By Business & Finance 
By Shane Cradock
“I’ve lost my mojo, and I don’t know how to get it back.”
This comment was from the mouth of the CEO of a large Irish company. Smart, ambitious and decent, on the surface this person would be seen by most as probably having it all. Yet underneath, there was a problem. And it was affecting everything.
There is growing attention in the media towards mental health, yet it is very heavily focused on those that are in severe pain or at risk. There is no doubt that this is needed and important. Yet I wonder should the focus be widened to include everyone? Especially those who perhaps think they don’t need it.
But back to the CEO …
My mindset drives this business. A slight change in it affects my ideas, my communication and the impact I have on the people around me. Ultimately, my mindset affects my mojo and it has a direct ripple effect to the bottom line.”
I was the first person this CEO had told this truth to and just by sharing it, there was a slight weight lifted from his shoulders. The delay in sharing?
Maybe finding the right person but also I think because of the expectation we perhaps place on ourselves as people or leaders.
Through some work we got the mojo back to the right levels. The key? An insight into something in the CEO’s mind i.e. the way they were thinking. And when they saw it, they could change it.
I think the poet John Milton had it right when he wrote in Paradise Lost – “The mind is its own place, and in itself, Can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven.”
The rise of mental support
When we watch a top sporting figure have a ‘melt-down’ (think Rory McIlroy at the Masters), isn’t that a similar situation to the CEO above? i.e. a top performer’s ability being compromised by their thinking/mind.
In sport, we just accept that all top people have sports psychologists/coaches around them. Why should business be any different? In many quarters, there is a stigma attached to getting support, but the most aware know that it gets results.
Ten years ago, the professions ‘mind coach’ or ‘performance coach’ didn’t really exist in business. Yet today, it’s a growing profession. Why? Because it’s needed and when done right, it works. Plus there is an argument to say that not only does it help top performers get better results, it’s also there as insurance.
Case in point is Lloyd’s bank in 2011. António Horta-Osório took over as chief executive in March 2011 on a package worth £8.3m. In November of that same year, he announced to the markets that he was taking sick leave on doctor’s advice because of ‘extreme fatigue and stress due to overwork.
As a result of this news, the market reacted badly, wiping £930m off the value of the company overnight! I think in hindsight Lloyd’s board would probably see paying for support in maintaining Horta-Osório’s ‘mojo’ as a useful and very cost effective insurance.
Despite this being an extreme example of what can happen when a leader is compromised, it’s also a useful lesson for us all. When our head isn’t right, nothing is.
Yet how many of us consistently and pro-actively look after it? Think about it.
About the blogger
Shane Cradock helps entrepreneurial leaders and their organisations achieve their potential. For further information, visit his website.
