Success Starts with Rest: Prioritizing Self-Care for Effective Leadership

Success Starts with Rest: Prioritizing Self-Care for Effective Leadership

In this episode of Leadership N-Sight, we delve into the crucial role of rest and self-care for career women striving toward leadership excellence. We explore how true success begins with rest, and why it's not a luxury but a necessity. Through three key points, we discuss how rest recharges the mind and body, prevents burnout, and enables leading with full presence. Join us to understand how prioritizing self-care can enhance your decision-making, creativity, and empathetic leadership, ensuring you lead with clarity, strength, and grace.

00:00 Introduction to Leadership N-Sight

00:38 The Importance of Rest for Success

01:41 Personal Stories and Realities of Exhaustion

04:05 Rest Recharges Your Mind and Body

06:54 Preventing Burnout Through Regular Rest

11:51 Leading with Full Presence

15:57 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Welcome everyone. Welcome to Leadership N-Sight where today it's about success starts with rest. A reminder for career women to prioritize self-care.

 As ambitious women striving to advance our careers, it's easy to solely focus on achieving our goals and sometimes forget about the importance of taking care of ourselves in the process. But here's the truth. That's often overlooked. True success starts with rest.

In today's session, it's about understanding why rest isn't just  luxury. It's a necessity. We're going to explore how neglecting rust can lead to burnout and even impact your ability to lead effectively. We're also going to discuss the importance of filling up your cup.

That's right. Not just with a cup of joe.  And I know, soon as you say filling up your cup, you're thinking some of you are thinking coffee.  But the importance of filling up your cup so you can continue to pour into others without depleting yourself. Our three points  📍 for today.  We're going to talk about rest recharges your mind in your body. It also helps to prevent burnout through regular rest.  And our third point is going to be leading with full

presence. . I'm going to start by sharing a story where I'm sure, I don't even have to share a story, you know what,  Let's just be real right now. How many of you out there are just tired? How many of you out there didn't get much sleep? How many of you? 

I know my team is Is this the story? This wasn't the, this wasn't the story that you're going to share, but reality. How many of you just literally four hours of sleep? How many of you got up with a sick dog? How many of you have,  ailing parents or aging parents that you're taking care of.

How many of you had or have been having fights with your spouse for the past week or your partner for the past week, and you're trying to show up to work all, Yes, I'm here knowing your body is here, but your mind is somewhere else. Some of you may be going through physical ailments and you have to try to show up at work.

Realistically, this is happening all around us every day, every week, every month that I am sure you could feel this story. And as a leaders and even you know what it went when I say leaders, I also need you to know that even if your position happens to be an employee, you are still a leader too. I don't probably say that enough.

 When I say as leaders, I am not specifically  speaking to a supervisor or a manager or a second line supervisor or an executive position. I'm speaking to as people leaders, you all. You are out here, you all are working, you all are trying to, listen I have a ball in my hand, I have a stress, I have a stress ball in my hand.

Y'all are, I wish I could juggle, cause you all are juggling so much in trying to show up, and yet, the one thing that you truly need to prioritize, 

that you're not,  is your rest.  And I want you all to  put your own story out here. If you want to share it in the comments, share it in the comments. But tell me about your story because I could share this story, but you all have so many stories out here. However, rest is crucial and that's what we're going to talk about today.

Our first point, rest recharges your mind and your body. Rest isn't just about sleep. It's about giving your mind and your body the chance to recharge. When you rest, your body repairs itself. That's scientific. I didn't pull the stats and the scientific aspects.  You all can go pull the stats because it is scientifically proven that when you rest, your body repairs itself.

Your mind processes information and you regain the energy you need to tackle tasks with energy. Full focus. Successful leaders understand that mental clarity and physical vitality are the foundations of effective decision making. And what does that mean? That means if you are out here making decisions day after day with three hours of rest with not eating healthy, with being distracted, I am telling you that your decisions aren't in the best , accompaniment of your organization, period, 

period.  It is that important. Successful leaders, you understand mental clarity and physical vitality are the, it's the foundation to be able to make effective decisions. And if your mental clarity isn't there, if you're physically all over the place,  are you making, do you have the ability to make the best decisions in when you're not in the correct state?

Yes, you can make a decision here and there. But if we're speaking about longevity. Think about that. Is that really the best? Without rest, you can find yourself making poor decisions. You find yourself probably reacting emotionally  your creativity goes down the drain. Additionally, Adequate rest can also improve memory, learning, and overall your cognitive functions are better, which are essential. When we're talking about leadership positions, you need to stay sharp.

You need to be able to move dynamically in all types of environments. Think about rest as in an athlete training their body, physical training. It's similar. Now, I'm not saying that particular thing is scientific. That's just me. And that's how I equate it, but think about it. Rest really recharges your mind and your body.



 Our second point is preventing burnout through regular rest. Burnout is a very real risk for everyone. Anyone in a leadership role, and especially for career women who juggle multiple responsibilities, rest.

I need you all to understand regular rest is,  it's going to help you to overcome burnout. Now, I don't talk a lot about burnout and people throw the word burnt out  around a lot, But also understand, let me just share one little thing. When you're talking about burnt out, it is literally, you're at a place, when a person is at burnout status, true burnout status, it is really like a piece of burnt bacon. 

And not in a good way, not in a tasty way. It, you look like a piece of burnt bacon. Not a good piece of burnt bacon. I don't know if there is a good piece of burnt bacon. But, you look ragged. You feel drug through the mud. It is a state.

The statistics on burnout, when you're in a true burnout state, they say that's a state where you really need to Be undergoing therapy like it is that type So even when we throw so i'm saying that so I need you also to understand You can be a little bit tired and not necessarily be burnt out. You could be tired of work You could be tired of some stuff that you going through work But that doesn't necessarily mean that you're burnt out.

So when we're using the term burnout, I just need you to understand the impact and the gravity. When we're talking about people being burnt out, , as a coach, I would say something similar to  who are you speaking to in the mental health community?

Like that, like it goes past, I'm not going to coach you through burnout because that's a whole different burnout.  is a whole different category within itself in the mental health world. And you need to understand it. So when we're using it, 'cause a lot of times we use the burnout term flippantly, like as in we're just super, super tired.

No, burnt out is a different however. What is important to note, proper rest can help avoid you getting to that sector in life. Proper rest and of course other things. Now, you can get eight hours of sleep a night and it doesn't mean that you're going to just avoid. However, that is a needle in a haystack.

In the right direction. And so burnout is a real, it's a real thing. And regular West helps you to avoid that particular aspect is essential to schedule. Things such as breaks, vacations, a time away from work to prevent you from becoming that crispy critter. 

And some of you may have heard when I said, yes, take vacation. staycation.  And some of you are saying, staycation?  Really? No, seriously, seriously, seriously. But take one, like, when I say take a staycation, I don't mean take a staycation and clean your house up. Take a staycation and do nothing. That means, Don't clean your house.

I'm not saying I guess I'm not saying don't clean your house I'm, just saying don't let that be the central focus of Your staycation because some people I know when we say take a vacation. You're like what money?  That's just real talk. And there are things, take a day, go to a museum, take a day, go to the park.

When is the last time you actually took a blanket and sat in a park, sat in the grass, looked up at the sky? There are things that you can do that it can help. You can get to the same results without having to spend the same amount of money. You just have to make it a priority. Leaders who prioritize rest are not just more productive, but they also set a positive example for their teams.

Moreover, rest, regular rest, not only prevents a burnout, but it fosters  Creativity, innovation, resilience, enabling you as a leader to navigate challenges with a fresh perspective and renewed energy. And you deserve that, ma'am. You deserve that, sir. You deserve that, leader. You deserve that, employee, however you want to address yourself.

You deserve rest.  In our third point,  leading with full presence.  Leading from an empty cup affects more than just you. It affects everyone you lead.  When you're well rested, you can be fully present with your team, providing the guidance and support and inspiration they need. A leader who is constantly exhausted may miss And it's not may miss, you will miss at some point some critical detail, you're going to overlook some opportunity, or you're going to fail to connect with someone on your team, you may fail to connect with a colleague, you are going to miss something.

in a meaningful way where had you been rested you wouldn't have 

full presence enabled by adequate rest allows you to lead with empathy clarity and strength can you imagine having two horrible weeks Two horrible weeks, right? Where you had things going on at home. You weren't getting adequate rest.

You, let's just say, you got four hours a night for the past two weeks and had issues at home. How empathetic are you, really, truly?  When an employee is coming to you, how empathetic do you really feel?  Empathetic, are you really? I need you to understand how your presence, if you are fully present, if you are butt doo doo tired, how fully present can you be?  Like, I wish you all were,  I wish I could see you, so I could see your answers or drop them in the comments. When you're, when you are that way, how fully present can you be, how empathetic can you be? 

And if you could do, okay, let's just go here. Maybe you can listen to one person, but that one other person that comes with another story, another long story.  Another, even a 10 minute story, a 10 minute story when you are super tired feels like 30 minutes. It feels like an hour because you are now asking your brain to do things when it's so exhausted.

So I need you to understand that. Full presence enabled by adequate rest allows you to lead with empathy, clarity, and strength. Furthermore, being full rested also enhances your emotional intelligence, your interpersonal communication and your conflict resolution abilities. Listen, I want to say it, if you are getting butt doo doo tired and you got to go into a conflict resolution situation, or if it's just two employees that are not getting along, you are not going to feel like going Through finding the underlining issues that are going on.

Let's find what's good in this one. Let's find what's good in this one. Let's find  compromise. You do not feel like going through all of that because you are exhausted. You are more likely to just tell them what they need to do. And that doesn't always solve the long term problems and so that's why you need to be well rested.

It will show up in areas at the job and being well rested It's not just being able to handle things like conflict resolution abilities. They are crucial in fostering this positive and productive work environment. And not just that, when you show up that type of tired, you are also telling your employees, it is perfectly fine for them to neglect their health, to neglect their mental wellbeing. 

Sir, ma'am is not the leader we want you to be. We want you to lead by example and what's the best example you can do is get rest.  Now with all of that being said, let's go ahead and wrap it all up. Rest is not a luxury, it's a necessity. It recharges your mind and your body, allowing you to be the best.

Best, not just professionally, but also personally, burnout is preventable. Now it is, but it comes,  listen, when I say this very loosely, because if you're already in a burnt out state, listen you need to speak to You need to speak to someone. You need to get some help. It is not something that you can just easily rebound from.

And if you're in a burnout state,  get help. But for people who are just extremely tired and overworked and neglecting themselves, That is preventable. Regular rest is crucial to avoid the burnout path that leads to diminished performance and it can lead to potential health risk. And then we'd spoke about leading with full presence.

It's the. The only possible way to lead being well rested. Now noted it's leading with full presence is only possible when you  are fully rested. Your team needs a leader who is fully engaged and capable of making sound decisions. I always end with a quote, today is no different.  When you prioritize your well being, you empower yourself to lead with clarity, strength, and grace that others need to thrive.

That's leadership. Now, please, Don't forget to like and subscribe as career women on a journey to leadership. Remember that success does start with rest. Prioritize self care so that you can continue to lead with excellence, clarity, and strength. That strength. Defines true leadership.

Thank you for being here today and I encourage you to take these n-sights to heart As you continue your leadership journey. 📍  📍 Make sure that you stay Updated  make sure that you like and subscribe join us for more incredible insights, you deserve nothing but the best.

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