As experienced professionals moving into new roles, our search candidates need to achieve peak performance fast in order to coach, develop and productively challenge their team. To do that, they must take care of themselves before they can take care of others.
Self-care is a theme The Thrive Team addresses in our Executive Coaching: it’s so important that it is even structured into our search process.
Self-awareness is a valuable skill that enables self-care. It’s a multi-purpose tool that can help us be the best version of ourselves in many areas of life: work, parenting, being part of a sports team, being a good sibling—anything.
At The Thrive Team we coach our candidates to check in with themselves in the morning and throughout the day: how are you feeling, mentally and physically? If you’re not feeling good, why not, and what can you do about it? It’s a practice I follow myself, and it’s had a hugely positive impact in my work and life.
We all know that life has been tough since the global pandemic, with fresh challenges that nobody saw coming. In the last year or two I have seen leaders struggling more than usual to find the time to be strategic, let alone help their team be strategic. This is often due to them taking on too much or finding it difficult to delegate.
Learning to trust people around you, and helping them to capitalise on that trust through clear communication about expectations, accountability and responsibility, is one of the most challenging early lessons of leadership. It is a skill that can take years to refine; something that smart, self-aware leaders recognise as requiring continual development, practise and checking-in with a trusted peer or mentor. The journey to becoming an effective leader is one of continual self-assessment, communication, trust-building and regular checks of your own mental wellbeing. So don’t forget to look after yourself first – and if you’re interested to learn more about our Search or Coaching, get in touch.
