How Important is it as Leaders to Take Care Of Yourselves First?

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:22:39 -0400

How Important is it as Leaders to Take Care Of Yourselves First?

Leaders Take Care Of Themselves First!
By Shawn Stratton
Leadership and Team Building Consultant | Inspirational Speaker | Author

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leaders-take-care-themselves-first-shawn-stratton?trk=pulse-det-nav_art

I've spent a lot of time talking about leadership development, characteristics of great leaders, concepts, what the best leaders do, communications, effective listening, etc., but what about the Leader themselves and their health?

How important is it for you to be on your best game day-after-day in order to be the very best leader you can be? Extremely Important!

I've had a couple of RP Members ask me about personal management of the leader. This is just a short article, but it really puts it all into perspective. If you the leader is missing in action because of your health how does that affect the organization and those who rely on you (your family, your business, or your unit)?

Some will say that is why you train an effective team to step in when you are out, but that is not the point. The point is you need to take care of yourself first because a lot of individuals, family members, superiors, and service members are counting on you!

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Aug 14 at 2015 11:24 AM

SCPO David Lockwood — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:24:38 -0400

I've always been told to take care of those who work for you and everything will fall into place. Taking care of yourself is one of those things.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 14 at 2015 11:30 AM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:30:41 -0400

There has to be some selfishness to stay strong in order to steer the unit.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 11:34 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:34:01 -0400

If you don't take care of yourself, you'll soon find you're unable to take care of others. You have to have someone in your chain who is able/willing to step up and tell you to rest, eat, or go see the doc. For me, that was my platoon sergeant when I was PL, and my 1SG when I was troop CO.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Aug 14 at 2015 11:37 AM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:37:45 -0400

Very. You can't take care of others if you aren't at 90% or better so there has to be a balance. One of the first things we learn as CERT members is, how can you respond to a crisis or emergency if you and your family aren't taken care of first? Same applies to any situation. You can't deploy and give 100% if there are personal or family issues that will be weighing on your mind.

Response by CMSgt Mark Schubert made Aug 14 at 2015 11:49 AM

CMSgt Mark Schubert — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:49:34 -0400

Seems the article focuses on health - and that's OK - "Are you a role model when it comes to taking care of your health?" - For me, this is a natural part of being a leader - being the example - in ALL things! Financial Health, Spiritual Health, Physical Health, Mental Health, and Social Health (relationships) - all are important and a good leader will have good health in ALL these areas! :-)

Response by SPC Sheila Lewis made Aug 14 at 2015 12:03 PM

SPC Sheila Lewis — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:03:00 -0400

It is each Soldiers duty, one of the Army Values, to take care of their health and welfare.

Response by SPC Sheila Lewis made Aug 14 at 2015 12:06 PM

SPC Sheila Lewis — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:06:36 -0400

It is each Soldiers duty, one of the Army Values, to take care of their health and welfare.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Aug 14 at 2015 12:07 PM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:07:51 -0400

The troops always come first, But if you as a leader don't take care of yourself, then the mission will fail. I've been on extended FTXs where the leadership thinks it needs to be there every step of the way - one thing the leader needs to learn is "Everyone is replaceable" As a leader we need to make sure those under us understand our job and is able to set in our shoes at a moments notice. We always train one position up! This is just good leadership.
Also if you don't trust those in the second seat, then you as a leader haven't done your job right.

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 12:24 PM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:24:46 -0400

Sir,
This is in my opinion the biggest problem we have with today’s leaders that under the umbrella of “having to take care of myself before I can take care of my troops,” are fostering an environment of self-indulgent leaders, which priorities start with self. Without a doubt taking care of oneself is important, but if you are a good leader you start with your troops and then move up to your self, after all the more you serve your troops, and the more you put in, the more you get back. If leaders start taking care of their followers, this chain would work at every level, and these leaders would be taken care by default.
Taking care of yourself comes after taking care of your troops, always. After all, key traits of good leadership are service and sacrifice, otherwise, you me just be a good military manager.
This new leadership Trent is resulting in what I call paper leaders look great in paper and are the ones getting promoted and selected for the best assignments due to their impressive record, as through their whole career they had been dedicated to take care of their selves, but in the process has lost the focus of the real reason they are there to begin with, which is to take care of the troops so the mission can be accomplished. I have never seen a leader being able to accomplish a mission by him self, regardless of how good they were, so taking care of your troops should always be apriority, as in the process you will be taken care of…

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 12:26 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:26:54 -0400

It's an extremely valid point that I (and I'm sure many others) struggle with. It is sometimes in our nature to sacrifice to help this under our charge, but as many have mentioned eventually that leads to you not being able to help anyone else.

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 12:37 PM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:37:21 -0400

In many of the examples the interpretation of taking care of one self is taken out of context as in reality it is taken to a complete different level. I have seen leaders that ensure their awards are submitted before anyone on their team gets one. Or that neglects professional management and advise for troops to ensure he or she is well positioned in their PME requirements. When I have challenge issues as this, the response I get is that, "as a leader is important to take care of oneself before their troops," which I see as BS. eating, staying in shape, having mental and emotional health are things that in my opinion are not related to "taking care of yourself," are requirements to be a military member and most definitely a military leader, taking care of your self is managing your personnel record, awards, be prepared for promotions by having completed your PME, etc , it is more in line with the personal and professional things that will help you get ahead, but don’t have a direct impact on your immediate ability to perform your job as a leader, despite that if you do not take care of this it could affect you in the future. as a good leader you need to lead by example, so never demand a standard you have not achieved.

Response by MSgt Jim Wolverton made Aug 14 at 2015 1:04 PM

MSgt Jim Wolverton — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 13:04:02 -0400

If you aren't physically healthy, the troops see that. If you neglect an ache or sprain which makes you unable to do your job effectively, your troops will see that you don't care enough to be the best you can, and that presents a bad example. When it comes to anything else your troops need, they come first, but your health is just as important as theirs, and the military needs you as well as them to perform at top capacity.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2015 1:08 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 13:08:19 -0400

COL Mikel J. Burroughs, as selfish as it may seem, you have to take care of yourself first no matter what and I'm not talking about back stabbing people or making moves to advance in your career, what I'm referring to is to make sure you are physically and mentally healthy. Take time to ensure you are educated and trained before you try to take care of people who work for you. It's ok to care about your career and to make sure you are hitting certain way points in your career that are necessary for you to be successful, but you shouldn't do it at the exspense of others.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Aug 14 at 2015 8:25 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 20:25:59 -0400

Every time you go on a plane, they tell you. Put your mask on first, then assist others.

One of the classic leadership questions from the USMC is "You and 2 troops are stuck in the woods, 1 MRE between the 3 of you. What do you do?" One of the responses that always stuck with me was "Give your guys the Carbs, take the Protein." because the protein will help you think, the carbs will help them work.

So to answer how important is it to take care of yourself as a leader first? Essential. But it's little things that you do, not the big ones. Like having a mirror on the door as you leave the house, so you know you look good when you leave. Getting up every couple hours and "making the rounds" so you get a little exercise, and see your guys. Talking to your troops, who will boost your morale, as you boost theirs.

Taking care of yourself first is not a selfish act. It's a selfless act. It's ensuring that you are going to be there for your folks. Stupid little things like, "I'm running down to the PX to grab a drink. Back in 15." are necessary downtime. We enforce it with our folks, but when in leadership positions with "less direct oversight" we tend not to have it enforced upon us, so we need to become our own overseers.

Response by MSgt Curtis Ellis made Aug 15 at 2015 10:53 AM

MSgt Curtis Ellis — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 10:53:34 -0400

Sir, I would have to agree with the statement that leaders take care of themselves first, and would liken it to my first lesson learned as an EMT. One of the first things pounded into us (in a civilian/military setting), is that a dead/wounded medic can help no one, and reduces the effectiveness of the system/team if he/she intentionally puts themselves in a position to now require what they are suppose to supply. We had very lengthy discussions about this with the bottom line being, regardless what we hear or see or how we feel, if we roll up on scene before the police can secure it, we are not to act. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, which was discussed as well, but you can't think of every possibility. The problems encountered with this is that some leaders will not even address those exceptions when they should put people before themselves (since it's not in "black and white" or obvious), and they put their careers in "survival" mode and it becomes a race to make it to the end without having to deal with those darned "exceptions". I believe that's the mentality pushed on them by our military through society outcry, every time something makes it to the media, or is pushed by members of congress flexing their congressional muscle, and we lose a lot of good leaders because of it. It seems that this is becoming apparent from the top down and prevents a leader from acting on those exception, which is one of the many things a leader is supposed to be capable of performing. There are still a lot of good leaders out there that will step up knowing the risk, and they earn a lot of respect for it, and get to keep their careers, a little scathed, but in still tact. Others aren't so lucky because the "intent" of their actions are not taken into consideration, and once that ball is rolling, it's quite hard to stop. It is quite difficult being a leader in todays military, especially since the pressures of politics, society an PC are beginning to move from the top down the line to our installation levels as well, requiring our leaders, officers and enlisted, to perform at a level far beyond what's expected, and it's that "what's expected" that's costing them their careers. I know this went 180 from where I started, but there isn't a canvass big enough paint a picture of leadership without encroaching on other aspect of it.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 15 at 2015 12:30 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 12:30:45 -0400

Sometimes a leader will be quite humbled, when his troops shelter and take care of the leader when he is broken. I was going through a rough divorce which resulted in severe depression, but my troopers rallied around me. They were good to me.

Response by LtCol Robert Quinter made Jun 24 at 2018 6:59 AM

LtCol Robert Quinter — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 06:59:30 -0400

Knowing your personal limits is essential, but equally important is to recognize the limits of your people. While the "supermen" may be able to press on, loss of the weakest link can make a unit dysfunctional.