CEOs have to meet the ever increasing demands of their jobs in both private and public spheres. They need to invest considerable time in their leisure to prevent stress from taking over their lives. Emilia, a former CEO conducted private interviews with 17 CEOs of S&P 500, Fortune 500, and similarly sized U.S. companies, asking about their hobbies, what it meant to them and how it shaped their leadership abilities. Research showed that CEOs are often overburdened with extreme work load. Excessive stress impairs strategic thinking, leads to increased aggression and reduces ability to engage in positive leadership behaviors. Simply relaxing on the couch or even spending time with loved ones is not sufficient. Studies point to passionate, active leisure pursuits as the key source of recovery. Some reasons that motivates CEOs to devote so much time to their hobbies are-

Continuous drive to improve

To reach new heights of mastery hobbies are necessary. For instance, Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, led his squash team to the gold medal in the Maccabiah games in his first year as CEO. While competitiveness certainly comes up as a motivation, for most of these CEOs it is truly about reaching one’s highest potential, a lesson they have transferred to leading. One basketball-loving CEO spoke compellingly about how his experience as a player came to the rescue during a very difficult time for the business.

Control

While feeling in control of one’s work is a basic psychological need, it may paradoxically be harder to achieve in the top job. This can take a serious toll on the top leaders’ emotional balance, especially as expectations, from themselves and others, are still that they be in full command. One CEO told that he got into cycling right after the financial downturn. It made him that he had better command over his work.

Deeper connections with followers

Most CEOs who have a serious leisure interest have found a way to connect it to their followers. Moreover, these activities provide a precious opportunity to solicit honest feedback. Top leaders have a duty to know what is going on in their organizations and what the shared narratives are that shape their company’s cultures. However, they often struggle to do so, as information is filtered and embellished during its flow through established, hierarchical channels. Going for activities such as runs with employees help to build stronger network.

Developing and Consolidate Leadership

For the vast majority of the S&P 500 CEOs, their passionate interests originated in college or even earlier and are fully integrated into their life stories, because they provide a powerful expression of their core identities. A recent HBR article showed that CEOs have, on average, about 2.1 hours a day for simply relaxing or pursuing active hobbies and even this time is probably highly fragmented during the day. The beauty of a passionate non-work interest is that, in the words of one CEO, “It will force you to find time for it.”

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

“Why CEOs Devote So Much Time to Their Hobbies” is an article by Emilia Bunea, Svetlana N. Khapova and Evgenia I. Lysova published on Harvard Business Review which is based on private interviews with 17 CEOs of S&P 500.