I was reflecting on the great privilege I had in 2014 to work closely with leaders in many industries and countries. I found myself reflecting on one big theme that frequently arose for my clients throughout the year. As we worked though the business challenges of change, growth, threats and opportunities, we would often land on one fundamental question – ‘How am I doing in the midst of all of this?’ This was sometimes followed by other such questions as – Am I really enjoying this? Is this good for me? How can I thrive and be energised in this? Am I being authentic? How can I be happier in this? These may not seem like typical business questions but in the context of leadership they are the types of questions emerging much more frequently for senior leaders and others. Leaders I work with are hugely capable and they do a good job. The most ambitious of them want more than that – they want to be personally thriving along the way – but they often don’t quite know how to go about it. There has been much written on this subject, e.g. The Making of the Corporate Athlete (Harvard Business Review, HBR, Jan 2001) and Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time (HBR, Oct 2007) introduce the idea that when the Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual capacity of the Athlete / Leader is well managed then performance improves on a sustainable basis.  The emerging science of Positive Psychology, shows that when we are ‘set positive’ by focusing more on what goes right, rather than what goes wrong, in our lives, we perform far better. The ongoing Harvard Grant Study, begun in 1938, on what makes people thrive also gives some interesting insights to happiness, in particular the potentially positive impact of relationships. Our ‘happiness’ is influenced far more by our relationships and what is going on internally rather than on the external circumstance we are in. Our own Irish Rugby Union legend Brian O’Driscoll in his recent book, The Test, speaks with some achievement about getting ‘out of the game pretty much intact’. Whilst I believe he was referring to his physical condition, given the physical and attritional nature of Rugby, it seems many other aspects of himself and his life are intact also, so much so he has built a platform for a potentially great life ahead – that’s what I admire most of all. If you consider yourself a corporate athlete, and you surely are if you hold a senior leadership role, then one of your priorities for 2015 could be to ‘make history for yourself’ and run through the finishing tape on the 31st December 2015 ‘fully intact’. This Making History Exercise might help. Have a great 2015 Dave