So much of leadership is about establishing and defending healthy rhythms.  For yourself.  For your family.  For your team.  Without rhythm, people get exhausted, discouraged or lazy.  Rhythm forces balance.  It’s one of the keys to an energized, optimistic and productive team.

Every team must find a healthy rhythm of work, rest and celebration.

Work.  This is the obvious one.  Your team exists for a reason and you have things to accomplish.  Neglect this one and nothing gets done.  But, focus only on this one and it won’t be long before you’re right back to nothing getting done.

Rest.  This is the hard one.  It feels like you’re doing nothing (precisely because you aren’t!).  We feel like lazy slackers when we take a day off or go on vacation.  But if you don’t take time to replenish yourself, you will soon have nothing to offer.

Celebration.  This is the ignored one.  It means actively bringing a team together to enjoy, reflect and be excited about what’s happening in the organization.  It’s how we mark wins.  Neglect this one and people won’t be sure all the working and resting is accomplishing anything.

Most leaders have a tendency to ignore one or two of these essential rhythms.  We know they’re important but they don’t make it into our strategic plans or onto our calendars.

Which rhythm are you neglecting in your life and on your team?