Leaders Read#95

👋 Hello everyone,

Louise L. Hay said, "Remember, you’ve been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens."

Here are a few resources you might have missed:

• Three of my favorite book takeaways on Effective Communication.

• Book notes: How to Know a Person by David Brooks

• All 194 Book notes for your enjoyment

• Catch-up: #1 - #94 Leaders Read Newsletters

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📚 Book Summary:

This week's book is "The Happiness Advantage" by Shawn Achor.

This is the book that provides scientific prof and many tactics on how you can improve your happiness at work and home. As a leader, this book offers insights on improving your team's performance and becoming the "glue guy" that others rally around.

One of my favorite takeaways from the book is this:

'Just as our view of work affects our real experience of it, so too does our view of leisure. If our mindset conceives of free time, hobby time, or family time as non-productive, then we will, in fact, make it a waste of time. For example, many business leaders conceive of all the time spent away from actual work to be a hindrance to their productivity. As one CEO told me: "I wanted to be productive because that's what makes me happy, so I tried to maximize the time I spent working. But, as I later realized. I had too narrowly defined what 'being productive' was. I started to feel guilty when I did anything that didn't work. Nothing else, not exercise or time with my wife or relaxation, was productive. So I never had time to recharge my batteries, which meant that, ironically, the more I worked, the more my productivity plummeted." When your brain conceives of family dinner or Sudoku or fantasy football or a phone call with a friend as a "waste of time," it won't be able to reach its inherent benefits. But if you change the fulcrum so that you conceive of such free time as a chance to learn and practice new things, recharge your batteries, and connect with others, you'll be able to leverage the power of that rest time and return stronger than before.'

✅ Actionable advice:

Unfortunately, in today's result-obsessed workplace, we often set unreasonable expectations for ourselves. We want to be the top salesman, earn the highest bonus, or have the biggest office—and we want it now. We expect a new CEO to turn a profit by the next quarter or a new coach to win the next game. This might work on Reality TV, but in the real world, this all-or-nothing mindset nearly guarantees failure. While striving for greatness is admirable, it's crucial to balance ambition with self-kindness. You should treat yourself with the kindness you offer others. Slow down. Move a little slower. Make leisure an essential part of your calendar. Recharging your batteries is one of the best productivity hacks.

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Have a great week!