Just like a car, you need to start your engine in 1st gear (Recharge, Refuel mode). First gear helps you to get into the day in a way that will not wreck your internal transmission. If you don’t learn to access 1^st gear, your capacity to help others will diminish over time and you will undermine your leadership influence. First gear maximises your productivity and effectiveness when it is time for work. In addition to rest and recreation, exercise is vital for leaders to stay healthy long-term. Know your wiring and what healthy recharge looks like for you. Ask people to hold you accountable to developing a healthy 1^st gear schedule. Sleep is not optional; an essential part of first gear is getting a good amount of sleep.

Performing well in 2^nd gear (Connect mode) requires being physically, emotionally, and intellectually present (NO WORK) with the most important people in your life, which leads to healthy relationships, better conversations, less drama, and re-establishes your priorities. Transitioning effectively from work to home life in the hybrid work environment is not easy. We need markers as triggers to shift our mind intentionally from work gears into 2^nd gear. Markers can be a location on the way home from work; time, where you close the door on the home office and intentional leave work behind; walking around the block. In 2^nd gear, close off work in your head and be intentional in how you transition into your non-work gear.

Your true legacy will be created in 2^nd gear (Connect mode). People will remember your 2^nd gear moments more than they will remember your achievements. Schedule 2^nd gear time with friends and family just like a business meeting. Make sure your conversation stays in 2^nd gear, rather than defaulting back to 4^th gear (Work mode). Be intentional and selfless. Ask what the people in your life love doing with you and schedule time to do it. Create boundaries and allocate time to focus on 2^nd gear. When you want to access 2^nd gear, put your phone away or turn it off.

Third gear is social time at work, which is vitally important in the hybrid work environment. This is a time to connect with people; it’s where relationships and influence happen. Third gear is where people in your team or external KOL’s are asking, “Are you trustworthy? Are you likeable?” You can lose influence if you don’t do 3^rd gear well. Here are my 3^rd gear tips: Start all meetings with five minutes in in 3^rd  gear. Use the 0:58 rule — spend 2 minutes before your meeting shifting from work gears, to be intentional and present in 3^rd gear. Invest in in-person gatherings. Have Virtual meetings that are only 3^rd gear, no work talk.

If you find 3^rd gear hard, or you overuse it, you need to work on being interested in people before working on being interesting yourself – I call this the Boomerang Effect. Learning how to be curious about people will lead to being engaging with people. Connection happens in two or three well thought out questions. Learn how to ask simple questions to connect with new people. Remember as human beings we are made for relational and human interaction more than we are made for virtual meetings. As leaders we need to re-establish that culture of human interaction.