Do you have stamina?

When I am working with teams I am often aware of the different levels of stamina exhibited by individuals. Do you take this into account when managing your team? 

Stamina, or the ability to undertake sustained effort naturally varies from person to person, that's why running races or endurance sports are so exciting to watch. Athletes  train and work towards their goal and  then on the day they can be affected by a number of factors. What is stamina, is it being able to address the following:

Strength - knowing our strengths, but also our limitations and running the race, or fulfilling the project  by working to our strengths and addressing our limitations. We need to pick the right race - the sprint, the middle distance or the marathon based on our skills.

Tension - being unable to release the pressure that you feel. Many athletes and sporting greats go through a series of exercises to mentally prepare for the task they are about to undertake. What do we do in business to prepare ourselves for meetings or confrontation so that we can remain calm and effective?

Ambition - there has to be a will to win the race, achieve the goal or to perform at one's best and that often allows us to push ourselves that extra mile. Ambition has to be tempered with self-awareness and an understanding of our abilities and limitations.

Mental focus - the way we prepare ourselves for the task, undertake the task and then relax afterwards - a mental detox. If we do not teach ourselves to do this then we carry worries and concerns with us and just feel increasingly overloaded each day.

Inspiration and self belief - we have to believe  that it is  "our time" that we can achieve our goals  - if we stand on the  start line thinking we will lose, or fall over, we probably will!

Negativity - pressures from a range of sources that can affect one's ability to perform. We need to have a strategy to address our negative thoughts - other people may not recognise our capabilities but that doesn't mean we should see ourselves through other people's eyes and not our own inner eye!

Accepting - that sometimes we have to lose a battle to win a campaign.  The path  to success is not straightforward , we often learn far more from our set-backs than we ever do from our successes. Try to find the positive in every  situation and if you make a mistake, learn from it.

Hugh MacLeod is reputed to have said, "Stamina is utterly important. And Stamina is only possible if it is managed well." So, have you developed TEAM stamina ? Do you personally have the stamina to be an effective leader?