Men’s Health Week: Sustainable vs. Unsustainable High Performance

This Men’s Health Week, I wanted to take some time to explore Sustainable vs Unsustainable High Performance.

One of the patterns I see most often in executive coaching is this:
Many successful men know how to achieve results.
They’ve built careers, led teams, grown businesses, and delivered under pressure. They’ve developed the discipline, determination, and resilience needed to succeed.

But fewer have learned how to achieve those results without sacrificing their health in the process.

Recently I have coached senior men so stressed and pushing so hard for delivery, that they are exhausted, reactive, sharp, and not present for their teams. The impact is not limited to an individual’s health. It can also affect their professional reputation and leadership effectiveness. This in turn leads to lower morale, reduced motivation, and poorer performance among the people they manage.

For years, high performance has often been associated with longer hours, pushing through fatigue, and putting personal wellbeing on hold in pursuit of the next goal. It can work – for a while.

The challenge is that there’s a difference between peak performance and sustainable performance. (see my recent newsletter about “good” stress for more on this!)

➡️Peak performance might get you through a demanding quarter, a major transformation programme, or a critical business challenge.
➡️Sustainable performance is what allows you to lead effectively year after year, particularly in these uncertain times; while maintaining the energy, focus, and resilience that leadership demands.

When energy is depleted, health takes a back seat, and decision-making and leadership effectiveness suffer.

A new question for Men’s Health Week

This Men’s Health Week, perhaps the question isn’t:

“How much more can I push?”
But:

“What is needed for me to perform really well, healthily and sustainably for the long term?”

So what can practical steps can leaders to take to answer this question?

There are a few solutions but I often encourage clients to start with this exercise:

💡Create clarity by choosing fewer, better priorities and having a purposeful strategy on how to address those.

At Mastering Mindsets, we work with you to help reframe the goal – how to build a version of success that allows both health and performance to thrive.