What John Wooden’s Socks Teach Us About Executive Burnout

How does being "present" reduce executive burnout?

Chronic multitasking directly accelerates burnout. To combat this, executives must practice radical presence by dedicating distraction-free time to ideation, deeply listening during meetings without backchanneling, and taking daily completely disconnected breaks away from screens and devices.

“Because it’s the little details that make the big things come about.”

Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden has a famous instruction he gave to his players at UCLA, including hall-of-fame player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; put your socks on correctly so you don’t get blisters.

Coach Wooden was trying to teach his players how to prevent an injury, but he indirectly taught them an important tool to deal with burnout: be present and in the moment.

For most of us, putting on our socks is just another mindless chore as we tick off the list of things we need to do to get ourselves ready for the day.

Today, some of us completely skip the socks and shoes as we are working from home through COVID-19.

But fall is coming, the chilly days will be here soon enough, and on the socks will go again.

If you’ll allow me to be literal and figurative for a moment, as we put on our socks, can we be more prescriptive and present while doing so?

This month, before we head into a busy fall and winter, let’s focus on:

Being present when we ideate.

Thomas Edison said “The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.”

During this era of turmoil throughout COVID-19, we are growing accustomed to the software and online services that make virtual brainstorming with others easier. It helps solve one problem but ultimately creates another. What about how we ideate? It’s been said, “the best thinking is done in the shower.” I don’t have scientific proof that’s true, but I agree with the sentiment. It’s a time in which we can process our thoughts with few interruptions.

When was the last time you brainstormed an idea with as few distractions as possible? No computer, no phone, no smartwatch, no television, no music. How novel, right?

My advice: schedule 30-60 minutes per week with no distractions for you to think about an opportunity you need to flesh out further or a problem you need to solve. By yourself!

This is important because we also need to focus on…

Being present as a trusted advisor.

Vanilla Ice’s “All right, stop. Collaborate, and listen” has another rewarding benefit other than his classic “Ice Ice Baby” 1990s song lyric. Examine your calendar this week. What’s the next meeting you have that you can truly be present in? By “present” I mean, no typing on the keyboard, no backchannel Slack conversations trying to figure out what the client is referring to, or any of the dozens of other ways we multitask during meetings. This time, you’re focusing on nothing else but the person on the other end of the mobile device or laptop. You’re listening intently, taking notes when necessary, but being present throughout.

None of this matters, however, if we are not…

…Being present for our health.

I’ve written in the past about walk and talk meetings, taking Zoom calls while exercising, or riding your stationary bike while watching (or giving) a webinar. Today, I am talking about a different form of exercise. This is about your mental wellbeing. Grant yourself 10 minutes per day to go on a walk, by yourself, with no form of electronics attached to you. Focus on all your senses. The perspective and energy you can gain from this are without rival.

Focusing on ourselves isn’t something that can just “wait until September,” “after COVID-19 goes away,” or “January 2021.” It’s something we can do now, will help with our family and our career, costs nothing and takes little time. The pressures will come and go in our personal and professional lives, but if we don’t take care of ourselves, those pressures will only compound.

Eleanor Roosevelt said it best: “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. You can say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.’”

Right now, we need simple solutions to live through the burnout of experiencing this horror of COVID-19. Look no further than examining how we’re spending our life and doing so with a little more care and attention that we have in the past.

We all put our socks on one at a time. Let’s take a few extra moments for ourselves next time we do so.