5 leadership resets ambitious executives need now

Relentless achievement can mask a lack of meaningful results until health forces a reset. A rare autoimmune disease, cancer twice, and long periods in medical waiting rooms create a turning point that questions what life should be beyond external markers of success. Ambitious leaders are encouraged to follow a different blueprint that protects well-being. The first practice is aiming for high impact rather than high performance by identifying where the most meaningful results can be created and deprioritizing commitments that do not move priorities forward. The second practice is pursuing excellence without exhaustion by recognizing limited capacity, protecting energy, and focusing on the highest-value work only a leader can do.

"High performance is about output. High impact is about results that matter. Most leaders are running a master class in the former while quietly starving the latter. Every Monday morning before my week starts, I spend 30 minutes with my diary and ask myself: Where can I add the most impact this week? From that answer, I write my top five priorities and plan them in. I deprioritize meetings and commitments that don't genuinely move things forward. When you don't do this, you end up spending your week reacting to what seems urgent rather than what makes the most impact. That's why it's important to design your week before it designs you."

"If you're an ambitious leader who is wondering if there is a better way to succeed, you're not broken. You've just been following the wrong blueprint. These five practices are the reset that you need to ensure that your success doesn't come at the expense of your well-being."

"I was diagnosed with a rare, incurable autoimmune disease. I also had cancer twice and spent over a decade in medical waiting rooms. And when circumstances stripped me of every external marker of success, I faced the question I'd been outrunning: If this is it, what do I truly want my life to be? That was my "enough already" moment."

Read at Fast Company