Make Yourself a Healthy Commitment

We can help ourselves and those in our professional environment obtain a lasting gift, the gift of health. When we practice, encourage, and reinforce healthful lifestyles we are leading in a most productive way. Good health and high productivity go hand in hand. Healthy people are more productive and so is their organization. 

Smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol, and couch potato behavior not only reduce individual and organizational productivity, but the enjoyment of life as well. What can we do to enhance the healthful future for ourselves, our associates, and our organization? 

First, consider drastic action. When an office introduces smoking bans or drug testing programs for example, most workers appreciate them. They understand the value of health-sensitive programs and are receptive. Be bold. 

Second, guide your actions by the desires and rights of those most sensitive to good health. It is legal to discriminate against smokers. Point your leadership concern toward the healthful needs of the nonsmoker rather than the selfish desires of the smoker. Don't hire smokers if you or your associates want a smokeless environment. You and others in your workplace have a right to clean air. And, I would propose, effective leadership requires that you provide it. 

Third, be sensitive to employee stress levels. Is your leadership style a stress inducer or a stress reducer? Step back and check your leadership behavior. Are you predictable or unpredictable? Much of the stress in our working environment is unnecessary, caused by superiors who respond emotionally and unpredictably. Too many so-called leaders are guilty of foisting unpleasant surprises on employees, causing the worker to worry about what will happen next. Lack of predictability creates stress; predictability reduces it. You may be inflicting unhealthy stress in your workplace and not know it. 

Be predictable. Demonstrate to your people that you are not likely to throw negative surprises at them. Create a trusting work environment. It will reduce stress levels while increasing healthfulness and productivity. 

The best way for us to encourage a healthful workplace is to lead by example. If we as leaders live healthfully, odds increase that our followers will also. Winning habits become contagious over time. The health payoff is huge for both the individual and the organization. 

I was 35 before I recognized the benefits of, and need for, a healthful lifestyle. The following magazine column, written in March, 1990, tells my personal story. 

I just celebrated an important anniversary. 

It was a Wednesday, about 7:00 in the evening. Son Jason and I were headed home with sandwiches for the family. 

It was the tail end of a thirteen hour business day with little rest and too much caffeine. 

The sandwiches didn't make it home. And neither did I.

Instead, we drove to a nearby emergency room. I thought I was having a heart attack. 

Jason and I were there only about a half hour before we found out that no, it wasn't a heart attack. But the hospital staff was puzzled, and for the next two days I was hooked up to everything in sight as they tried to solve the mystery. My problem? It turned out to be high blood pressure. The solution? Backing off my schedule, eliminating caffeine, taking some high blood pressure pills, and starting an exercise program. 

Looking back, the experience was full of lessons. I learned that bodies need more tender love and care when they reach 35. The greater lesson, however, was the value of exercise. 

My life changed. It was in February, 1980, that Dick Friess, a Sioux Falls doctor somewhat ahead of his time, told me I should take responsibility for my own wellness, and a good part of that meant establishing a regular exercise program. 

I took his words seriously. All he suggested was that I take my heart rate up to about 140 beats a minute for 10-12 minutes four times a week. My wife Lynne now exercises too, and we're on our third bedroom exercycle. The 10-12 minute workouts are now 20 to 30 and include not only biking but occasional floor aerobics and jogging for variety. 

I feel great, have more stamina and weigh three pounds more than when I graduated from college. Essentially, what I did to improve my health was set aside some time most every day for myself to exercise. It was an important change in my life. I grabbed the bull by the horns and wrestled it to the ground. And if I can do it, so can you. 

It's not too late to make a serious resolution. Talk to your doctor and get with the program. Set some exercise time aside for yourself. And when your 10th exercise anniversary comes along at the turn of the century, give me a call, and we'll celebrate your wellness success together. 

Health, like wealth, is a gift. We must earn and preserve both. Be sensitive to how your workplace impacts mental and physical health. Lead by example. Commit to leading through a healthful personal lifestyle. And be protective of the health needs of your associates.