People have asked me, what does Five Alive have to do with business and leadership, and my response is, “Almost everything.”
Many leaders of publicly traded companies have key person insurance policies. That’s common, and many companies have stipulations regarding the health of the leaders. Personal health and wellness programs are being utilized by these executives to eat well, manage stress and exercise. This wasn’t the model of older generations which was to keep working, be loyal and be dedicated from early AM to late PM. In recent years, I started paying attention to folks in the C-Suite; I viewed them on TV, I looked at their photos. I realized that the large majority of them were trim and fit. I read their books, and most talked about issues of health and wellness, including their mental health and stress management.
Quite a lot of companies provide these services to their employees. They have healthy food in the company cafeterias. They have a gym or work-out areas on their campus. They offer mental health services in their health insurance packages. They offer 401Ks with automatic enrollment and matching contributions. So, there’s – Finance, Food and Fitness – right there in corporate America.
– How about now? Are you asking yourself and your teams how they’re doing financially and if support is needed with nutrition and fitness habits? It may not be most appropriate to ask during a public Zoom meeting, but now may be an opportunity to provide more empathy – and resources – in these areas.
That leaves us with the last two elements of Five Alive – Friends and Fun. Are these the responsibility of the company or self? It depends on the company and who you talk to. At my last career in financial services, our branch had a “Fun Committee”. From in-office miniature golf tournaments complete with sand traps and water hazards to dressing up for Halloween so that a small school could come trick-or-treating in our space, there were activities for many folks during the course of the year. Even the non-participants enjoyed the views and activities. It may be up to you to organize a little fun for your coworkers – a computer game tournament, brats and beer at a local pub, or a food drive for the local food bank could be a good start.
Finally, friends and work can be a simple or complicated. It’s imperative to have positive working interactions with your team and colleagues. You may have strong relationships, but they may not cross over the work boundaries. Conversely, some of my closest friends today I met through work. We’ve changed jobs, retired, moved, married and divorced, but we are still supportive and happy to have one another. I have also mourned the loss of a work “friend” when one of us left the company.
– Is it a good time to offer the company conference call services to employees so they can reach out to friends and family while we shelter-in-place?
– How about starting or ending a call or meeting with a fun question or challenge? “What’s the craziest thing your kids have said during this time?” “Show of hands, how many people will have a hard time wearing shoes and business clothes again once this is over?
We are all becoming more aware of the importance of the elements of Five Alive – Finance, Food, Fitness, Friends and Fun. In times of Covid-19, we need to avoid the self-judging, feeling guilty and remorseful. Yes, we are all learning tough lessons. Let’s instead focus on those areas where we can establish some new small goals, give ourselves some space that we may be distracted and less productive right now and find items and actions for which we may be grateful.