A leadership expert has said leaders need to book time in their diaries to ‘do nothing’ in order to improve performance.
Drew Povey, the founder of the Drew Povey Consultancy, says the best leaders take time out and encourage their teams to do the same rather than boast about ‘back to back meetings’.
Speaking as part of Wellbeing Month, which is celebrated throughout August, Drew, the former star of TV show Educating Manchester, said: “To me wellness isn’t just about feeling better, it’s about leading better. That includes being a better leader for yourself as well as your team.
“Many people operate under the false pretence that success comes from doing more, being busy and never taking a break when the opposite is true.
“As Summer comes to its close, look back and ask yourself if you and your team had a chance to take a real break and recharge.
“If the answer is no, use what is left of Wellness Month to plan to do things differently – including setting aside time to do nothing.
“You’ll see the results in your results and the morale of your team.”
“Too many leaders are addicted to urgency. They’re constantly in meetings, constantly doing things, but the real thinking and the strategic decisions which drive an organisation forward comes from taking a pause and giving yourself space to think.
“You might think there is nothing which shows your value more than telling people that you are in back-to-back meetings all day. But what are you actually achieving other than giving the appearance of being essential? We all do it – it’s one of the main failings of a modern day corporate environment.
“But it’s the wrong thing to do if you want to be a real leader.”
Drew says that instead of scheduling more meetings, leaders should start scheduling thinking stops.
“These can just be a few minutes between meetings to ask yourself, what’s really going on? What are my best ideas? How am I feeling? And you should let your teams do this as well as it will deliver sharper judgement.”
Equally important, Drew says, is ensuring you take a proper break and understanding that holidays are not an optional extra.
“Don’t be that person who is half working, half holidaying and just not switching off because then you won’t recharge and refresh. To me, that’s not leadership, it’s leakage and it also shows a kind of distrust in your team that you have to constantly check in on them.
“Think back to how you behaved on your holiday and make a conscious decision. If you were having a ‘helicopter holiday’ of hovering over your emails, create a plan to make sure next time you do it differently.
“Whether it’s a full switch off, or 20 minutes in the morning checking your emails, make a plan and stick to it. Then tell your team and encourage them to do the same.”
Here Drew shares his four tip tops for improving workplace wellness:
Bring fun back into your work
“When work becomes hard work, it becomes a grind. And when it becomes a grind, it doesn’t flow smoothly and you can end up with a real slip in morale.
Having fun in the workplace isn’t frivolous, it is a fuel. Teams do better when they laugh together, and the teams who laugh together will last together as well.
Find little moments in the day to lift the mood. Impromptu team games, some daft awards, a walk and talk or ice cream parlour in the summer months can lift the heavy weight that everyone has on them when they work in a business.”
Check the battery
“You check the battery in your car. You check the battery in your smoke alarms. I bet if the batteries in the TV remote went you’d change them straight away. But what about your own batteries?
“Many leaders only notice that they’re exhausted far too late. They’re at the end of themselves, or they’re burning out when the light hits red. Energy is always your greatest leadership asset so add in a weekly energy check not only with yourself, but with your team.
“Ask how you, and they, are feeling. Is something draining you or them? Is this an opportunity to share the load or is someone struggling but too afraid to say?
“A little adjustment can create a real improvement in productivity and morale.
“If you don’t want to take 20 minutes to go for a walk – fine. Take 20 minutes to sit and just do nothing. It can keep your energy topped up and help you achieve more than struggling because you’re running on empty.”
Do nothing
“The trouble with leaders is they don’t do nothing. Well, actually, that’s the problem. Doing nothing almost feels wrong.
“As a leader you feel like you’ve always got to be on something. Doing nothing feels like it’s time wasting. But neuroscience will say the complete opposite.
“The default mode network in our brain lights up during rest and reflection and it is when we do our best thinking. The pause creates creativity, and that’s when we really connect to that creativity.
“Create some deliberate stillness. Sit in the garden with no phone, literally just you and encourage your teams to do this as well. Instead of expecting to see those back to back meetings, tell them you want to see that time blocked out for nothing – and they can check that you are doing the same.
Walk the walk
“So many leaders will say things like ‘wellbeing matters’ then send emails at 5am or at night when people should be enjoying time away from work. They won’t have the breaks, they don’t take the proper holidays and they then send the impression that they think that’s what everyone else should be doing as well. Or perhaps they do thing that’s what everyone else should be doing.
“Don’t be that person. Instead, create a culture of wellness through leading by example and show that you can have high performance by looking after yourself and encouraging others to do so as well.”
