Higher Levels of Happiness and Energy: The Cadence Approach Spotlight
Leanne Spencer
Global Keynote Speaker & 3 x Bestselling Author. I talk about personal sustainability, community and finding Cadence as the keys to high performance
Summer has arrived! I hope you’re taking some time out to rest and enjoy family time, travelling or time to yourself – whatever works for you!
I recently read a book by the brilliant Shawn Achor (if you haven’t watched his TED talk you need to). The book is called Big Potential, and in it he discusses a study of 400 travellers from across the world conducted by Achor and his colleague Michelle Gielan from the Institute for Applied Positive Research. They discovered that holidays result in higher levels of happiness and energy is approached in a smart way, specifically if you:
🔮 a) plan a month in advance and prepare your co-workers;
🌏 b) go outside your City (the further the better);
💡 c) acquire local knowledge at your destination;
🚀 d) plan all travel details before departing.
Good to know!
Wherever you’re going or whatever you’re doing this summer, have an amazing break. And if you’re working because you like to take holidays at different times of the year, kudos to you too. I’ll be between London and Margate and spending time hiking in the Cairngorms with my partner and Kami the Dog. My happy place is in the woods and hills watching Kami interact with nature and I’ll be making the most of it.
All the very best for now,
Leanne
Our Next Webinar: The Evolution of Wellbeing within High-Performing Workplaces
Tuesday 17th September 2024, 12:00 UK
Our next free-to-attend webinar is in September. We will discuss how wellbeing has evolved, and what leading companies are now doing to invest in the long-term health of their teams.
The webinar will give you a sneak peek into what’s coming next for wellbeing and why it should be a priority for any company that promotes itself as a high-performance culture.
We'll discuss:
The 30-minute format includes Q&A, and a professionally sketched infographic of the key points as a takeaway for all those who attend live.
What I Recommend
TED Talk: The happy secret to better work
We believe we should work hard in order to be happy, but could we be thinking about things backwards? In this fast-moving and very funny talk, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that, actually, happiness inspires us to be more productive.
Recommended by LinkedIn
What I'm Listening To
The Diary of a CEO
You may recall me mentioning Evy Poumpouras , author and former U.S. Secret Service Special Agent. I've been listening to her 'Diary of a CEO' podcast and really enjoyed her recent podcast episode: Secret Agent: Send Your Children To A Village! How To Detect A Lie Instantly!
The episode goes so much deeper than the title suggests and is worth a listen or a watch as this is available on YouTube.
What's Caught Your Eye
Gold Medal Leadership: 5 Winning Lessons From Olympic Sports
I’m excited to share that I was recently featured in a Forbes article. It highlights something I’ve always believed: business leaders can learn a lot from how athletes tackle resilience and peak performance.
The piece also includes some brilliant insights from Stef Reid MBE, David Ross, Laura Ashley-Timms, and Dr. Audrey Tang.
Athletes get that they can’t be at the top of their game all year round. Instead, they manage their energy using cadence, figuring out the best times to push hard, how to gear up for big moments, and making sure recovery is part of their plan.
It’s a good reminder for all of us that trying to stay at our best all year round can be hard to sustain in the medium to long term and can lead to chronic stress and burnout.
What I'm Reading
Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being
Harvard-trained researcher Shawn Achor reveals a better approach. With exciting new research combining neuroscience and psychology with Big Data, Achor shows that our potential is not limited by what we alone can achieve. Instead, it is determined by how we complement, contribute to, and benefit from the abilities and achievements of people around us.
Head of Products @ Artifax | venue & event management for arts & culture | FRSA
4moI think there's a lot to unpack in a), as there's probably more we can do to empower colleagues, and minimise the buildup of tasks, in our absence. Happy hiking (and sniffing) to you all!