Hey everyone, welcome to the Herding Tigers podcast. This is the podcast accompaniment to the book Herding Tigers be the leader created people need. My name is Todd Henry, I'm the author and your host. There's an old saying as goes the leader so goes the team.
And often we interpret this to mean, you know, as your level of clarity goes, so goes the level of clarity of your team. As your work ethic goes, so goes the work ethic of your team. As your character goes, so goes the character of your team. And I think all of those things are important and relevant and probably absolutely true.
But I want you to think about this saying through a different lens today. How about as goes the health of the leader, so goes the health of the team? Are you making an intentional and visible effort with your team to take care of yourself, to take care of your process, to take care of your energy level? I want to give you today a couple of very practical things that you can focus on as a leader to help you take better care of yourself so that you can be more present for your team because as goes the leader, so goes the team.
We just do a quick rhythm and habit checkup. So I'm gonna give you five key areas for you to consider. The first is focus. Do you have a very clear sense of what you're focused on right now?
Do you have a very clear sense of what your defining questions are? You know, I often tell leaders, especially senior leaders in organizations when I work with them, that there is often a defining question, one defining question that is kind of the linchpin question. And if that question was answered, it would unlock unbelievable amounts of energy and clarity and focus. But it's the question that is obsessing them, maybe they don't even know what it is, they haven't defined it, right?
But it is the defining question for this season. Do you know what that defining question is? What is the one question that have answered would unlock so many other things? Do you understand what you are focused on, but problems you're actually solving during the season?
What problems you should not be solving, right? Now, are you spending too much of your time and energy doing things that really aren't moving the needle much? Or are you allocating your attention in the right places? Okay, so that's focus.
What are the problems you're really trying to solve right now? And are you clear about that? Relationships, how's your relational health right now? Are you connected with other people?
Are you disconnected? Are you alone, Ranger? Are they trying to do it all on your own? Or are you deeply connected with people in your life who have permission to speak into your life?
What they see? Are there people in your life who will tell you when you have spinach in your teeth, right? Are there people in your life who you're sharing your decisions with, you're inviting into your decision-making process, you're sharing how you're thinking strategically about life and work right now. What are your relationships like?
Do you need to reach out to someone and connect? Do you need to invite someone into your world? How about energy? Energy management is really important.
Often though, we neglect energy management because we're so busy. Are you routinely pruning projects that maybe we're helpful at one point, but are no longer useful to you. Are you pruning responsibilities and obligations and commitments that really have outlived their purpose? How are you managing your energy right now?
Do you find time off the grid? Do you find time to be alone with your thoughts? Are you journaling? Are you reflecting on your priorities?
Are you taking the time to care for your energy level? Stimuli. What are you putting into your mind right now? Are you filling your mind with valuable stimuli?
They're going to help you be a more effective leader, a more effective creative pro. Are you taking time to inspire yourself? Are you journaling? Are you spending time alone reflecting on your thoughts and connecting dots and then sharing those dots, planning seeds with your team?
Are you taking time to care for the stimulus going into your brain because what goes in ultimately determines what comes back out? You can't draw water from an empty well. Care for your stimulus. And then finally, hours.
Are you spending your time only efficiently or are you also focusing on spending your time effectively investing in things that are going to pay dividends for years to come? Are you investing in unnecessary creating, taking time to do things that fill your well and excite you and help you develop your own craft? Listen, as goes the leader so goes the team. So when you think about these five areas, focus, relationships, energy, stimuli, and hours, make sure you have some practices to keep you healthy and viable as a leader and that will model health and viability for your team.
If you want to learn more about this, check out my book, Hurting Tigers, be the leader that creative people need. Make sure you also subscribe to the show wherever you listen to the podcast. Sorry, everybody, go be the leader, you're going to need you to be. See you next time.