The pre-flight announcement, “In the case of an emergency, take the oxygen mask yourself, BEFORE you attempt to help others,” is a useful metaphor to support our balance and personal well-being.
Yet far too often, the oxygen mask is missing in the executive board room.
When you are part of the executive leadership team, you are confronted with a multitude of problems, challenges, and opportunities every day.
For action oriented, results-driven executives, it is very easy to jump into business issues too deeply and overlook what is happening in the leadership team.
When leadership teams do not create clear operating principles (how do we challenge each other and manage conflict in the team) or executive guardrails (a clear team purpose and definition of our unique contribution) the most senior (and expensive) team in the business struggles to play at its best.
Taking ownership of the oxygen mask rule in the executive team means you help yourself (and your team) so that you can help others in the organization.