“Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not.”

- Robert Kennedy

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I didn’t lead myself very well this week.

I woke up tired almost every day this week. That even though I’ve fallen asleep relatively quickly and slept for 7-8 hours a night.

What gives?

I know some of you have trouble sleeping. Sometimes for long stretches. Sleep can be elusive for about 70 million Americans.

To be the best leaders, we have to lead ourselves first. To lead ourselves best, we need to be our best selves.

So rather than just accept that I wasn’t sleeping well, I dove into a “5 Why” exercise.

Sakichi Toyoda, the Japanese industrialist, inventor, and founder of Toyota Industries, developed the “5 Whys” technique in the 1930s. The method is simple. When a problem occurs, you drill down to its root cause by asking "Why?" five times. Then, when a countermeasure – or counterstory – becomes apparent, you act on it to stop it from happening again. A quick solution might only deal with a symptom and not the underlying problem.

So why haven’t I been sleeping well? I’ve been dreaming more vividly than normal. Why have I been dreaming vividly? My brain has been more active during sleep. Too active. Why has my brain been too active? I’ve been driving myself hard toward new goals across all the domains of my life this year. Why has pushing toward my goals made me tired? I haven’t had enough recovery after sprinting toward my goals. Why haven’t I had enough recovery? I haven’t really internalized how important planning for recovery is to reaching my goals.

For the last several years, I’ve felt more tired in June and November than normal. I recognized this pattern and set a last year to take a recovery vacation every 3 months. I didn’t do that this quarter.

I knew I needed to. I set the intention for weeks to think about vacations and book a vacation. But I didn’t.

My BS story is that I don’t need the recovery time. I should be able to just power through. And yet every year it’s become painfully apparent that without that recovery I get tired. I burn out.

So what’s my new counterstory? My vacation recovery allows me to reach my goals powerfully and consistently. This new story is now something I think about every day – to integrate into my life and to make it my dominant story. That power and consistency helps me be my best leader self.

The counterstory is the key, but I’m also addressing the symptoms. How else can I get better sleep – and health? Exercising at the right time, eating more fruits and veggies, monitoring my biomarkers via blood test, researching supplements to enhance sleep, keeping the bedroom cooler, etc.

What challenges are you running up against as you look to be your best leader self?

The 5 Why tool is something our Leadership Circle integrates into our lives. Because if we want to be the best leaders and help our communities, our teams and our families face their challenges, we need to face our own challenges first. We need to really understand what’s holding us back and then create better stories and strategies to become who we really want to be.

I encourage you to spend just 2 minutes using the 5 Why tool to think through a challenge you're facing. Drill down deeper. Move as quickly as you can through the technique. The answers are not in your head – they are in your heart. The answers are where you'll find your breakthrough.

I’d love for you to share what you find. If you’re stuck, please reach out. I’m happy to help you.