The High-Performance Pyramid

It’s the end of August, the summer has flown by, and the 2023 LDP (Leadership Development Program) class is preparing for session five on August 26. The last four sessions were spent learning about our individual leadership traits and leadership practices that we can use to be effective leaders. One concept we talked about during sessions two and four that I’ve found myself coming back to is the High-Performance Pyramid.

The concept is fully explained in the article “The Making of a Corporate Athlete” from Harvard Business Review, but the idea is straightforward: to reach an ideal performance state all levels of the pyramid need to work together. One level cannot overpower others and if they are out of balance, you cannot reach peak performance.

The concept is not a unique one in today’s world; the idea of work/life balance is popular with lots of discussions and ideas on how to achieve it. What appeals most to me about the pyramid is how individualized it can be and that I can use it differently depending on what challenges I’m facing. The pyramid encourages a certain level of reflection and self-evaluation, which has been a major theme throughout LDP.

As “homework” for session four, we were asked to adopt a practice and see how it affected our peak performance. It took some self-reflection to decide which area needed improvement and what ritual could help to balance the pyramid. There are many options for all of us, whether it’s trading the elevator for the stairs to gain physical activity in the day, making a clear break at the end of the day to be emotionally present with our families, or pausing during the day to take a mental break.

I’ve been making time to journal each day and focus on the things that I value and something of note for that day. It’s a work in progress, but I’ve noticed the lack of focus when I don’t have the time to write. I remind myself of that when I’ve missed a day and pick up my notebook to start again.

So, as you go through your day, what small ritual could you add that might bring a little balance?