I was with a roomful of GiANT associates, and every one of us was running on empty. Somehow the conversation turned to smartphone apps. I must have been more tired than I realized, because when someone said “there’s an app for that,” I heard “there’s a nap for that.” Good timing, I thought. Everybody in this room could use one.
That slip of the ear has stuck with me, because it names something most leaders feel and few will say out loud: we are tired, and we keep trying to fix it by finding more minutes instead of better rhythm.
The 5 Gears, and the one most leaders skip
One of the GiANT tools we use at Leaders Rising Network is the 5 Gears, a way of describing how leaders stay at their best by shifting gears at the right time. There is even a book on it now, by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram.
The gears run from fifth down to first. Fifth is focus mode, fully in the zone on a project. Fourth is task mode, juggling the to-do list. Third is social mode, the small talk and chit-chat. Second is connect mode, going deeper with someone. First is recharge mode: rest, recovery, and personal refresh. There is a reverse gear too, responsive mode, for backing up or apologizing when it’s needed.
Anyone who has driven a car with a manual transmission knows what happens when the gear and the engine are out of sync. The RPMs fight each other, performance suffers, and you can do real damage. Leaders work the same way. The healthy ones learn to shift on purpose. Most of us are fluent in fifth and fourth and rusty in first.
First gear is where perspective lives
Here is something I have come to believe: the difference between leaders and followers is perspective, and the difference between leaders and great leaders is greater perspective. First gear is how you get it. It clears the clutter, makes room to think, and recalibrates what actually matters before the calendar decides for you.
“You keep looking for more minutes in your day. I keep looking for more years on your life.”
That is the trade most leaders are making without realizing it. They spend first gear to buy a few more minutes this week, and they pay for it with years on the other end.
A cadence for first gear
When I am at my best, I am keeping a simple rhythm. The mnemonic is easy to carry into a conversation and honest enough to be a little uncomfortable.
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1
Divert daily. A short, personal refresh every day: reading, reflection, a few quiet minutes, and yes, sometimes a midday nap. Plenty of leaders make the case for the nap; I am one of them.
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2
Withdraw weekly. A real day off. The human spirit seems built for a weekly downshift, and the weeks I take it go better than the weeks I don’t.
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3
Maintain monthly. A personal retreat day, monthly or quarterly. Go somewhere unfamiliar and quiet, off the to-do list, with a little structure to guide the day.
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4
Abandon annually. Vacation that actually recalibrates. My best ones are the places where I carry no responsibility, and I try never to finish one without putting the next on the calendar. The anticipation is its own kind of rest.
Finishing well
Leaders finish well when they learn to work all the gears, not just the fast ones, and when they stop neglecting their own care in the name of everyone else’s. The minutes will never add up on their own. The years are what you are really protecting.
There’s a nap for that. It’s called first gear.
Key Takeaway
First gear isn’t time you lose. It’s the perspective that makes every other gear work.
Let’s talk
Sometimes it starts with coffee.
Just a real conversation about where you are and where you want to go. We’ll listen first and bring you our best. We’d love to meet you.
