We define organizational health as the ability to align around a clear vision, strategy, and culture to execute with excellence and to renew a company over time by responding to market trends. Previous McKinsey research has highlighted a strong correlation between leadership performance and organizational health, 2 2. Verweij et al., “Sleep deprivation leads to a loss of functional connectivity in frontal regions,” BMC Neuroscience, 2014, Volume 15, Number 88, .Īlthough basic visual and motor skills deteriorate when people are deprived of sleep, they do not do so nearly to the same extent as higher-order mental skills. Namni Goel et al., “Neurocognitive consequences of sleep deprivation,” Seminars in Neurology, 2009, Volume 29, Number 4, pp. Neuroscientists know that although other brain areas can cope relatively well with too little sleep, the prefrontal cortex cannot. It’s long been known that all leadership behavior relies on at least one (and often more than one) of these executive functions and therefore, in particular, on the prefrontal cortex. The frontal part of the neocortex, the prefrontal cortex, directs what psychologists call executive functioning, including all the higher-order cognitive processes, such as problem solving, reasoning, organizing, inhibition, planning, and executing plans. The last part of our brain to evolve was the neocortex, responsible for functions such as sensory perception, motor commands, and language. This article will demonstrate and explore the link between sleep and leadership behavior before discussing solutions that can improve both individual well-being and organizational efficiency and effectiveness. As we will demonstrate, sleep deficiencies impair the performance of corporate executives, notably by undermining important forms of leadership behavior, and can thereby hurt financial performance. Many companies do not do enough to promote healthy sleep, which can have serious consequences. Eighty-three percent of the leaders said their organizations did not spend enough effort educating leaders about the importance of sleep.Over a third (36 percent) said that their organizations do not allow them to make getting enough sleep a priority.Almost half (47 percent) of the leaders in our survey felt that their organizations expect them to be “on” too long and too responsive to emails and phone calls.Sixty-six percent said they were generally dissatisfied with how much sleep they get, and 55 percent were dissatisfied with the quality of sleep.Four out of ten (43 percent) say they do not get enough sleep at least four nights a week (and nearly six out of ten that they do not sleep enough at least three nights a week).Almost half (46 percent) believe that lack of sleep has little impact on leadership performance.Yet our respondents contradicted themselves by suggesting that companies should do more to help teach leaders the importance of sleep. That, in turn, can lead to irrational and unjustified claims such as “I do not need sleep” or “I’m doing fine with a couple of hours of sleep.” Our own recent survey of executives (see sidebar “Highlights from our survey of 196 business leaders”) demonstrates how many of them remain in denial on this point. Research has shown that sleep-deprived brains lose the ability to make accurate judgments.

But in an increasingly hyperconnected world, in which many companies now expect their employees to be on call and to answer emails 24/7, this is also an important organizational topic that requires specific and urgent attention. Sleep (mis)management, at one level, is obviously an individual issue, part of a larger energy-management challenge that also includes other forms of mental relaxation, such as mindfulness and meditation, as well as nutrition and physical activity. Yet we all know caffeinated and careworn executives who, after hours of wakeful slumber, struggle to recall simple facts, seem disengaged and uninspired, lack patience with others, and can’t think through problems or reach clear-cut decisions. Some senior business people skillfully and consciously manage their sleep, emerging refreshed and alert after crossing multiple time zones or working late into the night.

In the passage above, the playwright’s tragic antihero Brutus enviously reflects on the timeless truth that people without worries and anxieties (in this case, his servant Lucius) generally enjoy the most peaceful and uninterrupted rest.

Which busy care draws in the brains of men

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