Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Stamina - The Unheralded Virtue



"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?  

No comments:

Post a Comment