THE ROAD TO RECOVERY AS A LEADER We are all so tired as leaders. Exhausted. Drained. Conventional wisdom gives us the prescription to “rest more” and “do more self-care.” Yet I personally have never quite found that alone to fully work for me... I noticed this particularly this week so far, as I'm just coming out of my hole after our rebrand to Canopy (@Canopy_is) last week. I did what the doctor prescribed over the weekend: Slept in. Got a massage. Went for a run. Did some sketching. Had great conversations with family and friends.... Rest, check. Self-care, check. Yet Monday hit me like a brick wall. Tuesday was slightly better, but still arduous in a way I didn’t expect… Was it really “more rest” that I needed? Maybe. Or maybe it was lack of buffer. A lack of transition from one mode to the next. I realized that recovery as a leader is NOT just about *getting away* from the work. True recovery as a leader is about our orientation when we *return back* to our work. Recovery is not just rest. Recovery involves reentry. When we *return back* to our work, we must take a beat. A moment to reassess the work in front of us. To check in with our own energy levels and be realistic about how those meet the expectations of the work. Pause, observe, readjust, reset, recalibrate. Notice what’s working and not, how you’re feeling and your team is feeling – and adapt. Recovering from a big project, draining season at work, is more than just *getting away* from work. It’s about choosing to reenter that work mindful of where you’re at and your team is at. Don’t just rest to recover as a leader: Be intentional with your reentry.
@clairejlew “Stop. Look. Go.” I like to come to this short one from time to time. youtu.be/UtBsl3j0YRQ?fe…
@clairejlew I love the intentionality here; something that I came to through learning from @ChristopherAver is that as leaders and humans we very often ignore or disregard our wins, and our bodies and our spirits feel that and become drained by it.