What can tennis pros teach us about productivity?
The Power of Full Engagement offers a new perspective on peak performance
While coaching elite athletes like Pete Sampras and Dan Jansen to world-class success, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz made the startling observation that winners weren’t necessarily more talented than their competitors, but they did use their energy more efficiently. Between intense bursts of exertion, high performance athletes could slow down their breathing and heart rate quickly, renewing their energy in preparation for the next shot, swing or stroke. By helping athletes learn to recover quickly, Loehr and Schwartz led 16 competitors to number one in the world in their sport.
Recognizing that exhaustion, burn out and negative stress have become the rules of the game in corporate America, Loehr and Schwartz have applied their strategies for energy management to executives who want to sustain their high performance in the face of increasing demands.In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Loehr and Schwartz suggest that managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance and personal renewal.
While nearly everyone complains that time is a commodity in short supply, Loehr and Schwartz contend that time is not the central factor that determines the limit of our productivity, and that we can in fact get more done in less time when we increase our energy.
Loehr and Schwartz suggest that we can strengthen our energy capacity in exactly the same way athletes build physical strength and endurance: by pushing ourselves beyond our normal limits, and then recovering. Too little challenge and we lose strength; too much exertion, and we burn out.
When we create the right balance of exertion and recovery, we're able to work in a state of full engagement—a state of high performance in the face of increasing demands.
Full engagement relies on building strength in four separate but related energy sources, creating a sustainable ability to be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned.
It’s not uncommon for us to over-train in some areas and be under-challenged in others. The authors offer specific strategies to increase capacity in all areas. Some suggestions build physical stamina, like exercising or getting more rest; others, like connecting with our vision, fuel us on a deeper level.
For anyone looking to get more done with less effort, I recommend learning more about increasing your energy capacity. Like many professional development books, this one draws on universal truths and common sense that most of us already know—if we simply gave ourselves time for reflection. What sets The Power of Full Engagement apart is its eloquence and its ability to create a clear model for personal development.
Find out your current level of engagement with Loehr's assessment
Want to use this article in your e-newsletter or website? You can use this material in whole or in part, as long as you include this complete attribution and live link: Productivity consultant and trainer Cristin Lind of Clearwater Productivity helps busy professionals enhance their work and enrich their lives. If you’re ready to get more done with less effort, visit www.clearwaterproductivity.com.