Small periods of recovery time will improve performance.
In the past six months, I have been inundated with requests from leaders about how to increase motivation in themselves and their teams. After further discussion, it becomes clear that the root of the problem isn’t a lack of motivation — it’s fatigue. In just about every training or leadership counseling session I hold, anywhere in the world, I see the impact of fatigue, that overall feeling of tiredness or lack of energy. A CEO snaps at a junior colleague over a relatively small error. A senior executive vents for an hour over nothing in particular. A consulting firm boss pushes junior team members to work 100-hour weeks over unsubstantiated concerns about client engagement. Strong leaders question if they are doing enough, even though they feel they are at the end of their tether.