Getting (a lot) more from leadership development

How many times have you read a book, gone to a workshop and said "yes, this is useful, I'm going to do this" and then found that, well, nothing happened?

How to explain this? Too busy? Not motivated enough? Sure, those things may play a role, but I think there's something deeper going on that, when clearly understood, is a very powerful platform for growth.

Dr. Jim Loehr, pictured above, wrote a book that outlines a way to have the internal resources to actually implement new ideas. This book, "The Power of Full Engagement- Managing Energy, not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal" is basically summarized in a review on the free portion of this month's Harvard Business Review, which you can find here.

Here's the scoop: Dr. Loehr and a colleague, Dr. Jack Groppel spent many years working with world-class athletes, especially tennis players, to help them perform at their peak. Neither of these gentlemen know anything special about tennis--their speciality is understanding human behavior, and in this case, the power of routines.

What they found is that the top tennis players have very effective routines for building up, using, and then restoring energy. These routines were a key difference between the top players and the rest.

In their book, they give many actual cases of business clients they worked with, and the routines that the clients came up with to be peak performance leaders. As you might guess, these routines cover the basics--exercise, diet, sleep and general stress management.

What they found is extraordinary. In the HBR (Harvard Business Review) article, they show the impact of their program amongst Wachovia employees. And of course in the book, they talk about how their clients ended up with more energy, more focus, more creativity--the key ingredients for working well, and also for growing as a leader.

Here are two ideas from the book that I'm currently trying, and getting good results from. One is that I take a good 15 minute break in the morning, rather than working right through. It works wonders--more than I thought. I find that it effectively gives me another 45 minutes of peak morning time.

The other idea I'm trying is the "power nap." I take about 10 to 15 minutes after lunch to nap, and find that I get an extra hour, if not more, of productive working time in the afternoon.

The book has many more ideas, which I'm in the process of working through. They seem too simple--but when I try them, and pay attention to the results, then I appreciate the full potential of managing energy.

So there you have it--do you want to get more out of your work on growing as a leader? Master the basics--of energy.