The challenges and obstacles executives face in their quest for better performance.

A leader’s cognitive reserve is his greatest asset. Their ability to anticipate, to draw up long-term strategies and to make complicated decisions with little information are three attributes that mark the leadership and future of an organization. All this requires a well-trained, agile and rested brain.

Yet even the most perceptive managers in their most inspired days can make mistakes or be carried away by impulses that change the orientation of their results. Here we summarise some obstacles that leaders can encounter in their career for the optimisation of their cognitive functions and maximum performance.

Multitasking: Born as a great promise of efficiency and speed, there are reasonable doubts as to whether multitasking is a strength or a problem for the nervous system. Several studies have shown that multitasking increases the risk of making mistakes and, furthermore, the continuous change of focus mentally exhausts and hinders cognitive functions, as it produces a sensation of overlap tasks that never end. That is why many neuroscientists recommend returning to the classic practices of finishing one thing before starting another, thus avoiding the state of mental fatigue that produces loss of motivation and increased stress levels.

Perfectionism: As they say, perfection is the enemy of the good. You must be realistic and flexible to adapt to the changing realities that characterise the modern world. High levels of self-demand can hinder the progress of projects, exhaust the team and leave the leader with no room for maneuver. A stalled project is demoralising for everyone. It is better to define a realistic strategy, where the general and specific objectives are established, and whereby fulfillment is flexible and adapts to reality.

Long working hours with high stress load. Endless schedules, wanting to work at the pace of global teams, without respecting rest and sleep hours is a short-term strategy that will weigh down the performance of leaders and teams. Everyone will end up exhausted, in a state of chronic mental fatigue putting the nervous system on the ropes. Mental fatigue can come off as irritability and bad mood, or as anxiety and depression, with headaches or insomnia, with a lack of appetite, or quite the contrary, with anxiety about food. A tired brain has a hard time concentrating and paying attention. It’s the coup de grace for productivity and performance.

Loneliness. Much has been said about the loneliness of leaders. From the absence of soft skills and emotional intelligence to unite a team which accompanies you out of loyalty and not out of fear. A team that is your connection to reality and keeps you up to date with what is happening in the company. A leader without a team is a corpse. Loneliness is also related to anxiety and depression, and to the neglect of personal life and the impossibility of building a balanced life in which professional and personal life have a similar weight.

Neglecting food and sleep. Not sleeping enough hours, not hydrating or not eating a nutritious and balanced diet have a significant impact on mental health, and therefore on cognitive performance. Recent research has shown that a high amount of sugar in the diet can have negative effects on cognitive function and increase addictive behaviors and mood swings. Just when you are very tired, you should strive to maintain the healthy habits that you have managed to establish in your life to return to the optimal state of performance as soon as possible.