Personal Sustainability
Leadership Capacity
Exceptional Performance

Personal Sustainability

"Vision" benefits wellness.
Out of 527 women leaders (executives, mid-managers, first line supervisors, and professionals from a global food & beverage company), those who use a clear "vision" to make decisions and identify priorities in life and work also score significantly higher in 18 factors that facilitate wellness (e.g., exercise or nutrition). In addition, women leaders who actively used a clear vision in their lives and work also perceived themselves as happier in life overall and more effective at work. [source: Wisdom Works¹]

"Play" is key to stimulation, effectiveness.
Out of 101 emerging and current executives in a global IT company, those who see "play" as part of their self identity show greater awareness for (and acceptance of) their own emotions, and thus are more skillful at expressing their feelings effectively. These execs pursue intellectual stimulation and exercise, they avoid exposure to harmful chemicals and drugs, and experience a lower number of visits to physicians. They also engage in behaviors that promote the health and welfare of their broader social community. Ultimately, play appears to have a stress-buffering effect in executives. [source: Social Behavior & Personality²]

"Control" impacts stress more than pressure and responsibility.
Conventional wisdom says that a stressful job is one marked by a high degree of pressure and responsibility. The Whitehall study dispels this, finding that stress at work results from "an imbalance between the psychological demands of work on the one hand and the degree of control over work on the other." While many jobs have high demands, it is not the demands that cause stress and illness; it is the combination of high demands and low control which contributes to over-stress and illness. People in "low control" jobs had higher rates of sickness absence, mental illness, heart disease, and lower back pain. (Note the study defines "Control" as the degree of authority over decisions and the use of one's skills, including the opportunity for developing skills.) This study targeted the highly stratified British Civil Service along with extensive analysis of wellness/productivity research from other countries. [source: International Centre for Health and Society³]

It is possible to live long happy lives with less environmental impact.
This report provides data from 178 nations to indicate that longevity, life satisfaction, and environmental responsibility can go hand-in-hand. The data indicates, for instance, that: "Germans are as happy and live longer than Americans, yet have an ecological footprint of only half the size... Russia and Japan have the same eco-footprint, yet Japanese live 17 years longer and are 50% more satisfied with their lives than Russians." [source: Happy Planet Index⁴]

Footnotes:

¹ Research conducted by Wisdom Works with The Coca-Cola Company, Women's Leadership Forum, November 2007. Please contact us for study details.

² "Play and Health Among a Group of Adult Business Executives" by Joseph Doster, Rebecca Mielke, Celeste Riley, Raphael Toledo, Arthur Goven, and Renee Moorefield, Social Behavior & Personality. 2006 34(9), 1071-1080.

³ Work Stress and Health: The Whitehall II Study, report by the Public and Commercial Services Union on behalf of Council of Civil Service Unions/Cabinet Office, Dr. Jane Ferrie, Editor, International Centre for Health and Society [PDF]. 2004.

⁴ The Happy Planet Index: An Index of Human Well-Being and Environmental Impact. Report by Friends of the Earth and the New Economics Foundation, 2007.

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