for life balance as a leader:
- Pre-Week Plan: Before each week begins, list your life roles (e.g., personal, work, parent, family, coach, etc.), and set 1-5 priorities for each role. Then, schedule your priorities first, before you do anything else. Even though one role may dominant your time, you’ll still do what matters most for all life roles (balance).
- Develop a Personal, Written Vision: For each life role, create a succinct and clear “vision statement.” This is your compass. As you determine “what matters most” in your pre-week planning, your vision statement will guide and direct you.
- Set Roles and Goals: Make progress towards realizing your vision statement actionable and measurable by creating 1-3 SMART goals for each life role. Your weekly “pre-week planning” priorities may often come from these goals. For example, if you have a goal to “Run 3x per week on average,” you’d likely include “Run 3x” as a priority under your “personal” role while pre-week planning — and you’ll schedule this priority into your calendar first. If your “vision statement” for your “personal” role is to “Actively run well into my 70’s,” then this goal, coupled with pre-week planning, would certainly help you realize that vision statement!
Finding Peace
Peace, in a leadership context, isn’t the absence of conflict or stress, but the ability to manage conflict, stress, and emotions. Here are the foundational practices for finding peace as a leader:
- Know and Live By Your Values: Principle-centered leadership and being true to yourself is the bedrock to sleeping well at night and having inner peace. Nothing will destroy inner peace quicker than living inharmoniously with your values and principles. Know your values and principles, live by them, and never compromise.
- Learn to Be Kind, Communicate, Build Trust, and Create Accountability: Strong relationships are built on kindness, good communication, trust, and accountability. Read the book The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders to improve at these “relationship skills.”
- Find Ways to Manage Stress and Emotions: Find ways to manage stress and high emotions and include these in your goals and pre-week planning: read books, exercise, meditate, talk with a counselor or coach, socialize with friends and family, play sports, budget, or get better sleep. Find the small practices that alleviate stress for you. These small practices pay life-long dividends for leaders that want to last.
Wrapping Up
Truly great leaders leave lasting legacies. To that end, they thrive in the long haul by learning to find peace and balance. Join their ranks by pre-week planning, developing your personal vision, setting roles and goals, knowing and living by your values, building strong relationships, and finding ways to manage stress and emotions. That’s becoming your best!
“Balance: to be in a position where you will not fall.” — Cambridge Dictionary
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