The Martyr Trap: Why Self-Care Is a Team's Greatest Asset

For high performance we must empty the cup first. In the fast-paced business landscape of Latin America, we´ve been fed a dangerous myth: The Myth of the Martyr-Leader. 

We´ve been taught that to be a "great leader" you must be the first to arrive at the office and the last one to leave ... and the one that suffers the most. So, we push our team to thriving success while we are falling apart. Are we winning? Let's take a look at the leader's mirror. 

Leadership can not be a sacrifice. It is a calling. If you are cracked and broken, the calling will die with you. To lead a high-performance team, you must first destroy the idea that you have to be exhausted to be awarded a shiny badge of honor. 

You cannot lead a family, a company, or a society if you are running on an empty tank. The "Martyr Syndrome" is a teams' silent killer. Taking time to meditate (I strongly recommend it), rest, and recalibrate is not a luxury for a few but a strategic requirement for the visionary leaders we all need. 

Think about this: When you are balanced, your decisions are sharp and precise; when you are well rested, your empathy and emotional intelligence are running at their best. To take care of everyone else, you must first take care of the CEO of your own life: YOU.

Leadership is not an easy game. It is more like a full-contact sport, and many leaders hit their first wall, taste their first mistake, and immediately decide they are not cut out for this. They see a failed KPI or a team conflict as a permanent stain on their record and identity. 

Just remember, you were not born knowing how to tie your shoes or speak your native language; in fact, you learned from mistakes and repetition, failure and persistence. Why should it be different now?  Growth is something shiny we all want to buy, but it has a price tag (paid in time, effort, and money). If you are not willing to pay the cost to reach the next level, then you will remain stuck where you are. High-performance, then, is earned, not gifted. 

To be a leader is far more than just managing. Ask yourself a disruptive question: What kind of leader do I want to be? 

Don't look at your Q4 goals, look at your daily actions. If you could take a snapshot of your behavior today, would that person look like the leader you admire? We often study great leaders to emulate their success, which is a brilliant accelerator, but the real magic is created when you close the gap between your current leadership and your "Ideal Leader." 

If you want to be a leader who inspires, you can't act out of fear. Decide who you want to be. The results will follow, and even when problems arise (and they will), you will be prepared to stop applying a fixed perspective to fluid problems. You will use your powerful intuition, since you are well rested and well balanced. 

The truth is that every problem can be fixed with our mind first and then our actions. If you can conceive a way out, and believe (really believe) it is possible, then your actions will align with your team and, together, you will create reality. In the end, there is no problem large enough to stop a team that faces a challenge with a leader who has stopped being a martyr and started being a well-balanced warrior. 

The world doesn't need more martyrs who are very busy being miserable. It needs architects of reality who understand that their impact starts within. 

Stop hugging your stress as a trophy. Step back, breathe, and invest in your own growth. The next level of leadership is waiting for the next version of you to step into it. Are you going to take that call and be the leader you are called to be? The clock is ticking, so start now.