Fitter Leaders

The Journal of Managerial Psychology, state that executives who followed a regular fitness regimen were found to be better leaders. Recent studies have shown that exercise is associated with leadership effectiveness as those who exercise on a regular basis are rated significantly higher by their supervision, co-leaders, and people they supervise compared to those who don’t.

Exercise releases endorphins which lead to positive feelings and a general sense of wellbeing meaning regular exercise improves overall mood, reduces stress, anxiety, depression, negative thoughts, and pessimism. In addition, regular exercise improves positives thoughts, emotional resilience, and self-efficacy. As a result, exercise can help leaders better cope with the stresses and demands of their position, ultimately increasing their leadership effectiveness. Therefore, the exercising leader will stay calm and focused to lead their team to problem solve and be successful.

Regular exercise also creates angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is a process whereby blood vessels in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and the motor cortex are increased which reduces the aging process and increases vitality meaning leaders who exercise regularly are usually vibrant, positive and have the energy to lead successfully. Studies have shown that a leader who invests in their own health and fitness is more engaged with their own teams. In turn, their teams will take on a similar approach to their own health and fitness. Therefore, a fit leader leads to a fit team which results in a happy and high performing team.

Article written by John Earls – Goodfoot Director