"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of
fatigue; courage is only the second virtue." Napoleon
Bonaparte
If you
look closely at CEO's and other high-speed leaders one thing that jumps out is
that they all have tremendous physical stamina. I'd assert that
stamina correlates more closely with performance at this level than
does intelligence, education, family background, or any other
factor.
To one
extent, it's basic math. Someone with the stamina to work 12, 15, 18
hour days has an enormous advantage. They're getting in twice as
much work time.
It's
more than that though. Physical discipline begets mental discipline. When
you work that long and hard, you inevitably tackle tasks when you're
feeling--mentally, emotionally, physically--below par.
It's easy to crank through a document in the
morning when you're rested and even jazzed up on a pleasant caffeine
jolt. It's easy to have a
good meeting when you're confident and loose and in good spirits.
Try it
when you're tired. And, invariably, those key moments come
when you're tired. Cramming for a big proposal. Handling a
crisis with a customer. Business travel. (Are you ever rested on a business
trip?) Think of those late-night sessions, when people start getting
punchy, or snapping, or otherwise wear down. Someone who's able to keep
it together under stress--just when others fade--is invaluable. And
again, such moments are typically the "moments-of-truth" on the
work agenda. Stamina matters. In fact, the
high-performers have not just the ability to focus in those moments; in a
perverse way, they almost thrive on it.
Finally,
consider the edge in self-development. By definition, getting out of
your comfort zone means facing stress and uncertainty. Nowadays,
many of us can only be dragged out of our comfort zones with the crutch of $75
per hour personal trainers…if then. If you have the discipline
to tackle it yourself, to weave self-improvement efforts into your
routine, you have a decided edge. And, if you thrive on pushing yourself out of your comfort
zone you're in the bonus.
+++++++
Like
anything else, stamina is built. Part of it is sheer physical, part
is habit. In truth, if you're already in your mid-career, flabby
habits can be tough to overcome. As with working-out or
diet, those who've build the habit from a young age will have an
edge. It's hard to go your whole life eating donuts and then
leave the couch to train for a triathlon. But, couch potatoes can and do go on to run
triathlons. In turn, you can
learn the ability to stay on task--physically and mentally--at work.
Doug
Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion, describes classroom exercises his teachers use to help
students build a form of writing-endurance. Basically, they start by
having the students write--steadily, without pause--for short periods of time,
and then gradually increase these periods until the students can learn to focus
for longer stretches. The students build stamina in concentration
and writing, just as they'd build stamina in swimming
or jogging. Apparently, this approach works and the pay-off in
student performance is worthwhile.
There's
no reason we can't do the same thing with oral communication
skills. In fact, with today's tools
(like ours!) it's even easier than writing. Through a progressive series
of speak-aloud exercises we should be able to build up our stamina
reasonably quickly. The ability to speak coherently for
stretches at a time is a valuable skill. When you consider that
since many of us get anxious in professional communications events, and that
anxiety exacerbates the fatigue, the need for stamina is even more
critical. For many, interviews, presentations, panel discussions,
can be draining events.
Benjamin
Franklin-- himself the epitome of stamina--said, "Energy and persistence conquer all things." Perhaps
you don't aspire to be a CEO or work 15-hour days. But, wouldn't it
be nice to know that, if need be, you were up for the
conquest?
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