Leadership Happiness

Happiness at Work: The driver of wealth, health and happiness

Leadership and happiness - what's the connection?

Can a leader really make you happier? Happiness at work is possible.

Nothing impacts the wealth, health and happiness of others more than a leader.

It’s a bold statement, so pressure test it.

Nothing impacts the wealth, health and happiness of others more than a leader.

It’s true.

Science proves the connection between health and leaders

Is it a myth that a bad boss can make you sick? Turns out it isn’t at all. A team of British researchers followed a group of employees who worked for alternate supervisors on alternating days. One leader had a good relationship with the employees, another did not have a good relationship. The leader that did not have a good relationship with employees literally made the average blood pressure rise!

A longer study (over 15 years), found that employees who had a difficult relationship with their immediate leader were 30% more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease.

I’ve talked over an over again about how many employees would forgo a substantial raise to see their immediate leader fired.

How a leader can make you happy, wealthy and wise

Take a moment to think of the people who made a significant, positive impact on you. It might be a teacher who saw something you didn’t see in yourself. Or a coach with a unique way of encouraging you, getting the most out of you. It could be a parent, religious leader, boss or coworker. Their words of wisdom, love and advice echo in your head today. When you think of them, how does it make you feel? Do you smile just thinking about them?

Can you think of a leader that just makes you smile?

Would that leader, if they called you today, would you pick up the phone right away? Of course you would.

Now take a moment and think about the people who had a significant impact, but in the exact opposite way. Think about the people who exemplified the person you never want to be. Just thinking of these people causes a bad feeling in your gut. How did they behave when the going got tough? What was most important to them? How did you feel whenever you had a conversation with them?

I bet if this leader called you today, you probably wouldn’t pick up the phone – you’d let it go to voicemail. Think about your emotional status with this terrible leader. Were you happy? What about your stress level? What about you home life and your health? I’d guess that none of them were as positive as the first type of leader.

By definition, if someone has a meaningful impact (positive or negative) in your life, they are a leader.

Unfortunately, anyone can find their way into leadership by simply holding a position of authority (parents, teachers, coaches, religious leaders and yes, bosses). Leadership is simply a position. However, great leadership is a choice. A leader has the most important job the in the world.

Have we water-downed leadership?

I believe the most important job in the world, leadership, has been watered down, over-complicated and decaffeinated beyond recognition. We’ve idolized the achievements but not the work to get there. We’re focused on fables and inspiration instead of the sacrifices. No, we are addicted to ideas and sober to real solutions. In fact, we spend over $15 Billion dollars a year on leadership training. So we must be getting wonderful results, right? Wrong. Read more about how bad our leadership problem is in the United States. We are failing as leaders across the board.

Consider this: A bad leader causes stress. Stress can lead to a poor home life, which causes even more stress. Added stress can lead to poor performance. This leads to long hours, with less sleep, less exercise and poor eating choices. It’s a fact that stress causes your body to switch into fight or flight mode and hold on to the fat in your body. Stress causes weight gain. Gaining weight leads to more unhappiness and even more stress. The cycle is vicious – and real.

This cycle creates unhappy, unhealthy and unwealthy people. All because of one person: a bad leader. What kind of leader do you want to be? One that creates happiness, health and wealth? Or one that causes the exact opposite?

Do you want to be a leader that causes happiness, health and wealth? Or the opposite?

Do you want to make sure you are a leader that delivers happiness? Then read, What’s My Leadership Style? I give you an overly obvious and embarrassingly simple tool to immediately measure your leadership impact. I will show you how to raise your leadership game instantly. This is not hype. You will wonder why you have not thought of this before.

Do you agree? Can you think of anything that affects the wealth, health and happiness more than a leader? Can a leader really change the happiness of an employee?

 

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