Author — Tim Overcash with contributions from Brian Cole, Ph.D. and Evan Smith

June is National Men’s Health Month. This month is all about raising awareness and encouraging men to employ healthy behaviors that positively impact their mental and physical wellbeing.  

Your health is your foundation. Your success as a leader, your daily business performance, and every aspect of your public and private life—all depend on your robust health.

Of course, you already know that. But let’s get specific and present some useful advice.

With the rapid transitions that COVID-19 forced upon all of us, and the evolving needs of today’s workforce, there’s been a great deal of discussion around maintaining the health and wellness of employees. As leaders, we have a responsibility for maintaining workforce wellbeing. In such an unprecedented time, it’s crucially important to look out for the mental health of your employees—but I feel that there’s another vital part of employee wellbeing: cardiovascular health.

There is a time-tested military leadership best practice that is known by the mantra; “Officers eat last.” It is reflected in what Simon Sinek described as a “circle of safety” that exists in high performing organizations so that all members will feel safe and secure and able to focus on battling external challenges and “seizing big opportunities” as a team, rather than worrying about internal conflicts and threats. That safety net is established by supportive leaders; those who put their people first and who will make personal sacrifices for the good of their teams.