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Every time you step into a bigger role, or even when you've been in the seat for a while, the same traps show up. Slipping back into old habits, avoiding the hard conversations that actually lift performance, and overcompensating for poor performers instead of leading at level. Now, if any of that sounds familiar, our brand new live workshop is for you. It's called the first 90 days at any New how to Win Trust, Build Credibility and Deliver Results. Marty and I are running it on September 17th live on Zoom and if you show up live, you'll get the Blind Spot Identify Tool, a resource that exposes the hidden gaps holding leaders back. Save your free spot now at bit ly NBL90. That's bit ly NBL90. I can't wait to see you there. Welcome to the no Bullshit Leadership Podcast. In a world where knowledge has become a commod, this podcast is designed to give you something more access to the experience of a successful CEO who has already walked the path. So join your host, Martin Moore, who will unlock and bring to life your own leadership experiences and accelerate your journey to leadership excellence.

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Welcome to Moments with Marty, your short, sharp shot of leadership insight to help you to stay on track. Between our weekly episodes of the no Bullshit Leadership Podcast, we still get a seemingly endless stream of questions from leaders who feel as though they're heading towards burnout, asking for advice about how to avoid it. I had a near death experience with burnout, metaphorically speaking, almost 20 years ago, and the lessons I learned through that period were invaluable. Now, at the ripe old age of 63, I'm working as hard as I ever have, but I feel fresh, relaxed and energised by the prospect of what we can achieve in the next 10 years. Why is it then that so many leaders lose their zest and enthusiasm to the point where they feel as though there's no end in sight? In the next three minutes, I'm going to give you the keys to unlock limitless energy. It doesn't involve vitamin supplements or dietary fads. It's about how you lead. And there are three things I want to focus on. The first is that you have to lean into leadership. I've seen so many leaders waste unbelievable amounts of energy because they haven't accepted the fundamental nature of their leadership role. They fight against it every single day. They wrestle with whether or not to make a big decision, or whether they should hold a hard conversation with one of their direct reports, or whether they should hold people accountable when they don't do what they've said they would do. Leadership is hard work, but it's a hell of a lot harder if you're constantly swimming against the current. So accept the nature of your leadership role. Accept that it's impossible to be universally liked. Accept the fact that if you don't act decisively, problems just fester and get worse and lean into that work. The second key is that you have to shrink it down. What do you have to shrink? Everything. Start with your work program. Stop trying to do everything. Get smarter. Isolate the things that are going to make the most difference, the highest value initiatives, and just go after them. Say no to the things that only serve to generate distraction rather than value. When you have to make a decision, shrink down the inputs to get clarity on the most critical pieces of information. I found that in complex decision making I could be faced with hundreds of data points to potentially consider and just as many opinions from the people who were involved. But there were normally less than half a dozen factors that dwarfed everything else. They had a disproportionate bearing on the potential outcome. Focus on those and don't be overwhelmed by the volume of information that you're presented with. This is about living and breathing the Pareto Principle. The third key is to set a higher standard. Nothing's going to SAP your energy faster than tolerating substandard performance. For a start, there's the endless frustration you feel when people aren't doing what they've committed to do. This forces you back to the first point. Lean into leadership. If you don't stay at your level and insist that each individual meets the standard, you'll be forced to dip down. You'll take on their work in order to get the job done pretty quickly. People get used to you filling the holes that they leave, and your intervention goes from being a one off exception to a permanent shift in job descriptions. But if you do the work to set and maintain a higher standard and deal with performance issues quickly and decisively, you're going to save yourself from the endless mental and emotional strain that comes with an underperforming team. You'd be surprised at how much control you have over your own energy management. So lean into leadership, shrink it down, and set a higher standard. You'd be amazed at how energised you can become if you have the discipline to do the hard work up front, control your environment, and reap the rewards. For more depth on this insight, have a listen to episode 210 of the no Bullshit Leadership podcast, Managing your time and Energy. We'll leave a link in the show notes. I really hope you enjoyed this moment and that it gives you that extra little spark to be a no bullshit.