Have you ever done any archery?  Have you shot a bow and arrow?

As an 11 year old kid at summer camp I had the opportunity to learn about archery.  Wow – high adventure for a boy to be given a deadly weapon to shoot projectiles into targets pinned to bales of hay.

I can still remember the first time I strained with every ounce of strength I had to pull back the string and let the arrow fly.  It was tough to actually aim the arrow at the target when your pencil thin arms are quivering with the physical exertion it took to hold the string in place prior to releasing my grip to fire the arrow.

The force that propels the arrow comes from the bow being under significant tension when you pull back the string.  In fact, the bow is already under a fair bit of tension even when the string is not pulled back.  Each end of the fiberglass bow is notched to secure the looped end of the string.  It can be a test of your strength simply stringing the bow.  If I remember correctly the camp instructors taught us to put the bow vertically between our legs and twist it in order to create the tension necessary to get the bow strung.

I know, you can’t really picture what that looks like – don’t worry about it.  The important point to remember is that the bow is under significant tension in order to create the force to propel an arrow at great speed.

We were also taught a lesson I have never forgotten, as I now realize how important it is for leaders to understand this same principal.  Each time after we used the bows we were taught to unstring them.  When we began our archery session we had to string the bows, and when we ended the session we had to unstring them.  We were told that unstringing the bows released the tension they were under, prolonging the longevity of the bow.

The basic principal was this: if you want the bow to maintain its strength and do the job for which it was designed, you need to release its tension when you are not using it.

Does that sound like an important leadership principle?

Every day leaders step into high stress environments ready to do the job for which they are responsible.  There is a lot of tension involved.  There is stress, there is strain, and it takes great strength to perform well as a leader.  There is much demanded of you.

Good leaders, like a good archer, want to ensure they can hit the target consistently and repeatedly.   Your aim needs to be true, your delivery smooth and your results accurate.  And, like a good archer does in order to prolong the life of his bow, you need to learn to unstring your bow as well.

So, what does that mean?

You have to learn to relax.  You have to learn to unplug.  You have to learn to chill.  You have to learn to restore, refresh, renew, rejuvenate, recalibrate, remind, and recreate your-self to prolong your ability to perform under stress at a high level.  You will not last long if you are always strung tight.

You have to learn to unstring your bow.

You can’t live and lead well if you are always under significant tension.  You will ultimately falter and fail – or at least your health will falter and fail – if you do not learn to stop in order to relax and breathe.  Unstringing your bow is something a leader must do regularly.  It’s a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly commitment every leader must make.

So how do you unstring your bow?  How do you relax and rejuvenate?

In order to perform at a high level you must know how you refuel and renew yourself or your life as a leader will be short-lived.  Once you know the little daily ways and the larger more significant ways in which you refresh yourself you must be committed to making that happen.  A walk outside during a lunch break, or a couple weeks in Hawaii – you must regularly refresh yourself.

Leaders must learn to unstring their bow.