This article follows on the heels of the leadership characteristic of “energy.” It’s about having “a reserve.”
Unless you have been in a supervisory or managerial position for a lengthy period, this “Having a reserve” doesn’t mean much. Most people would ask for some definition or meaning of the phrase. It means that when you have worked 12-hour days for the last three days, and it’s 5:45 on Friday night, you are whipped, but somehow you smile and say, “One more hour and we will have this thing beat!” And lead your team to the finish line of something challenging you have been working on for a week. When others want to quit out of exhaustion, the natural leader seems to get a “second wind” and helps and supports the others to go the extra mile. Believe me, the leader is tired too, but they will not be beaten by simple exhaustion. They have an extra reserve they pull up when they need it to lead their people. It’s a motivating thing to see, and people respond to someone who can actually do it.
Please do not misunderstand what I am saying here. I am saying that a healthy person works hard for a stint and then has extra energy at the end to finish strong. Nobody can do this continually without proper rest. Later, I will write about stress and how it engulfs people. Unfortunately, smart, dedicated, and conscientious people get vacuumed up by the stress machine and turned into a heap of smoking cinders. That’s a much different story with a much different end. I’ll cover it in more detail in a separate article, but it is important to mention (here) that stress depletes our ability to maintain a high-energy state. Stress is a dark cloud that surrounds every part of our professional AND personal life. It silently drains you. Good leaders know exactly where their stress level is and how to control it. It is an ongoing battle.
Good leaders have this reserve because they are under control. They take care of themselves on several fronts. For example, they eat a good diet, get sleep, exercise regularly, and usually like their job.
Professionally, they are not the ones who are running from task to task, trying to keep up with everything at once.
No, these are the people who plan carefully and understand how to prioritize their professional tasks. They know how things work and how to get things done efficiently. They train and educate others to do their job so well that the leader is not concerned about them, which leaves time for the leader to do their own work. Having a reserve does not happen by chance. It is established by hard work and discipline.