Leadership personified
Alright, let’s get real.
Leadership isn’t just about making big decisions or herding a bunch of people towards a goal. It’s about keeping your sanity intact while juggling a million things (and hopefully you can do it better than the people you are managing) .
Enter mental fitness—your secret weapon to not just survive, but thrive. This article dives into how mental fitness can mould you into a kick-ass leader and why a specialized bootcamp might just be the game-changer you need.
For you and your team.
Understanding Mental Fitness in Leadership
Mental fitness for leaders goes beyond traditional skills.
Unlike traditional leadership skills, mental fitness equips you to deal with the chaos and unpredictability of modern work life to manage difficult situations to the benefit of the team. It isn’t sitting in a lotus position and thinking happy thoughts.
This is a key tenet and deliverable on mental fitness. The business world is pretty chaotic.
It encompasses resilience, emotional intelligence, and stress management. Unlike the old-school approach that focused on strategic and operational skills, modern leadership demands a balance of cognitive and emotional strength.
A bit more about the Extentia Bootcamp
My typical pandemic story involves fortnightly zoom calls with Paul Taylor, Stuart Evans and Umeed Kothavala - the CEO from Extentia. He knew I was journalling, then he got me to run zoom engagement workshops for his staff and then before I knew it I was presenting them in person a couple of years later…
This workshop was pretty last-minute off the back of a pretty successful TEDx talk. I’m very critical about companies who allow mobile phones to sit next to their staff as the science shows just how destructively distracting they are.
Extentia Workshop
This Bootcamp was all about showing people how to be more productive. The key element words showing them that if they could devote themselves to productivity, give up the temptation of playing with their phone, that they were demonstrating leadership potential. This was a proper Pomedoro Bootcamp:
five hours long
40 minute work schedules
interspersed with exercise and meditation
no phone, no social media, no talking during the work
The result? Insane productivity. Future leaders unearthed. But it wasn’t long enough.
The Role of the Bootcamp in Leadership Development
The Bootcamp design was brilliant, but it was more an example of how to structure the perfect day. Everyone got more work done in five hours than they had done in the previous full working day.
Think bootcamps are just for getting ripped? Think again.
Leadership bootcamps are the new training ground for mental warriors. These programs blend hardcore mental fitness training with leadership skills to prepare you for anything. Too hard? Probably not leadership potential.
However, to turn new behaviours into lasting habits, it took a while to work out the formula. A few months later, and a few trial and errors, we stumbled upon the Goldilocks formula for a successful Bootcamp.
But why would leader bother?
Leaders often face numerous challenges, from managing diverse teams to making critical decisions under pressure. Bootcamps address these by providing tailored training that focuses on real-world applications.
Said with no judgement, one thing most leaders want is to keep growing their leadership style and moving up the management chai. Generally speaking each step means more responsibility, potentially more hours, and often a lot more stress.
My take on this?
Bootcamp’s should address:
managing stress more effectively
improving productivity and focus to get more done in less time
This seems counterintuitive, but we need to live otherwise the work is pointless. We need time off otherwise our quality of work goes down.
A good extended period of engagement should address these aspects as well as improve on your performance and productivity in the workplace. A greater sense of engagement and energy, generally improves the outlook about purpose of work and life.
But most importantly, leaders attending any course where they are attempting to make transformation is that they must be ready for change. This is best described by the transtheoretical model of change: leaders need to be well and truly at step three.
What is the process?
For the group sessions, especially that run over multiple weeks, there is often a lot of content to be covered, but we found the grouping and into these type of sections helps.
Evaluation
Where are you now? Where do you want to be? Why do you want to change? Corporates love calling this a personal gap analysis. But let’s be real, the reason for change, that emotional why, has to be strong enough to keep you going, like a Netflix binge on a rainy Sunday.
Training and Knowledge
Courses can be as robust as a bodybuilder on protein shakes, but they need variety. Especially in leadership, it helps to have multiple options and linguistic tricks. Essentially, it's about showing the better way to get the results you crave, without sounding like a robot.
Making Room
Dropping old habits and trying new ones is like asking a cat to swim. Tough. Senior managers often think they know it all, which makes it harder. Basically, it’s saying, “You got it wrong, now let’s fix it.” This part sees the most resistance, requiring bulldog-level persistence.
Designing the New You
Call it building the dream, redesigning the process, or ditching the shackles. It’s exciting but can feel as tangible as catching smoke. Time to start putting flesh on those lofty dreams and aspirations, making them real and not just another item on the wish list.
Action Plan
Short-term workshops and books are great, but without action, they’re just bus stop graffiti. The plan needs legs, running 10-12 weeks to turn knowledge into habit. It’s about taking those shiny new skills and making them stick, not just fading away like a New Year’s resolution.
What are the key personal skills or takeaways from a bootcamp
The important one – there MUST be ROI for effort and for the organisation. The metrics are there – 1.8 to 3x return. But to evaluate., the needs and desires must be well articulated from the outset.
Considering the benefits you might get from a boot camp? They should include:
Emotional intelligence is the secret sauce of great leadership. Leaders with high EQ can handle the drama of office politics and still keep a positive vibe. Through coaching sessions, role-playing, and feedback loops, we’ll boost your self-awareness and empathy. Think of it as becoming the office Yoda.
Creating the space between stimulus and response is brilliant for managing tricky situations.
Resilience is like the superpower of leaders. You just need to keep bouncing back with a smile on your face; or better still, not be knocked down in the first place. When the proverbial hits the fan, resilient leaders keep their cool and their team's morale intact.
The team looks for the captains lead.
Toughen up with mindfulness practices, resilience training workshops, and scenario-based exercises. Basically, you'll become the Rocky Balboa of the business world.
Stress Management - Chronic stress is like that annoying background noise that can ruin your groove. Effective stress management is crucial to keeping your performance sharp. We’ll teach you stress-busting techniques like deep breathing exercises, meditation, and time management skills. You'll be the Zen master of your office, handling stress like a pro.
So what are you waiting for?
Alright, let’s cut to the chase.
Stop being all talk, no pork.
Leadership isn’t just about herding your team like a bunch of confused cats. It’s about maintaining your sanity while juggling a million tasks AND inspiring them to herd themselves!. Enter mental fitness—your secret weapon to not just survive but thrive.
This isn’t about sitting cross-legged and humming ‘om’. It’s about resilience, emotional intelligence, and stress management WHILST supporting a booming career you are proud of.
Ready to become a kick-ass leader?
Dive in where you’ll learn to handle the chaos of modern work life and emerge as a true mental warrior.
Don’t just lead—dominate.