How is your well-being? Don’t answer with the usual “fine” but give this some serious thought. How are you doing physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually? How important is your well-being to your success and to the success of those around you?

A CEO usually operates in a fairly high stress environment working hard to lead by example and put out fires—all while doing what they can to ensure the company is achieving its goals. More often than not, it leaves the CEO with little or no time to ensure they are taking care of themselves, and the reality is that if you don’t it’s highly likely that no one else will.

4 Key Areas of CEO Well-Being

At Building Champions, we believe that self-leadership precedes team leadership. How we show up as leaders matters a great deal. It matters in our personal lives as well as our professional lives. Leadership has been stretched tremendously throughout the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve seen incredible adaptation and growth but in some cases at a high cost to the leader. It’s as important now as it has ever been for leaders to ensure they are leading themselves well—and purposefully. We believe there are four vital areas to your well-being:

1. Physical—your overall sense of feeling in good health; food, exercise, water, and sleep; anxiety/stress levels

2. Social—work/life balance, connection, and a sense of belonging with family, friends, and team at work

3. Mental—emotional intelligence and professional development, inputs aligned with values and convictions

4. Spiritual—ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in every area of your life and create/sustain practices like meditation or prayer that reflect on that purpose and how you can authentically live it out

4 Tips To Improve Your Well-Being

Pick one of the four areas of well-being from above that you feel you may have sacrificed lately. If you realized even a small improvement in that area, what impact would that have on you and those around you? How would you personally benefit from improving in this area? Who else would benefit from this growth both in your personal life and your professional life? Here are a few tips that our clients have shared with us that are really making a difference in their overall well-being:

Create a Morning Routine

The way your morning begins can set a pace and rhythm for your entire day—drastically affecting how you lead yourself and those around you. There will be days when you simply can’t follow your morning routine because life gets in the way. And that’s okay. The goal is never perfection—but to become the healthiest version of yourself so you can give your best to your family, friends, teammates and community. A healthy morning routine can help you consistently be more productive, focused and fulfilled. 

Monitor Your Inputs

From the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep we are bombarded with inputs that impact how we show up as a leader. Be mindful of what you are watching, listening to, and reading throughout the day. Is it supporting a growth or fixed mindset? Is it allowing you to see all aspects of your current reality, not just the negative? You can’t escape all the negative inputs but you can seek out positive and encouraging ones. Look for podcasts, books, people, and news that are encouraging and help you to grow as an executive leader. What you are thinking, feeling, and believing has a direct impact on your effectiveness as a leader.

Find Time For Exercise

Get your body moving throughout the day. A morning exercise routine is great for many, but it can’t be the only time you focus on movement. Senior executives must take their physical well-being seriously if they want to have the energy and stamina need to succeed in their hectic and fast paced role. Set aside regular 15-minute breaks in your day to get your body moving through stretching, walking, lifting light weights in your office. Research shows that even short bursts of movement can reduce stress and improve your thinking and decision making.

Practice Gratitude

How often are you taking time to express gratitude to the people around you—letting them know you appreciate the work they are doing and how they are helping the organization to achieve its goals? How often are you taking the time to reflect and create a list of things good things that are happening with your leadership team, organization, and customers? Schedule time each day to reflect on what you are thankful for and then write a note to at least one person a day expressing your appreciation for who they are and how they help the organization.

As a CEO you must lead by example when it comes to executive well-being. Remember people are always watching and listening to see how you handle yourself. You set the tone for your organization. Lead by example and the entire organization, your key stakeholders, and your customers will all benefit. If you’d like to learn more about working with one of our CEO Mentors, schedule a call with us today!

At Building Champions, we create customized coaching engagements that focus on both the beliefs and behaviors of great leadership. We guide leaders, teams, and organizations to be healthy and high-performing so they can have a greater impact on everyone they serve.