Health/Wellness
Fit to leadImagine a scenario in which an executive, so overwhelmed with work that she can only spare five minutes at lunch to wolf down a hot dog from a street vendor, sees the CEO of the company jog past. GREG BONNELL |
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 [ 2004-08-11 ] |
© 2007 Jupiterimages Corporation
Where does the boss find the time? Can this be good for the corporation?
The answer to the latter is yes, according to the co-author of Fit To Lead (St. Martin's Press).
"You've got to find the time to exercise," said Christopher Neck in a phone interview from Tempe, Ariz. "If you take an hour to exercise, you gain two hours in energy and productivity. And I'm not just making up the numbers."
That exercise can give busy executives the energy to work smarter is the principal message behind Fit To Lead's eight-week program for shaping up the body, mind and career.
"Our research shows that leaders who are fit are better able to handle the enormous demands that confront them, including endless meetings, gruelling travel schedules, high pressure and stress," the book says in its introductory chapter.
That research is based on the work of the Cooper Institute in Dallas, which has a 30-year history of getting powerful people fit.
The bottom line? No matter how busy the executive, there's always time to exercise.
"What we're talking about is fitting in a reasonable amount of exercise and paying attention to appropriate levels of nutrition to give you that competitive advantage," Neck said. "As busy as you are, you can find ways to exercise."
Daily habit
Those bristling at the suggestion that exercise can become part of their daily lives should study their habits. Do you park farther away in parking lots? Do you take the stairs rather than the elevator? Ever tried walking the halls of your hotel while logging long hours on the road?
"I've had people look at me weird, but I've run many miles in hotel hallways," Neck said.
Then there's the executive diet. Too busy for a home cooked meal, many executives find that dining often becomes an exercise in ordering out or room service. Why not request something broiled rather than fried? It's a start.
"We're not saying 'totally revamp your diet overnight' or 'start running marathons overnight,' " Neck said. "The bottom line is, something is better than nothing."
At a fitness centre geared toward executives in Ottawa, the clientele is always on the run.
"I'm just so busy, but I'm happy just to be here," is the oft-heard refrain at Executive Fitness Leaders, said Neil Purves, manager of personal training.
"The minimum that we'll let them get away with is half an hour," said Purves of those eager to return to work. "But most of our clients are in for an hour."
As with the Fit To Lead program, nutrition is a key training component at Executive Fitness Leaders.
"Nutrition speaks to energy levels, and maintenance of those energy levels throughout the day," Purves said. The blending of strength and cardiovascular training with a healthy diet is having a positive impact on the executives.
"Most of them talk about not having the lull in the afternoons they would have regularly," Purves said. "They're able to last the day, but also do the things they may have let slide, like family responsibilities, tasks around the house."
The latter speaks to the life-work balance mantra which, while gaining momentum in North America, still raises eyebrows among some as a one-way ticket to Slackerville.
"Balance doesn't mean average," said Neck. "Balance means incorporating other things into your day to allow you to achieve your goals. It's not sacrificing your goals."
But for that message to really take hold in the corporate world, it needs to come from the top down.
"That's an underlying assumption of the book," said Neck, "that if the top people in an organization are fit it serves as a model to the other people in the company."
Fat-cat capitalist
So, has the image of the fat-cat capitalist gone the way of the dodo?
"The image of the overweight executive who goes to lunch, has a heavy meal and drinks martinis, that's just not what I see," Purves said.
While exceptions to the rule will always exist -- surely there are companies doing well with overweight bosses at the helm -- both Purves and Neck are seeing executives make an honest attempt to bring balance to their lives.
And that's not a bad example for a leader to set.
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