Rethinking High Performance: Beyond the Workplace

I recently concluded an Executive Coaching engagement with an Industrial Audit Director at a global pharmaceutical company. One detail always caught my attention: he consistently showed up to our sessions wearing sports gear. Eventually, he shared why—he is a professional runner with a rigorous training routine, covering anywhere from 10 to 25 kilometers each week.

What fascinated me most was not just his discipline, but his mindset as well. For him, daily effort is simply part of life. Pushing himself, demanding more, and continuously improving are not optional—they are his baseline. This shaped the way he viewed others: he often struggled to understand why colleagues would complain about relatively minor work issues or fail to commit fully to projects.

His story made me reflect:

• What impact could this mindset have on our personal and professional lives?
• Can we truly speak of high performance if we do not commit to improving all aspects of life—including nutrition and physical activity?

One conversation with him stood out vividly. He recounted being in a leadership meeting where the CFO encouraged everyone to embrace high-performance leadership. After the session, he approached the CFO and said it was hard to feel inspired by someone carrying more than 40 extra kilos. It was a bold moment that reinforced the idea that leadership credibility is tied not only to professional expertise but also to personal discipline.

This client embodies systemic high performance. He has exercised daily for the last nine consecutive years, without missing a single day. Rain, snow at minus 20 degrees, personal hardships—even battling COVID with only one active lung—never stopped him from running those 10 to 25 kilometers.

His discipline raises a broader question: perhaps high performance cannot be siloed. Maybe it requires a holistic approach, where personal well-being, nutrition, and physical training are inseparable from professional excellence.

In the coming weeks, we will publish an interview with him and introduce a new perspective on systemic performance—one that embraces a broader dimension of what it means to truly excel.

And now I’d like to turn the reflection to you:

How do you live your own aspiration for high performance?
How is it cultivated—or challenged—in your organization?
How do you personally handle a lack of motivation or burnout?