Healthy Leaders
Most of us give a lot of attention to professional development as a leader. And that’s a really good thing. If you’re looking for tips on bringing healthy leadership to your organization or team, you can find plenty of webinars with 3 keys, dozens of classes with 5 steps and thousands of books with 10 critical factors to help you grow your leadership influence.
In spite of all the resources around us, A Deloitte survey of over 2,100 employees and C-level executives found that “nearly 70% of the C-suite are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being.” Our exhaustion and risk of burnout seems to be at an all-time high.
Social worker and advocate, Bethany Dearborn Hiser, writes:
We can mistakenly think that we are "above burnout," that we're strong enough
and don't need care. But those beliefs make us more susceptible to burning out.
We press on, disregarding the need for rest that our body might be communicating
through headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, and an inability to think clearly or creatively.
We keep going until an emergency hits, and we're forced to take a break.
Healthy leadership only comes from healthy leaders. And healthy leaders are healthy humans - individuals who live a fully integrated life focused on physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and relational health. Healthy leaders lead from a deep sense of identity that goes beyond their career, title or role. Healthy leaders lead from a place of wholeness, not merely well-being.
Do you relate to…
meetings stacked all day with no built-in breaks to breathe and reflect?
your schedule being set by your work, not your life?
your sense of “winning” is often determined by numbers, performance and to some degree the approval or disapproval of others?
not knowing how to listen to your body?
being unable to be fully present away from work because work is always mentally present?
Just what is a Healthy Leader Cohort?
Simply put, it’s a small community of professionals journeying together for a short time to learn, explore, ask questions of our own soul and engage practices that help us create fresh rhythms of health: spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically and relationally.
It’s often counterintuitive and certainly countercultural to stop and say, “I need to give attention to my wellbeing, to my soul, to my life.” We feel “fueled” by leading people and projects. It seems there’s just no time to pause.
It requires courage and vulnerability to pause, to step into a journey like this. Joining this cohort is to say…
I’m willing to ask questions that risk revealing blindspots.
I want to learn more about what it means to walk with God rather than running (maybe hoping God keeps up) - almost always in a hurry.
I want to model the kind of healthy rhythms I think other people should live.
What you can expect:
Outcomes
Emotional, spiritual, mental and relational breakthroughs
Heightened awareness of your own needs
Healthy personal practices
Rhythms of renewal and rest
Resources for ongoing application
Connections/partnerships with other professionals
Framework for leading your own team and/or organization toward health/wellness
Content
8 virtual sessions over 4 months
Focused training/facilitation by other guest presenters
2 books provided for group reading and reference
Assessments focused on developing health and wellness
Personal wellness resources/tools
Shared conversation with cohort participants
Ongoing connection to cohort participants
You’re invited to this cohort as a pathway to responding to Jesus’ invitation:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.
I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Your schedule may say “no;” your family, team and your own soul may be saying, “yes.”