At the same time as there are many ways to preserve psychological health and well-being there is a constant need to improve individual physical health – as society is becoming increasingly more complex due to i.e. shifting economies and political uncertainty, where one has to deal with a high level of pressure and discontinuity. Hence, it is important to stay physically fit in order to handle all the curveballs, regardless of time and place, which means that one should make sure to engage in regular physical activity. And it is proven that aerobic exercise is highly effective and improves both cognitive strength and stamina, which influences work performance. Only stamina by itself helps to excel on the job and work smarter in order to become more productive. But it is not about turning your life upside down, it is about making small changes to improve and not strive for perfection. One should be realistic, learn one’s limits and make sure to improve self-awareness. All these elements are key to develop and increase individual stamina. On the same note several researchers have collectively conducted an interesting study on the relationship between fitness and leadership called; “Fit to lead: is fitness the key to effective executive leadership?” (Neck, et al., 2000). They looked at the importance of physical activity amongst top management and how their health is influencing their respective organisations. The authors looked at health from different aspects, including factors such as “stamina, mental clarity, ability to cope with stress and a variety of other factors that can affect an executive's ability to lead” (Neck, et al., 2000). In order to support their study, the authors collected data amongst senior executives from a variety of organisations, which included famous profiles such as Al Gore and George W. Bush. Both these individuals were used as examples to emphasize the importance of health and its impact on performance - even in some of the toughest political and corporate environments, where taking care of physical and mental health as a senior executive is not only important for the individual, but for the stake- and shareholders of the organization as well. The reason for this is that senior executives might have a major influence on business and share price – which means that taking care of executive health is crucial and it´s about building strength, minimizing risks and fortifying revenue for the organization as a whole. And senior executives are getting ill, which is something organisations need to be aware of. When Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, was diagnosed with cancer the organisational mishandling of his illness became the new standard on how to “not” handle this type of situation, concerning CEO health. A new best practice emerged, which created a precedence, and it has become the new norm to inform investors and shareholders about CEO´s health conditions. Not to gain sympathy, but to openly communicate factors that might influence investments. But even though CEO health is seen crucial to any company only 22% of companies sponsor their executives with physical check-ups. So, one might ask: is this enough? Nell Minow of the Corporate Library says; "The board is responsible for understanding everything there is to know about any factor affecting the CEO's ability to handle or even stay in the job, and failure to do so is a violation of their duty as fiduciaries" (Boyle, 2004). Looking at this, could insights to a CEO´s personal life be taken too far, and/or where should the line be drawn? According to Corporate Governance Alliance CEO Eleanor Bloxham and Value Alliance, disclosure about a CEO´s personal life should only be disclosed to its shareholders and employees if it could have material impact. But looking back, even though only 22% offer medical visits during employment, more and more companies are offering perks such as full or partially medical coverage throughout life, post career. This alone raises several questions, but questions for another article.
But there is no doubt that it will be increasingly important to sustain senior executive health as we move into the future, and key will be to determine strengths, weaknesses and limitations - correlating with positive psychology. It is all about working on preventive measures, not conducting quick fixes and patch work. And engaging in regular physical activity is not only important for the latter but it is positively linked to how senior executives are coming across as leaders. This means that being at good health as a senior executive does not only have individual benefits, it also helps to improve image and how senior executives are being perceived by their peers and organisations. So, I believe we can all agree that healthy employees are recognized to be happy employees and that stress at work has an impact on health, and that negative stress decreases overall well-being. It is therefore utterly important for organisations to fully understand the stressors in play and work on sustaining health and building awareness. by Ole Petter Anfinsen, Founder and Chief Executive References and sources Amour, L. A. (2008). The best checkup you'll ever get. Fortune, 23 6, 157(13), 98-104. Boyle, M. (2004). CEO health: don't ask, do tell. Fortune, 31 5, 149(11), 42-42. Campbell Quick, J., Gavin, J. H., Cooper , C. L. & Quick, J. D. (2000). Executive health: Building strength, managing risks.. Academy of Management Executive., 14(2), 34-44. Gavin , J. H., Quick, J. C., Cooper, C. L. & Quick, J. D. (2003). A Spirit of Personal Integrity:. The Role of Character in Executive Health. Organizational Dynamics, 32(2), 165-179. Grobart, S. (2017). All the Doctors Will See You Now.. Bloomberg Businessweek, Issue 4508, 55-57. Kahn, J. (2016). Leading can take its toll.. OfficePro, November/December, 76(7), 11-11. Komaroff, A. L. (2009). Executive Physicals What's the ROI?. Harvard Business Review, 87(9), 28-30. MacGregor, S. P., Bayod , S. & Guim, F. (2017). Executive health and performance. Training Journal , January. 28-31. McDowell-Larsen, S. L., Kearney, L. & Campbell, D. (2002). Fitness and leadership: is there a relationship? Regular exercise correlates with higher leadership ratings in senior-level executives. Journal of Managerial Psychology , 17(4), 316-324. Mont, J. (2013). Should CEOs' Personal Lives Be Revealed?. Compliance Week, 10(115), 16-61. Neck, C. P. et al. (2000). Observations Fit to lead: is fitness the key to effective executive leadership?. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15(8), 833-841. Perrewe, P. L., Meurs, J. A. & Rossi, A. M. (2014). Improving Employee Health and Well-being. Charlotte(NC): Information Age Publishing. Perryman, A. A., Butler, F. C., Martin, J. A. & Ferris, G. R. (2010). When the CEO is ill: Keeping quiet or going public?. Business Horizons, 53(1), 21-29. Schultz, E. E. & Francis, T. (2006). The CEO Health Plan. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, 247(86), pB1-B8. Seldman, M. & Seldman, J. (2008). Executive Stamina : How to Optimize Time, Energy, and Productivity to Achieve Peak Performance. 1st ed. Hoboken(New Jersey): John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Zillman, C. (2015). United remains mum on CEO’s health condition.. [Online] Available at: http://fortune.com/2015/10/19/united-ceo-health/ [Accessed 24 July 2017].
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Today´s business environment has become highly demanding and the pressure to deliver is upon senior executives 24/7. This seems to be one of the biggest leadership challenges of this century where managing stress is crucial, especially amongst members of the C-suite. And along with the pressure to meet increasing demands due to changing global economies and political uncertainty, there is a constant need for keeping a satisfied workforce.
To sum up; CEO´s are likely to have three areas of severe stress in contrast to others; “isolation, the pain of downsizing and pace of work” (Kneale , 2009). This seems to have pushed senior executives onto a destructive path of poor health, even though corporate wellness programs are implemented. These programs often becomes a part of the problem, having the opposite effect due to increased pressure and invasion of private life. So, the health of the general CEO is worse than one might think, and almost 60% of CEO´s are at cardiac risk while over 80% is medically obese. Therefore, there is an indication that to become a high performing top executive individual physical and mental health needs attention, in order to keep up with the pressure. Today´s business environment demands not only leaders, but leading “athletes”, due to the rapidly changing environment, high pace and increasing pressure to meet expectations. “Athletes” refers to being on top of the game, staying physically and mentally fit, equipped to win by having a good balance. The word “success” has become associated with pain, stress, lack of enjoyment and the pressure to perform. If nothing is done senior executive health is no longer jeopardised; it will soon have reached rock bottom. This is why I have dedicated my life to helping others and embark on this journey, doing a Doctorate of Business Administration - focusing on improving senior executive, physical and mental, health to increase work and organisational performance, and create a better work/life balance. by Ole Petter Anfinsen, Founder and Chief Executive References and sources Ansink, J. (2013). Fortune. [Online] Available at: http://fortune.com/2013/09/10/c-suite-suicides-when-exec-life-becomes-a-nightmare/ [Accessed 29 June 2017]. Berinato, S. (2016). Corporate Wellness Programs Make Us Unwell: An Interview with André Spicer. Harvard Business Review, Issue 6, 29-28. Kneale , K. (2009). Forbes. [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/2009/04/16/ceo-network-management-leadership-stress.html [Accessed 29 June 2017]. Paliwal , D. (2016). Harman CEO: 5 Ways to Avoid Burnout.. Fortune, 759-759. Pyrillis, R. (2014). Embracing Wellness: CEO to CEO.. Workforce , 93(12), 16-16. Roche, M., Haar, J. & Luthans, F. (2014). The Role of Mindfulness and Psychological Capital on the Well-Being of Leaders. Journal of occupational health psychology, 19(4), . 476-489. S. Khan, K., Kunz, R., Kleijnen, J. & Antes, G. (2003). Five steps to conducting a systematic review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 96(3), 118-121. Tutton, M. (2010). CNN. [Online] Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/03/12/ceo.health.warning/index.html [Accessed 26 July 2017]. Mental health is still a delicate topic and managers are more comfortable discussing physical health than mental disorders, even though more than a quarter of managers have experienced mental health problems. There is also a direct correlation between mental and physical health, where a decrease in mental health increase sick leaves and decrease effectiveness and efficiency when at work. Mental illnesses are not just mental, they are physical as they amplify into physical symptoms and complications, as e.g. anxiety causes blood and breathing problems as well as chronic physical pain. Furthermore, anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental illnesses and depression is one of the highest factors in work disability. Depression also leads to physical health issues such as heart trouble, a weakened immune system, obesity and diabetes, to only mention a few. So, one thing is for sure - it is utterly important to have a well-developed support system, promote mental health treatments and create awareness in the workplace. But it is not only depression and anxiety that threatens todays senior executives. Insecurities and the feeling of not measuring up is also a common risk to the mental stability of executives. This is being described as the “Imposter Syndrome” and is a common fear amongst many CEO´s, and to overcome this it seems to be a solution to create safe environments through support groups, coaching and mental training, where executives learn that they are not alone and most importantly, they find someone they can relate to.
Remember, you are never alone! by Ole Petter Anfinsen, Founder and Chief Executive References and sources Greenwood, J. (2016). Quarter of managers have mental health diagnosis.. Coprorate Adviser, 11 3, 1-1. Griffith, E. (2015). The rise of the CEO support group.. Fortune, 171(6),14-14. Kalish, B. M. (2014). New wellness programs focus on finances, not just fitness. Employee Benefit News, 28(2), 8-9. MacGregor, S. P., Bayod , S. & Guim, F. (2017). Executive health and performance. Training Journal , January 28-31. Seldman, M. & Seldman, J. (2008). Executive Stamina : How to Optimize Time, Energy, and Productivity to Achieve Peak Performance. 1st ed. Hoboken(New Jersey): John Wiley & Sons, Inc. . Wilkerson, B. (2009). Mental Health: The Forgotten Illness. Benefits & Compensation Digest, 46(1), 1-24. Wellness and fitness are something most people are familiar with, but some people argue that so called corporate wellness programs makes people unwell. Wellness is becoming a corporate pressure where employees are being faced with slim and muscular people, as role models, leading to anxiety, guilt and the fear of losing their jobs as they think they might be seen as undesirable workers if they don’t live up to measures.
The other paradox is that this might drive a once efficient workforce into becoming inefficient, unhappy and less productive overall, next to work intruding on their private life through a forced change in lifestyle. But it does not stop there, as it is discovered that people are starting to judge others based on wellness characteristics, and that physically fit people are more attractive for hire than the ones who are not, even if they can show to the same qualifications. It has become a corporate illness and amongst leaders wellness has evolved into a measurement of success (Berinato, 2016). by Ole Petter Anfinsen, Founder and Chief Executive |
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