How a Healthy Work-Life Balance Makes Us a Better Leader

There have been questions raised in recent years as to whether work/life balance is viable in today's "always-on "workplace. Just because you leave the office behind whether in your city or at home doesn't mean you have switched off from your work making demands on our time and attention. The efficiency of technology and addictive nature of our smartphones means even while supposedly taking some time to relax; we are still regularly checking emails or WhatsApp. With enforced home working, setting the boundaries between work and the rest of our lives has become an even more significant challenge.

We all have different things that drive us to do the work we do and spend so much of our time doing it to the cost of other areas of our life, our friends and family, our wellbeing.

Are you someone who is doing something you love and so passionate about it you work all hours throwing all of your personal resources into it? Or someone who is not necessarily doing something they love and because their drive and belief system values working long hours and don't look after themselves in the process? Are you working to live? Or living to work?

Whilst its wonderful that our work is meaningful and fulfilling for us, mainly as we spend a large proportion of our lives doing it, there is a cost to what it takes from us in terms of our energy, time and attention. Just as our phone battery depletes with usage, so do our human batteries, and we, therefore, need to make sure that we are allowing ourselves time for recovery, recharge and replenishment. An empty fuel tank results in your car going nowhere. Similarly, as a leader leading others, you need to keep yours topped up.

When our reserves are depleted, we are much more vulnerable to stress, being triggered and reacting in a way that impacts our communication and relationships. In turn, this affects those we lead not only by what we are role modelling but also by our reduced capacity to engage and support our team effectively.

Leading in today's workplace, with the demands of uncertainty and complex change, creates a greater need for leaders to be fully resourced and at the top of their game. Not only do leaders need to be fully charged themselves but also conscious of what habits and routines they have in place for themselves and encourage those they lead to adopt.

A director I spoke to recently realised that all the emails exchanged with their department heads over the weekend was resulting in none of them returning on a Monday fully refreshed. She agreed with her leads that they would have an email truce the next weekend and see what a difference that made. The results were impressive in terms of people finding they had more energy and enthusiasm to get going as they started the week and also the realisation that their work hadn't suffered in the slightest.

We need to keep ourselves topped up holistically too. Not just physically okay, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually well too. That means taking time to connect with the friends and family we love, enjoying soul-nourishing experiences, get out in the fresh air, connect with nature or whatever it is we need that will re-fuel us.

Think about what do you have in place that completely take you away from the "day job" and re-energises you holistically?

How do you connect to the things that inspire and energise you?

How do you make your whole life as rich and fulfilling beyond the work you do?

What recharges your batteries and supports you to be refreshed, more present and energised so that you turn up not just at work, but also in life a much more resourced, happier person, capable of fulfilling your potential?