Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalajieving. This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellovaliedo.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast. It's episode three point fifty one, and today we're going to get into something most leaders neglect but shouldn't and that's their mental fitness. Not their mental health necessarily, although that matters too, but more like their mental stimulation. The day to day job of leading people can slowly turn your brain into a task list machine, emails, meetings, budgets, repeat.
That's not leadership, that's maintenance. So let's fix that. Let's get intentional about daying mentally sharp, curious, and engaged. Here is a top ten list of mental stimulation activities that help you stay sharp, fulfilled in a happy leader. Number one morning mind warm ups. Before you open email. Try something like wordle or a Saduku puzzle, or a quick round of chess on your phone. It's not just a game,
it's your brain's warm up lap for the day. Start your day sharpening your logic and pattern recognition before diving into the chaos of leadership. And your job. Number two journal with a twist. Journaling isn't just for emotions. It's a place to solve problems. Once a week, write a leadership challenge like it's a case study. What went wrong? What could have gone better? What did I miss? Treat your day like it's prepping you for a TED talk. Number three the wh Why I walk? Take a ten
minute walk, but with one role. You pick something you see and ask why why is that delivery truck park there? Why is that building designed that way? Why is that sign red and not blue? You're not looking for right answers your training curiosity. Number four Reverse roles exercise. Pick a role in your organization that you don't have, and imagine you're that person for ten minutes. What are they worried about today? What's on their plate? What decisions do
they wish you'd make differently? This is leadership empathy training, fast and free. Number five Learn something totally random. Take one hour a week and go learn something that has nothing to do with your job. Watch a documentary on honeybees, or read about submarine warfare. Listen to a podcast about deep space. It's not a waste, it's cross training your brain. Number six Book Club of one. Always be reading a book, not scrolling, not headlines in actual book fiction, non fiction leadership,
even graphic novels. Books slow your brain down and force you to focus. That's an underrated skill in today's rapid response leadership world. Number seven microw ted talks. Give yourself three minutes and explain something out loud and idea of value. A decision is if you're on a TED stage. It doesn't have to be recorded, but it forces clarity. If you can't clearly say it, you haven't clearly thought it. That's a leadership red flag. Number eight Mental debate drill.
Take a strong opinion you have and argue the opposite side for five minutes, not just to be devil's advocate, but to train your ability to think flexibly. This kind of brain gymnastics helps you approach tough decisions with better balance and less bias. Number nine New environment, same job, once a week, do your usual routine in a totally different place. Take a zoom call from a park, write your reports from a coffee shop, move your one on
ones outdoors. Physical shifts help spark mental ones. Your brain loves variety, its bored with your desk in number ten, play with people smarter than you. Seek out conversations with people who challenge you mentally. This doesn't have to be about leadership. It could be a chess partner, a history buff, a data scientist. The point is to surround yourself with brains that push yours steal sharpens steal. So leadership isn't
just about making decisions or setting direction. It's about staying sharp enough to notice the details, nimble enough to change when needed, and aware enough to spot the blind spots. That takes mental stimulation. This list isn't about adding more to your day. It's about how you move through your day. A curious, stimulated brain leads better, listens better, and lives better. So try one or two of these this week and you'll notice the difference. You'll feel it, and eventually so
will your team. And before I close, I've been notified that this show is number four on the feed spot Top thirty best seven minute podcast list. I've included a link in the show notes in case you want to check out that full list of podcasts. This has been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening.
For more. Paul fell of Alito podcasts. Visit Paulfellowalito dot com.