The Corporate Athlete: How you can take control of your energy today

by Craig Libby, Senior Advisor

Executive Summary
High performance as a result of optimal energy management isn’t just for athletes—it’s
within reach for every executive. Effective energy management is crucial for executives
to maintain high performance and avoid burnout. This article, the third installment in
a series, outlines practical strategies across four key dimensions of energy: physical,
emotional, mental, and spiritual.

Practical Strategies for Managing Executive Energy
In the first article, we introduced the topic around the corporate athlete and energy
management. In the second article, we dove deeper to better understand each aspect
of energy management. In this final article, we will focus on practical and effective
actions to improve each aspect of energy management.

High performance isn’t just for athletes—it’s within reach for every executive. If you’ve
ever felt drained despite working harder, the missing ingredient might not be time or
talent, but energy. And here’s the good news: your energy is renewable. You don’t need
permission to take back control. You can make deliberate changes—starting now.

Sustaining Peak Performance: How Executives Can Effectively

Manage Their Energy
In the relentless world of corporate leadership, energy is a finite yet renewable resource
— if managed correctly. While many executives focus on optimizing their time, the real
key to sustained high performance lies in how well they manage their energy across
four critical dimensions: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Without a structured
approach, leaders risk burnout, poor decision-making, and diminished leadership
effectiveness. The challenge, however, is not just understanding the importance of
energy management but integrating it into daily life in a meaningful and sustainable way.

Managing energy across physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions is the key
to performing at your best while avoiding burnout. This article is your toolkit for doing
just that—with practical strategies you can implement today.

Physical Energy: Build the Foundation for Performance
Your body is your engine. When it’s under-fueled or overworked, everything suffers—
focus, patience, creativity, even your presence in a room. You have more control than
you might think.

Rethinking Physical Energy: More Than Just Sleep and Exercise
The foundation of all energy is physical. Without it, mental sharpness declines,
emotional resilience weakens, and even the most passionate leaders struggle to
maintain their drive. Yet, in the fast-paced corporate world, many executives sacrifice
their physical well-being for perceived productivity, believing that skipping workouts,
cutting sleep short, or relying on caffeine and sugar is a necessary trade-off.

The truth is, the best leaders prioritize their physical health because they understand
its direct impact on their performance. Quality sleep is non-negotiable—deep, restorative sleep enhances cognitive function and improves emotional regulation. Proper nutrition and hydration provide sustainable energy, while movement—whether daily exercise or simple activities like standing and stretching between meetings—contributes to long-term stamina. Think of having excellent cardiovascular health as helping how long you live and strength and flexibility health on how well you live. Your emotions are contagious. When you’re calm, others steady themselves. When you’re exhausted or reactive, teams feel it. Emotional mastery isn’t a gift—it’s a skill you can practice.

What you can do now:
• Get a thorough physical to understand your health baseline.
• After the doctor’s ok, incorporate rigorous and consistent strength and cardio
workouts 5-6 times per week
• Set a consistent bedtime and wake time—even on weekends.
• Limit screen exposure 60 minutes before bed to improve sleep quality.
• Drink a full glass of water within 30 minutes of waking up.
• Pack or plan meals in advance to avoid blood sugar crashes.
• Choose protein-rich breakfasts for sustained energy.
• Walk or stretch every hour—even 3 minutes helps.
• Hold standing or walking meetings when possible.
• Limit caffeine after 2 p.m. to protect your sleep cycle.
• Use a wearable smart tracker to monitor sleep and movement.

You don’t have to overhaul your life. Start with one habit this week and build from there.

Emotional Energy: Own Your Reactions, Build Resilience

Emotional Energy: The Silent Force That Shapes Leadership

Beyond physical well-being, emotional energy plays a significant role in how leaders
interact with their teams, handle stress, and navigate high-pressure situations.
Leadership is inherently emotional work—it requires empathy, patience, and the ability
to inspire. However, when emotional energy is depleted, leaders become reactive,
irritable, and disengaged, creating a ripple effect that impacts everyone around them.

Managing emotional energy starts with self-awareness. Recognizing personal stress
triggers and emotional drains allows leaders to respond more effectively rather than
react impulsively. Developing intentional recovery habits, such as practicing mindfulness,
deep breathing, or stepping away for a moment of solitude, can help reset emotional
balance. Leaders who actively cultivate positive emotions—through gratitude,
social connection, and fostering an encouraging workplace—also experience greater
resilience.

Your emotions are contagious. When you’re calm, others steady themselves. When
you’re exhausted or reactive, teams feel it. Emotional mastery isn’t a gift—it’s a skill you
can practice.

What you can do now:
• Take 60 seconds to breathe deeply or box breathe before or after tough
conversations.
• Name and journal what you feel—labeling emotions helps manage them.
• Start a gratitude practice—note 3 wins or joys daily.
• Reach out to a trusted peer just to check in.
• Decline one unnecessary meeting this week to regain space.
• Create work boundaries—set a stop time, and stick to it.
• Keep a journal to process recurring frustrations or emotional patterns.
• Practice saying no without guilt—it’s a skill, not a flaw.
• Celebrate small victories—yours and others’.
Your emotional energy shapes your leadership culture. Protect it fiercely.
Mental Energy: Focus is Your Superpower
Sharpening Mental Energy: The Power of Deep Work and

Focus
If physical energy provides the foundation and emotional energy fuels relationships,
mental energy is what enables clear thinking, innovation, and strategic decision-
making. Yet, in an era of information overload, executives are more distracted than ever.
Constant notifications, back-to-back meetings, and a culture of multitasking contribute
to cognitive fatigue, leading to slower processing, diminished creativity, and an inability
to focus on what truly matters.

To optimize mental energy, leaders must become intentional about how they allocate
their attention. Working in sprints—where focused work is followed by deliberate
breaks—enhances productivity and prevents burnout. Additionally, minimizing decision
fatigue by automating routine choices, such as meal prepping or creating a consistent
wardrobe, conserves mental energy for high-stakes decisions.

What you can do now:
• Use time blocking on your calendar to better manage your time.
• Work in 90-minute deep-focus blocks followed by short breaks.
• Silence notifications for 1–2 hours daily to protect focus.
• Use the “two-minute rule”—if it takes less than two minutes, do it now.
• Prioritize three critical tasks at the start of your day.
• Set a theme for each day (e.g., “Strategy Monday”) to reduce switching costs.
• Ask people who come to you what role do they want you to play regarding just
listening, providing guidance, or make the decision for them.
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• Batch emails—check them only 2–3 times a day.
• Use one notebook or app to track thoughts instead of scattered sticky notes.
• Automate simple decisions (e.g., lunch orders, wardrobe choices).
• End your day by planning tomorrow—it frees up brain space overnight.

Focus is a muscle. The more you train it, the stronger—and more valuable—it becomes

Spiritual Energy: Connect to Something Deeper

Spiritual Energy: Finding Meaning Beyond the Grind
The final dimension of energy management is perhaps the most overlooked: spiritual
energy. This doesn’t necessarily refer to religious beliefs but rather a sense of purpose
and alignment with one’s core values. Leaders who feel disconnected from the deeper
meaning of their work often experience chronic exhaustion, regardless of how much rest
they get.

Clarifying personal values and ensuring they align with professional goals is a critical
step. This might involve asking reflective questions: Why am I doing this? What impact
do I want to have? Is this work truly fulfilling? When leaders feel that their efforts have
meaning, they draw energy from their work rather than feeling drained by it.

Without purpose, even success feels hollow. Your spiritual energy is your sense of
meaning—the why behind your work. And you don’t need to quit your job to find it.
Purpose can be cultivated exactly where you are. Focusing your energy to help others
be successful is the core element of servant leadership.

What you can do now:
• Write down your top 3 core values. Post them where you’ll see them.
• Regularly review your core values and intentions to keep you centered on your
why
• Reflect weekly: What felt meaningful? What didn’t?
• Start your day with intention—ask, “What impact do I want to make today?”
• Spend time mentoring or helping someone develop.
• Align at least one task each week with a long-term goal or passion.
• Make time for hobbies—play refuels purpose.
• Volunteer or give back in small ways—it creates perspective.
• Block “white space” time in your calendar for reflection.
• Use Sunday evenings to set a purpose for the week ahead.

When your work aligns with your values, energy flows more naturally—and sustainably.

You Are Not a Machine: You’re an Asset
It’s easy to treat yourself like a machine—always “on,” constantly producing. But elite
leaders know better. They know recovery isn’t indulgence—it’s strategy. They know
energy, not time, is their most valuable resource.

You can choose today to lead differently. Choose to restore, not just push. Choose to
align, not just achieve. Choose to act, not react. Peak performance isn’t a mystery—it’s a
discipline you can build, starting with one action at a time.

Take charge. You are the asset. Fuel accordingly.

 

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