Spring has a way of revealing what has been dormant.
In Central New York, it means changing weather, singing birds, and green shoots pushing up through the soil. But this year, spring has felt like more than a shift in season. It has felt like a personal awakening in my own health and wellness.
Like many people, I tend to drift into what I call hibernation mode during the winter. The signs are subtle at first, but familiar: a mostly unconscious increase in calories, a noticeable decrease in activity, and a gradual loss of healthy rhythm. Maybe it’s the shorter days, the colder temperatures, or the patterns that come with the holidays and the start of a new year. Whatever the cause, over the last five years I found myself in a slow but steady cycle of weight gain and fitness loss. Maybe you can relate.
By February of this year, I knew things were moving in the wrong direction. My blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI were all confirming what I already sensed. So I decided it was time to embrace some discomfort and begin practicing intermittent fasting.
The specific routine I chose is not really the point of this post, and I’m not offering medical or nutritional advice here. But in the middle of this renewed focus, I came across an idea that has been too helpful not to share. It’s the idea of levers.
I first heard this metaphor while reading Peter Attia’s book Outlive. He describes key elements of health as levers that can be adjusted to influence long-term outcomes. In simple terms, I’d summarize three of those major levers as nutrition, activity, and sleep. These levers are deeply connected, and the settings matter. Together they shape healthspan, lifespan, and overall well-being. But even adjusting one lever can create meaningful change.
That idea stayed with me. Not just because it helped me think more clearly about health, but because it also gave me language for thinking about leadership.
What if leadership works that way too? What if there are a few critical levers that, when adjusted with intention, meaningfully shape our influence and impact?
If I had to name three leadership levers that have mattered most in my own growth and practice, I would point to these: meaningful relationships, vision clarity, and systems thinking.
Could I list more? Of course.
But that’s part of what makes this such a useful exercise. Limiting ourselves to just three forces us to think more carefully about what truly drives healthy leadership. It helps us move beyond vague aspirations and pay attention to the areas that most affect the people we lead and the environments we help shape.
So here’s the question I’m posing to you:
What are the key levers in your leadership?
What are the few things that, when adjusted wisely and consistently, make the biggest difference in your effectiveness, your influence, and your stewardship?
I’m still processing the idea, but I’m convinced the question is worth asking.
I’d love to hear what you think. What leadership levers rise to the top for you? Send me an email at [email protected] or leave a comment. I’d enjoy continuing the conversation.
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