Summer invites a different kind of thinking. Slower, warmer, more expansive.
Here are five simple questions to carry with you, into a quiet moment, a walk, or even a conversation.
What do I want to feel more of in the second half of the year?
What is one thing I have learned lately about my own leadership?
Where is there ease, and where is there tension?
Who or what recharges me right now?
What would leading well look like for me in September?
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day is by no means a waste of time.” John Lubbock
Leadership is not just in the doing. Often the most valuable work happens in the spaces in between: the pause, the step back, the long exhale.
Rest is the quiet twin of high performance. Here is what the research says:
→ A simple walk can boost creative thinking by up to 60% (Oppezzo and Schwartz, Stanford University, 2014).
→ Moments of positive emotion help us think more broadly and build resilience (Fredrickson, Broaden and Build theory).
→ Properly unplugging on holiday can lift wellbeing for up to six weeks afterwards (de Bloom et al., 2022, Journal of Happiness Studies).
Rest is not just a break from work. It is the ground where creativity, clarity, connection and wellbeing grow. This summer, let rest be your leadership strategy.
By Cass Coulston