Shifting Gears on High Performance

SUMMARY

Do you feel like a performance car that's actually only running on about half it’s cylinders?

Are you constantly tired and losing your mojo because you're exhausted?

I know how that feels.

So, stick with me because this week I want to help you shift your thinking and behaviour to have way more energy and enjoy what you're doing so much more.

Burnout is on the rise again around the world. Coming out of a pandemic, a period of big change, and all the things happening in the world have exacerbated the effect on people.

Physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, people are flat.

So, sometimes, we need to shift gears.

The shift that I am going to talk to you about today is going from that high-performance mentality alone to this sustainable performance.

What are these shifts that we need to make?

Firstly, start over the IDENTITY area in our personal leadership.

Next, change your BEHAVIOUR.

Sometimes, things are counterintuitive in what we might think they mean, so it is important that you look at how you will tweak and adjust what you do.

So, what is it that you need to do to shift from high performance to sustainable performance to be able to do what it is that you do — in fact (more importantly) be who you need to be for the people that you want to be that for a longer period of time?

TRANSCRIPT

Do you feel like a performance car that's actually only running on about half it’s cylinders?

Are you constantly tired and losing your mojo because you're exhausted?

I know how that feels.

So, stick with me because this week I want to help you shift your thinking and behaviour to have way more energy and enjoy what you're doing so much more.

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, VUCA Leadership and ‘Sustainable’ Performance Coach, and today I want to continue our conversation in this second area of Professional Leadership by helping you shift gears on your PERFORMANCE.

If you're watching me on the video this week, you can probably see that my eyes have bags under them, and I'm not my fully normal, vibrant self. And that's because, like you, I'm human. Although what I will teach you about today is part of my expertise, I need to listen to this just as much as you do.

Lately, I've been doing a lot of traveling. I've been working at different hours because I work in a global organisation, which means the time zones I work in are not just normal. I start early, finish late, and sometimes miss the meals at the time that I would normally be having them.

Yesterday, I went out and had a full day in the cricket sun, watching Australia and the West Indies with my son; we had an amazing day, but I didn’t get to bed until close to one o'clock this morning.

So why am I telling you that?

Firstly, I want you to understand that although I stand here as a “subject matter expert" in a lot of these things that I talk to you about, I'm still a work in progress in its implementation.

I tell you that because I want you to understand that it's not about a few people who can stand on stage and talk about these things that have got it all together.

No. Nobody has. This is because we are humans. Life happens, and we are in different seasons, and things shift.

But today, as I'm reminded of these things myself, it's quite ironic that in the schedule of the things that I have to talk about you in these first few weeks of the year, this one comes in today after a night of little sleep.

So, what I want to do is give you the benefit of some changes that I've had to make in my own mindset and behaviour so that I can not only be all that I need to be and who I want to be for the people I want to be that for, but I can do it for a long period of time.

I call myself a Sustainable Performance Coach because sustainability is what it's about. It's about being able to do it and help others to do it for longer; without burning out.

Burnout is on the rise again around the world. Coming out of a pandemic, a period of big change, and all the things happening in the world have exacerbated the effect on people.

Physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, people are flat.

If that's not your case, I'm really happy for you. What I want to do is give you what you need so that it doesn't happen. But if that is you, you're not alone. Hopefully, something I tell you today will shift your thinking and behaviour so you can get back to where you want to be.

So, what does Shifting Gears on High Performance mean?

Firstly, it's a metaphor playing on the high-performance car where you change from one gear to the next; when you change a gear down it so that you can give more power, go up hills and do all the things that you need to do. Then, getting it over into the overdrive means you're coasting, and there's little effort needed to keep you going.

So, sometimes, we need to shift gears.

The shift that I am going to talk to you about today is going from that high-performance mentality alone to this sustainable performance.

High performance is a good thing. There are many people out there who teach high performance. However, it's not a good thing if it's not done in a way that is going to mean that you can continue for years to come.

High performance alone in this hustle and grind mentality that you hear a lot of today where people just think:

“If I work more hours….”

“If I get up earlier….”

“If I go to bed later and I do more….”

“…..then, I’m going to get the results I want.”

In fact, it's just the opposite.

Our brain and body are finite resources. They're not designed like a piece of machinery to just go 24/7. You need to make sure that what you put into your body, what you are allowed to go out of your body, and, indeed, what you do with letting things be around your body can have a major effect on longevity.

So, what's the difference between high performance and sustainable performance?

Well, it’s not about throwing high performance away altogether. There are periods when you and I need to perform at a high level. However, you do it for a shorter period of time. And, in that time when that high performance is needed, you are fueled well, your mental capacity is where it needs to be, and the support structure around you allows you to do it.

When you do this, you get (for that short period of time) whatever you need to get done. It could be you've got a client situation that you need to do some work for, and you might work a couple of long nights to get that done. It's like when you’re going to university, you might have some exams coming up, so you do some longer nights, but that's for a short period of time.

So, what we want to talk about here is SUSTAINABILITY.

Sustainability is allowing you to have all the energy you need to be who you need to be in every area of your life, not just your career.

So, what are these shifts that we need to make?

Firstly, just like everything else, we start over the IDENTITY area in our personal leadership.

We ask the question:

“For what purpose — why am I performing this way?”

And if the purpose is that you are looking for approval and you are doing it in that performance trap, where your performance is so that you can have people like you, you feel like you belong and that they think that you are good enough, then that itself is not a reason to indulge in high performance.

The second side of the ledger is to ask the question:

“At what cost?”

If you are to continue working how you are working in this high-performance mode, where it's just hustle and grind and do more and be more, what's the cost?

Well, for me, the cost was a physical and mental breakdown. It was an attack on my immune system. It was stage three adrenal fatigue. It was sore joints and brain fog. It was a limited capacity to enjoy life.

I stand before you today as someone who still hasn't got this all together, but I’ve come a long way. That’s why I love to share my experience to help others as well.

So, the first part of this shifting to sustainable performance is to look at why you're doing what you do. If it's feeding one of those fears of not being enough, not belonging and not being loved, then that will mean that your behaviour could be detrimental to your health.

Once you've worked out those areas in your mind, the next thing to do is to change your BEHAVIOUR.

Changing your behaviour means that you look at things differently. You look at sleep, movement, your mental capacity, how you work with your emotions, and all these things differently because you are a human being. You are mortal. Although you are strong, you still have limitations.

You need to make sure that you hydrate regularly and you do some movement. They say that sitting is the new smoking.

So, there are many things that you could do, and I'm not going to stand here as a health coach because that's not what I am. What I'm going to do is encourage you to look into that, use your primary healthcare physician as your coach in that and see what you could do differently.

I remember years ago having a speaker that I was looking after. He came from another country and was suffering from jet lag. He had quite a long list of things that we had him doing in his itinerary, but the first thing he did was go to the gym, work out and then do a heap of laps in the pool. For me, it didn't make any sense; he was tired and exhausted from a long flight, yet he was going to do more. But for him, what that meant was that doing those things lifted his energy.

Sometimes, things are counterintuitive in what we might think they mean, so it is important that you look at how you will tweak and adjust what you do.

In my case, for example, it is looking seriously at:

“For what purpose would I stay up later than I normally do into the early hours of the morning to go and watch some cricket and travel home a long distance?”

And go:

“It’s because it's a one-off thing I wanted to do with my son.”

But then, I make sure that I plan that the next day so that it won't affect me and will not take from me doing it in balance.

So, what is it that you need to do to shift from high performance to sustainable performance to be able to do what it is that you do — in fact (more importantly) be who you need to be for the people that you want to be that for a longer period of time?

As for me, having amazing grandchildren, brilliant children and a great wife, I want to spend as much time as possible with them. So, it got my attention.

Hopefully, today, something that I've said in my sleep-deprived ramblings has given you some food for thought as well.

Will you join me?

Will you make this shift from high performance to sustainable performance?

And what will the impact be for you?

Imagine six months down the track — when you've started to do some things differently, have more energy, and feel more vibrant and alive — what’s that going to mean to you and the people you care about around you?

Well, that's it from me for another week. Join me again next week when I have had plenty of sleep, and we look at the second area in our Professional Leadership, and that's your POSITIONING.

I'll see you then.