My Body Called My Bluff.

Tuesday, I wrapped up a long-term fractional leadership assignment, and it was bittersweet. I made the decision earlier this spring that it was time to transition out. It was always meant to be more of an interim position, and I realized that what they most needed was not where I thrive. I closed a chapter of my choosing, but there’s always sadness when leaving a team you like working with.

Given my personality, I was set to jump into planning for the next chapter as soon as Wednesday arrived. My body had different plans. My husband’s cold, the one I’d been so proud of resisting, decided Tuesday was the day it was taking hold in me too. It’s the kind of cold that sits in your head and makes it hard to think, not ideal for planning where your business goes next.

This isn’t the first time my body has had a different plan than my head, and I doubt I’m the only one this happens to. We can run on adrenaline for only so long before something gives. I know this. I still get surprised when it happens to me, especially when I feel like I’ve been following the leadership endurance strategies I talk about.

During the last of the informal leadership conversations I’d been holding with this client group, I asked everyone what they’d learned about themselves as a leader this year. To warm things up, I went first. I told them: the lessons I thought I’d already learned and mastered, I hadn’t yet. What I didn’t say out loud in that room: when the pressure is on, I get impatient faster than I’d like to admit. I’ve been skipping the strength workouts I need to start my day with, letting work come first instead and telling myself I’d get to it later. Later doesn’t always come. A tough day has meant a glass of wine more often than my ideal health plan. I’m not fully comfortable sharing these gaps, but I’m doing it anyway because the leaders I work with trust me more when I’m honest about not doing leadership perfectly than when I pretend I’ve got it mastered.

As I write this, I’ve started to turn the corner and am rebounding from my cold. I went back to the personal trainer today and had a strong workout. My head is clear enough now to get some writing done ahead of the holiday weekend.

My plan is to inch the cruise control up just slightly for the next bit of time, replenish my fuel stores, catch up on the life and business items I’ve let slide, and gear up for the next sprint, whatever that ends up looking like.

This endurance event called life has a finish line I can’t see from here, so I’m paying attention to my pacing, my support crew, and my training plan to keep making the impact I’m here to make.

Where is your body already showing you it’s time to slow the pace, and where are you still ignoring it?

For those of you here in the US celebrating Independence Day, I wish you a rejuvenating weekend with friends and family, and maybe a slower pace than the one you’ve been keeping.

Hi. I’m Melissa. I write for the achiever who knows they can't pressure-test the biggest calls alone but are tempted to do it anyway.

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