Maximizing Mental Resilience: A Deep Dive into High-Performance Habits with Dr. Emma Lee

We recently hosted an insightful webinar with Dr. Emma Lee, a renowned Organizational Psychologist who helps leaders and teams develop mental resilience, enhance well-being, and achieve sustainable high performance.

The last few years have presented unprecedented challenges for leaders, with the pressures of market instability, economic changes, and personal burnout becoming overwhelming. Studies show that many have adopted unbalanced routines that often lead to stress and exhaustion.

Drawing on her experience working with leaders across various sectors, Dr. Lee shared the key principles of a high-performance routine (HPR) and facilitated an interactive session on how attendees could integrate these principles into their daily work lives.

Harnessing the Power of Your Natural Rhythms

While there will always be particularly stressful moments that require long hours and intense focus—known as the “urgent work” mode—this cannot be the default. Without balance, operating in this mode can quickly lead to burnout, lack of focus, and declining health.

The telltale signs of the "urgent work" cycle include:

• Starting your day by checking emails or work messages immediately

• Jumping between tasks without completing them

• Sitting for long hours without taking breaks (fewer than 4,000 steps per day)

• Struggling to disconnect from work in the evening

• Feeling guilty for neglecting family, health, or leisure activities

  
  

To avoid falling into the trap of perpetual stress, Dr. Lee emphasizes the importance of working in alignment with your body’s natural circadian rhythms. She advocates for dividing the day into four distinct stages:

1. Preparation

2. Focused Performance

3. Warm Down

4. Recovery

These phases are inspired by both scientific circadian research and principles derived from elite sports performance. Dividing your day into clear stages helps maintain high energy levels, sharp focus, and the ability to recover effectively.

Prioritizing Recovery for Peak Performance

While recovery is a well-understood concept in sports, it is often overlooked in business. Dr. Lee believes that integrating purposeful recovery into our routines is essential for sustaining long-term success.

The goal of the session was to encourage participants to evaluate their current routines and identify areas in which they could improve. This process of self-assessment is crucial for understanding what works and what doesn’t, and ultimately for creating a balanced, high-performance lifestyle.

You can also take part in this self-assessment and explore ways to refine your daily habits. By focusing on your body's rhythms and building routines around them, you’ll experience better energy, enhanced focus, and more sustainable performance.