New Year’s resolutions are often ambitious: do more sport, live healthier, reduce stress. But how often do these resolutions fall by the wayside? Managers in particular should take the resolution “More exercise” to heart – and not just at the start of the year. Sport is much more than a means to an end, it can become a success factor.
Interim managers face particular challenges: They have to familiarize themselves with new situations at lightning speed, manage complex projects and deliver top performance under high pressure. Sport can be an effective tool here. Integrating exercise into everyday life strengthens both personal performance and corporate success.
Sport as a success factor for interim managers
Reduce stress through exercise
Regular exercise is a proven way to reduce stress. Physical activity causes the body to release endorphins, which increase well-being and have a relaxing effect. Interim managers who work in highly dynamic and often stressful environments can strengthen their mental resilience and face challenges more confidently.
Increase productivity
Exercise improves cognitive performance and concentration. Even short training sessions promote mental clarity and increase efficiency. This helps interim managers to make smart decisions in stressful situations and overcome challenges more quickly.
Health as the basis for sustainable performance
Regular exercise strengthens the cardiovascular system and reduces the risk of chronic illnesses. Interim managers who invest in their health remain more resilient and can avoid absences due to illness, a decisive advantage in their demanding role.
Wellbeing: an important factor for success and satisfaction in the workplace
In today’s working world, the concept of wellbeing is becoming increasingly central. It is not just about the absence of illness, but about a holistic sense of well-being, physically, mentally and socially. Interim managers benefit in particular when they actively look after their own wellbeing.
Focus on mental health
Sport reduces stress, improves sleep quality and strengthens resilience. These aspects help interim managers to remain productive in the long term.
Promoting work-life balance
Sport creates important time-outs from everyday working life and helps to find a healthy balance between professional and private life. This balance helps to prevent burnout and achieve greater satisfaction in all areas of life.
5 tips for starting a more active lifestyle
Starting a more active life doesn’t have to be complicated.
Here are five practical ideas:
- Plan short exercise sessions: Just 10 minutes of exercise in the morning or during your lunch break can work wonders. Stretching or a walk are enough to get you going.
- Sporty meetings: Why not try a walk-and-talk meeting instead of a traditional meeting format?
- Use apps and trackers: Fitness apps or pedometers motivate you to achieve goals and document progress.
- Exercise with colleagues: Joint activities such as jogging or yoga not only promote fitness, but also strengthen team spirit.
- Set clear weekly goals: Whether it’s 5,000 steps a day or one hour of exercise per week – concrete goals help you stay on the ball
Strengthening social connections
Wellbeing also includes social health. Joint sporting activities with colleagues or in a personal environment promote interpersonal relationships and strengthen networks.
Sport as a strategic tool in the company
Team building through joint sporting activities
Sporting events such as internal soccer tournaments, running competitions or fitness courses strengthen team spirit and create a dynamic working atmosphere. Interim managers can make targeted use of such activities to build relationships in new teams.
Strengthening the corporate culture
Companies that offer sports programs and fitness opportunities demonstrate their commitment to the well-being of their employees.
A useful addition to this can be cooperation with health insurance companies’ health programs, which often offer individual consultations, prevention courses or subsidies for sports activities.
Interim managers can introduce or further develop such initiatives to increase motivation and identification within the workforce
Motivated employees
Access to sports activities increases employee satisfaction and loyalty. Interim managers can specifically promote this in order to create a positive working environment.
Major sporting events as an opportunity
Watching sporting events such as world championships or Olympic Games together creates a relaxed atmosphere and strengthens team spirit. Discussing the results and highlights of the Bundesliga or other sports leagues also provides an informal level of communication. Interim managers can use these events strategically to create a relaxed and positive atmosphere.
Conclusion: sport as a success booster
The combination of personal sporting activity and the promotion of sports programs within the company offers interim managers a wide range of opportunities and benefits. It not only increases their own performance, but also the team dynamics and corporate culture.
Anyone who has not yet implemented their own New Year’s resolutions such as “more exercise” or “live healthier” can start at any time. It’s never too late to get active. Interim managers who recognize and actively use the value of sport and wellbeing create a strategic advantage for themselves and for the companies they support.
How do you integrate sport and wellbeing into your everyday life? Share your experiences in the comments!
With best regards
Your HANSE Interim Management
Andreas Lau
