Last week, I examined how to value-engineer your purpose. Having checked in with your why, how are you going to tune up and maintain your effectiveness? There are two kinds of preparation which will enable you to excel in all that you do. I refer to them as external workload-driven and internal soft power-driven.

The strength of soft power enables us to avoid burnout that results from being in the masculine archetype of Superwoman. When you first start working, you look for ways to make yourself useful — e.g., re-organize the office, schedule group diaries, set up presentations, take notes, etc. As you gain experience, the dynamics begin to shift. People start coming to you, not just for the reliability of your material, but specifically for the quality of your thinking. You’re in increasing demand, it gets harder to say “no,” and juggling becomes your new normal.

Prepping the Engine Room of Your No. 1 Asset: You

The constant juggling of conflicting demands depletes your energy. That’s when it’s easy to forget about priming and maintaining your driving force. You wouldn’t leave a precious watch out in all weathers and expect it to function effectively when you retrieved it. Nor would you expect to achieve your clients’ project ambitions without doing all the research, evaluation, ideation and using it as your springboard for their success. Your engine room needs exactly this level of care, investment and creative attention.

Tip No. 1: Think About ‘Well-Being’ As a Verb, Not a Noun

It means priming and maintaining yourself on an ongoing basis; it’s an action word.

Tip No. 2: Everything Starts With Replenishing Your Energy — the First of the Soft Power Principles

What else does your well-being require? For this job, tune into another of the five women’s PowerTypes we all have within us: Lover. Yes, she’s characterized by her sensuality and sexuality, but also by her enjoyment of emotion and feeling. She’s the source of life, of creativity, and she explores the world through her five senses. Crucially, she’s the center of your self-care.

Tip No. 3: Think of Your Well-Being as a Needs Matrix of 4 Elements

Those four elements are physiological, psychological, social and spiritual. Needs are what “get you to OK,” and OK is good enough. For instance, you struggle with your usual five hours of sleep. Eight-and-a-half would be optimal, but six-and-a-half hours will get you to OK. Go ahead and audit each element with the kind of attention you would bring to the quarterly financial report for the board. What do you know you need, and what’s really happening? Start with the physiological — shelter, sleep, food, water, exercise, etc. Be gently honest with yourself, because you’re in the business of prepping your whole being. Then move on to the psychological, which includes needs like laughter, love, play, intellectual stimulus and time alone, even in a blissfully happy relationship. Be bold in your audit; it’s time to really listen to yourself.

My clients often find that one action can meet multiple needs. A 20-minute walk in nature could provide exercise, a sense of freedom, connection with the wider world, calm for your mind, time alone, blue sky thinking time, activation of your mind-body connection, getting you to OK psychologically, spiritually and physically. The key to consistently being at your most powerful is to make sure your needs are met.

External Workload Prep

Let’s say the board wants to acquire more hotel real estate abroad to expand the company’s reach. You and your team have been tasked with producing the research material on locations and competitors for finance to run the numbers analysis. With your own needs now met and your mind primed, you tap into another one of the five women’s PowerTypes™: Queen. She’s the energy that’s comfortable with leadership, holds a clear vision for her realm and those in it, inspires loyalty and dedication, and holds the space for greatness for all. You also tune into Sorceress energy — creative, intuitive, wise. We met her last week.

From Queen and Sorceress, you can now lift the ambitions of the project: Is this board decision really just about affordability? What else is possible here? How could the company expand its offer to travelers? Is there an opportunity for collaboration with local businesses that could transform your guests’ experiences? You’re now ready to present the material you were asked for, as well as some astute, exciting ideas — or at least some powerful questions.

Next week, we’ll look at board room presence to make a difference.

If the content of this article resonates, and you would like to explore how to shift your mindset to lead, be heard and make a difference, message me for a complimentary discovery call on LinkedIn or email me at nancy@nancycogswell.com.