In recent years, we have seen a disturbing change among leaders with whom wework: they are finding it very difficult to sustain their effectiveness over time.Whydoes this happen among leaders with vision, talent, and emotional intelligence—

leaders who truly understand what it takes to craft great organizations and who buildhealthy and transparent relationships?

Many busy executives place little value on renewal, or on developing practices—habitsof mind, body, and behavior—that enable us to sustain ourselves in the face of un-ending challenges, year in and year out. In fact, it is often just the opposite. Many peo-ple and organizations confuse short-term results with long-term effectiveness andtolerate destructive behavior, discord, and mediocre leadership for a very long time.Then there are the very real pressures: increased scrutiny of financial details, omni-present and vigilant constituencies waiting and ready to pounce, leaner organizations,and simply more work to do. Many leaders find themselves fighting just to keep theirheads above water.

Power Stress and the Sacrifice Syndrome

In researching our recent book, Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and ConnectingWith Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion, we found one clue for why

leaders lose effectiveness—a phenomenon that we call power stress: the unique brandof stress that is simply part of being a leader, especially today. For leaders today, choicesare rarely crystal clear, decision making is incredibly complex, and we must influenceothers through ambiguous authority. Add to that the loneliness that comes with beingthe person at the top, and you have the formula for power stress. In the last severalyears, we have observed leaders experiencing power stress day after day, fighting fireafter fire—and then scraping themselves off the floor each evening.

B Y A N N I E M C K E E A N D

R I C H A R D E . B O Y A T Z I S

Renewing and Sustaining

Leadership

E X E C U T I V E F O R U M

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Spring 2006

We have watched as these leaders becameincreasingly dispir ited. They live withstomach problems, high blood pressure, orheart disease, or they eat and drink toomuch and exercise too little. Some peoplelose sight of everything other than theirwork, or the trappings of success.They losesight of what’s really important to them,even sacrificing relationships

Take the example of Niall FitzGerald,chairman of Reuters. Niall gets results—heis powerful, positive, and compelling. But ithas not always been that way. For a time,Niall was caught in what we call the Sacri-fice Syndrome. (Information presented hereabout Niall FitzGerald is drawn from per-sonal conversations and correspondencewith the authors.)

Niall’s success was marked by meteoric risein his career at Unilever. Over the years, hegave his all—with great results—in the ser-vice of building the business. He put theorganization’s needs ahead of his own andtook his responsibilities very seriously. Hefaced challenges and threats creatively and,more often than not, successfully. Niall’s lifewas on track and the future looked bright.

Or so it seemed. Many of us have learned(the hard way) that you do not have thekind of business success Niall had, or pur-sue that success as single-mindedly as hedid, without it taking a huge toll some-where in your life. The constant sacrificesand stress inherent in effective leadershipcan cause us to lose ourselves and strain re-lationships at work, at home, or both.

For Niall, the result of the situations at homeand at work was extreme pressure. Niall at-tempted to deal with it, of course, and forthe most part he continued to be successfulat work and to maintain things at home.Hecoped, as most of us do, through doing moreof the same,working harder, and attemptingto deny the signs that he was facing realproblems.Ultimately, though, coping mech-anisms ceased to work very well. Niall hadbecome trapped in the Sacrifice Syndrome.

The Sacrifice Syndrome shuts down ourability to see possibilities because the effectsof anxiety, fear, nervousness, and the phys-ical damage to our brains are very real. Soit was for Niall, and his first response wasto deny most of the problems, on both thework and personal fronts. And althoughNiall tried to revitalize himself through va-cations and the like, he was beyond tired.He was exhausted, and it was beginning toshow in the decisions he made.

At one point, while directing Unilever’sbusinesses, Niall and his team launched anew and seemingly revolutionary laundryproduct. It looked great on paper and themarketing campaign was nothing short ofbrilliant. Championing this product was anoasis for Niall and a wonderful escape fromhis growing unhappiness.

At first, things seemed fine.The product waswelcomed by the market, the numberslooked great, and everyone was very excited.Then, a few warning signs popped up: therewere more than the usual number of com-plaints about the soap; employees who triedit reported that it seemed to be harsh and

Annie McKee is co-chair of the Teleos

Leadership Institute, aninternational consultingfirm serving Fortune100 businesses and

large public sector orga-nizations. She advisessenior executives per-sonally, focusing on theintersection of leader-ship, culture, and strat-egy, and her companyfocuses on large-scaleorganizational trans-formation. She teachesat the University of

Pennsylvania’s Gradu-ate School of Educa-tion and the WhartonSchool’s Institute ofExecutive Education.

With RichardBoyatzis, she is co-author of “ResonantLeadership: RenewingYourself and Con-

necting With OthersThrough Mindfulness,Hope, and Compas-sion.”With Daniel

Goleman, McKee andBoyatzis also coau-

thored “Primal Leader-ship,” an internationalbest-seller publishedin 27 languages.

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Leader to Leader

that it was actually damaging their clothes.For months Niall led his team in a fightagainst what he thought was bad pressbrought on by the competition’s dirty tricks.

For Niall, that first wake-up call—trouble inthe business—was drawn-out and painful.Even as Niall began to recognize that thesituation was serious,he continued to ignoresome of the signs that his leadership was slip-ping.This is common.Many leaders—espe-cially strong leaders—just don’t get the truthfrom the people around them.This dynamic(called CEO disease) is magnified whenleaders seem distant and unreachable, mak-ing even business discussions difficult.

When the product failed, Niall lookedaround for support and found that many of his friends had disappeared.The turmoilin his personal life had hit the boiling pointas well and people who had supported himfor years simply stopped calling.This was abig shock; it had never occurred to himthat people would abandon him when thegoing got tough.

Then Niall had an extraordinary experi-ence that finally, once and for all, woke himup. His best friend, Peter, had become veryill and had moved back to London. Despitehis busy life and the stress of his current sit-uation, the two friends spent many hourstogether during the long months of Peter’sillness. One night as the two friends talked,Niall found himself asking,“Peter, are youafraid of death? Are you afraid of what isto come?” Neither man had any way ofknowing it, but it happened that this wouldbe Peter’s last night on earth.

Peter answered that indeed he was not atall afraid, because he had made peace withhimself. Then, Peter turned to Niall andsaid, “I have finally come to realize thatwhat they say is true: life is not a rehearsal.This is all we have, this is it. I have realizedthis too late, and I have had to find peacewith this. But it is not too late for you.Youare not living the life you want to—not inyour personal life, not in your work. If thisis not the life you want to live, then youmust change it.You must promise me, youowe it to me to take this realization of mineand act on it.”

Peter’s words shook Niall to the core. Peterwas right. In that moment, Niall looked atwhat he most values—integrity, authenticrelationships, and intimacy, and he commit-ted to putting them first, once again.

He describes this awakening as a huge re-lease. He was opening up to reality—first,the reality within himself, including hisemotions, honest reflections about his life,and the toll his current situation was tak-ing on his mind, body, heart, and spirit. Healso saw how his decisions at work andwith his family and friends had contributedto broken personal and professional rela-tionships. As he became more aware, hefound he could direct his attention moreconsciously, and he began seeking real so-lutions instead of Band-Aids and compro-mises. He began to see things that he hadmissed for many years, giving him deeperinsight, more choices, and the beginning ofwisdom.

Richard E. Boyatzisis a professor in theDepartment of Orga-nizational Behaviorat the WeatherheadSchool of Manage-

ment and Psychologyat Case Western

Reserve Universityand a visiting profes-sor at ESADE in

Barcelona. Previously,he was CEO of

McBer and Company,a human resourcesconsulting firm, and

COO of Yankelovich,Skelly & White, a

market research com-pany. He is the author

of more than 125articles on behaviorchange, leadership,competencies, and

emotional intelligence.His books include“The CompetentManager,”“Trans-forming QualitativeInformation,” and

“Innovations in Pro-fessional Education:Steps on a Journeyfrom Teaching toLearning” (withScott Cowen andDavid Kolb).

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Spring 2006

Waking Up to Renewal

We have seen many leaders who, arriving at thepoint that Niall had reached, simply rationalize

or ignore all signs of problems and numb themselves tothe consequences of their actions. In fact, this is com-mon. Many leaders experience a slow, steady decline ineffectiveness, health, and happiness. It happens over manyyears, simply as a result of the constant pressures and theneed to give so much of oneself.The trouble is, the sub-tle messages that tell us something is not right are oftenjust whispers. It is easy to miss them.Then, one day, wefind ourselves waking up to thefact that we are worn out, tired,or just unable to give anymore—simply burned out.

But some people, like Niall,hear and recognize wake-upcalls. These calls can be a firstcritical step to dealing with theSacrifice Syndrome. Niall ulti-mately realized that he neededmore than just rest and relax-ation. He needed renewal to sus-tain himself . The effects ofchronic power stress do notallow the mind, body, or heartto flourish, and as a consequence even the spirit maywane. When we engage in personal renewal, we arebetter equipped to deal with the challenges and sacri-fices inherent in leadership. Let’s look at why thisworks.

Recent research shows that renewal invokes a brain pat-tern and hormones that change our mood, while re-turning our bodies to a healthy state. This sets intomotion a chain reaction that evokes changes in percep-tion and eventually in behavior. Renewal begins as cer-tain experiences arouse a different part of our limbic

brain from the one involved in stress responses. This inturn stimulates neural circuits that increase electricalactivity in our left prefrontal cortex, leading to arousalof the body’s parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS).A different set of hormones is released into the blood-stream than when the sympathetic nervous system (SNS)is aroused. These activate another set of hormones thatlower blood pressure and strengthen the immune sys-tem. A person then feels a sense of well-being—elated,happy, and optimistic. Once in this emotional state, weare more likely to perceive events as positive rather thannegative or threatening, further enhancing the condition

that we call renewal.

The experiences of mindfulness,hope, and compassion foster andprovoke arousal of the PSNSand the condition of renewal. Apositive cycle is triggered: beingin renewal feeds hope, compas-sion, and mindfulness while itcounters the detrimental effectsof stress. Therefore, sustainable,effective leadership occurs onlywhen we wake up and ensurethat the sacrifice and stress ofleadership are interchanged withexperiences of renewal.

Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion

How did Niall turn things around and begin theprocess of renewal? To counter the Sacrifice Syn-

drome, he needed to make renewal a way of life. Thisrequires conscious action and, for most people, inten-tional change.We have seen, and the research supportsour observations, that there are actually concrete waysto achieve renewal. Specifically, renewal involves threeexperiences—mindfulness, hope, and compassion—that wecan, with practice, cultivate as a way of life.

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The Sacrifice Syndrome

shuts down our ability

to see possibilities.�

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Leader to Leader

Mindfulness

The first element is mindfulness, or living in a state offull, conscious awareness of one’s whole self, other peo-ple, and the context in which we live and work.We de-fine mindfulness as being awake, aware, and attending—toourselves and to the world around us. Mindfulness en-ables us to pay attention to what is happening to us, andto stop the Sacrifice Syndrome before it stops us.

People who cultivate mindfulness have more cognitiveflexibility, creativity, and problem-solving skills. In otherwords, leaders who pay attentionto the whole self—mind, body,heart, and spirit—can literally bequicker, smarter, happier, andmore effective than those whofocus too narrowly on short-termsuccess.

To return to Niall: part of thereason for his success was that hehas the capacity for mindfulness.The problem was, as the pres-sure increased and as a result ofbecoming more powerful, hehad let his attention to himselfand others slip. So, for Niall, thequestion was, “How can I reengage my capacity formindfulness?”

He started with a lot of reflection. He built in time tothink—and to concentrate on getting clear about whathe was feeling and what he was doing. He often didthis while running, so the effects of exercise helped himto think clearly while he also took care of his health.Healso reached out to one or two people and used themas sounding boards to check on his reflections. He tookthe risk of being vulnerable with his closest friends—admitting that maybe he was making mistakes that

needed fixing (at work and at home), and he asked foropinions and help.

Hope

The second element,hope, enables us to believe that thefuture we envision is attainable, and to move toward ourvisions and goals while inspiring others toward thosegoals as well. In fact, the experience of hope actuallycauses changes in our brains and hormones that allowus to renew our minds, bodies, and hearts.When we ex-perience hope, we feel excited about a possible future,

and we generally believe that thefuture we envision is attainable.Hope engages and raises ourspirit, mobilizes energy, and in-creases resiliency. Beyond this,hope and the vision of the futurethat comes with it are conta-gious.They are powerful driversof others’ behavior. Hope is anemotional magnet—it keepspeople going even in the midstof challenges.

In Niall’s case, hope was in shortsupply for a while. At Unilever,the laundry product situation

looked bad and it would have been easy for Niall, andthen the team, to sink into despair.But two things stoppedthis slide. First, Unilever’s leaders did not lose faith inNiall.Then, as Niall took control—and responsibility—for the situation,he found energy to direct the team’s ef-forts toward the future.Let’s look at how this played out.

Even during the worst days of the debacle, Unilever’sleadership still believed that Niall could become thenext chairman.This both surprised and pleased him, asit was a dream he had had for many years. So even atthe low point, he could see a more positive future.This

�

To counter the

Sacrifice Syndrome,

make renewal

a way of life.�

34

Spring 2006

gave Niall strength to seriously question his decisionsduring the product launch. He looked at this situationfrom different perspectives and let go of the single-mindedness that had characterized his treatment of theproblem. He took responsibility, deciding to stay withthe business and see it through. He could easily havegotten out of it, moved on, and let someone else cleanthings up.But instead he asked Unilever’s board for per-mission to stay in the business, to see it through untilthings began to turn around.

Niall’s hopeful view of the future and his actions inspiredcommitment and ultimatelysparked renewal on the team.The image of the future thatNiall generated was realistic—difficult, but possible. As Niallbegan to imagine a different—and feasible—future,his hope be-came contagious.At work,othersbegan to understand and see hisvision and realistic possibilities forthe future.

Compassion

When we experience compas-sion, we are in tune with thepeople around us.We understand their wants and needs,and we are motivated to act on our feelings. Like hope,compassion invokes renewal in our mind, body, andheart. And like hope, compassion is contagious.

If asked about the years of struggle and confusion, Niallwould probably have said that he felt tremendous com-passion for the people in his life who were hurt by hisactions at work and at home.But compassion is differentfrom sympathy, or even empathy, in that it goes beyondunderstanding.Compassion is a combination of deep un-derstanding, caring, and willingness to act on that concern.

Conversely, as much as we need to show compassionfor renewal to take place, we also must receive it.Whenwe are in emotional turmoil and especially when wefind that some of our life’s foundations are crumbling,we need to know that others care, that they are offeringus their concern, compassion, and love.

Niall was lucky.Even though many friends had desertedhim, a few stayed by his side.They seemed to understandthat he was not just a man who had made a mess ofthings, he was still a truly good person and a good busi-nessman.They saw him as someone who had made some

bad choices along the way—butalso as a person who could, andwould, right the wrongs of thepast and return to more balance.One of those people was Peter,Niall’s dying friend.

The dynamic relationship amongmindfulness, hope, and compas-sion sparks the kinds of positiveemotions that enable us to remainresilient in the face of challenges,even in the unprecedented cli-mate that leaders face today. To-gether these elements counter thedestructive effects of power stress

and keep us continually in a state of renewal,and thus theyhelp to produce strong relationships and great leadershipwhile helping leaders and people around them renewthemselves.

Personal Renewal and Professional Excellence

Niall FitzGerald is an outstanding leader, and inother, more personal roles in his life, he is living

up to his own high standards.We have seen him in ac-tion—people in the business world look up to him, and

�

Positive emotions

enable us to remain

resilient in the face

of challenges.�

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Leader to Leader

he is having an impact on social causes that are closeto his heart. And maybe most important, his personallife is now vibrant and happy.

For Niall, getting back in touch with his values—whathe truly, deeply believes to be important—was at thecenter of his renewal. In his moments of greatest self-doubt and uncertainty about the future, he began toreconstruct a life of meaning from his values.

As we have seen in Niall’s story, even those of us who canbe strong leaders will at times lose our way.This is whywe need to catch the SacrificeSyndrome before it starts and dosomething about it.To learn howto counter the Sacrifice Syn-drome and engage in renewal,most of us have personal work todo.We need to find our passion,take a good,hard look at who weare and the life we are leading,break old patterns, and get rid ofold habits. We need to cultivatemindfulness and learn how toengage hope and compassioneven (maybe especially) when weare under extreme pressure.

So What Are You Going to Do About It?

Great leaders are awake, aware, and attuned to them-selves, to others, and to the world around them.

They commit to their beliefs, stand strong in their val-ues, and live full, passionate lives. Great leaders are emo-tionally intelligent and they are mindful: they seek tolive in full consciousness of self, others, nature, and so-

ciety. Great leaders face the uncertainty of today’s worldwith hope: they inspire through clarity of vision, opti-mism, and a profound belief in their—and their peo-ple’s—ability to turn dreams into reality. Great leadersface sacrifice,difficulties, and challenges, as well as oppor-tunities,with empathy and compassion for the people theylead and those they serve.

We have found that leaders who sustain their effective-ness understand that renewing oneself is a holistic pro-cess that involves the mind, body, heart, and spirit. Butbecoming a strong leader does not happen by accident.

People who think they can betruly great leaders without per-sonal transformation are foolingthemselves. You cannot inspireothers and create the relation-ships that ignite greatness inyour family, organization, orcommunity without feeling in-spired yourself, and working tobe the best person you can be.

So if you wonder whether youare a leader who can sustainleadership for the long term, askyourself these questions:

• Are you inspirational?

• Do you create an overall positive emotional tonethat is characterized by hope?

• Are you in touch with others? Do you know whatis in others’ hearts and minds? Do you experienceand demonstrate compassion?

• Are you mindful—authentic and in tune with your-self, others, and the environment? �

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Even those of us

who can be strong

leaders will at times

lose our way.�

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