As October is Mental Health Month, I thought it would be timely to remind our army of regional leaders to look after themselves, as we desperately need the work you do and the impact you make! 

If you lead in regional or rural Australia, you know leadership isn’t a title, it’s a test of endurance. Between early mornings, long drives, tight budgets, community commitments, and the constant juggling act between business, family, and self, it’s easy to get swept into the whirlwind. Yet the best leaders (the ones who stay steady, optimistic, and effective), don’t rely on big bursts of motivation. They find small, meaningful rituals that keep their energy alive and their focus sharp. Because leadership, at its heart, isn’t about balance. It’s about harmony.

Balance suggests an on/off switch, a tidy division between “work” and “life” that rarely exists, especially when your business is also your community, and your community is part of your identity. Harmony, on the other hand, recognises that life’s elements blend and overlap. The art lies in tuning them, so the result isn’t noise, but music conducted by you.

The myth of perfect balance. For regional leaders, “work-life balance” often feels like a city slogan that doesn’t quite fit reality. When your phone rings at 7 am. because a staff member can’t make it in, or you spend weekends sponsoring the local footy club, your professional and personal worlds are tightly intertwined. Trying to draw hard boundaries can lead to frustration, or guilt. Instead, the resilient leaders embrace harmony. They don’t chase perfection, they pursue rhythm. They understand that some weeks demand full throttle, and others allow space to slow down. Harmony is dynamic, it flexes with the season, the harvest, the project, or the pressure. And at the centre of that rhythm lies one small thing.

The power of the small things. If you talk to seasoned regional leaders (from business owners to community heads) they’ll tell you that the small things they do consistently are what sustains them. It’s the five-minute morning routine, the quiet walk after dinner, the once-a-month coffee with a mentor. These aren’t luxuries, they’re the fuel for leadership stamina. I recently explored what the “one small thing” was for regional leaders at a conference I was hosting. Some examples were:

• A Dubbo agribusiness manager said his “one small thing” was a 15-minute personal check-in at the start of each day, coffee in hand, notebook open, reflecting and listing what mattered most that day. “If I start with clarity,” he said, “I end with energy.”
• A principal of a regional primary school swears by her Friday afternoon ritual, playing music loudly, office door closed, and a 20-minute reflection on what went well that week. “It helps me finish with gratitude instead of exhaustion,” she explained.
• A dairy farmer shared that he finds his reset in the quiet of dawn. “I walk the paddock before the first milking,” he said. “No phone, no noise. That’s my thinking time. It reminds me why I love this life.”

None of these are grand gestures. They’re simple, repeatable acts that nurture a leader’s inner life, the part too often neglected in the rush of being busy and just doing.

Energy, enthusiasm, and focus the leadership trifecta. If leadership is a marathon, energy is the fuel, enthusiasm the spark, and focus the compass. Lose one, and you drift.

• Energy doesn’t come just from rest; it comes from renewal. The small, intentional pauses that give your mind and body a breather. It might be a morning surf, a short drive with the radio off, or time spent in the garden. Energy is sustained by movement, rest, and pursuing personal meaning, in balance.
• Enthusiasm comes from connection, staying close to what and who matters most. Great leaders are curious. They find inspiration in people, in ideas, in community stories. They make space to listen, laugh, and learn. They know enthusiasm fades in isolation but grows in conversation.
• Focus comes from personal alignment, knowing what truly matters and cutting the noise. The most grounded leaders I’ve met have a simple clarity about their priorities. They aren’t trying to please everyone, but they are anchored by their purpose.

Leading from the inside out. The best regional leaders lead from the inside out. They understand that personal harmony isn’t selfish, it’s strategic. When you’re centred, your team feels it. When you’re scattered, they sense that too. So, ask yourself: What’s your one small thing that keeps you in tune? Is it

• Daily: Waking slowly. Taking ten to thirty quiet minutes before the world wakes up to reflect, think, exercise (free of electronic devices).
• Weekly: A regular catch-up with a friend who keeps you grounded, or a date night with your partner.
• Monthly: Taking a day out of the business to think, reflect, and plan. Not just do things. Look, learn, and listen. View the world from the balcony, not on the dance floor!
• Yearly: Take a reset trip to renew and reflect to help realign with your “why.”

You don’t need to overhaul your life. You just need to anchor some personal habits that help to remind you of who you are, and what is important, beyond the meetings, the demands, and the expectations.

Harmony over hustle. Harmony isn’t about slowing down. It’s about being in sync. It’s the calm confidence that you can handle the storm because you’ve built inner steadiness. It’s saying no when needed, delegating to others and trusting them, and remembering that leadership isn’t a solo act. The truth is leaders who chase endless hustle eventually burn out. Leaders who cultivate harmony sustain impact. They know when to push, when to pause, and when to replenish. They don’t just survive the cycle, they deliberately curate it.

So, what’s your one small thing? It might not look impressive to anyone else. But if it restores you, it’s powerful. Maybe it’s journaling before dawn or sitting quietly with a coffee watching the sun rise over the paddocks. Maybe it’s dropping a line in a river, going for a run, playing the guitar, volunteering, or the uninterrupted dinner table conversation you never miss with your family. Whatever it is, protect it. Because that small thing could be the difference between being a leader who just endures, or the the one who thrives. After all, leadership isn’t found in the big speeches or the strategic plans. It’s found in the quiet choices that keep your fire alive. So next time someone asks how you stay motivated, you can smile and say, “It’s just my one small thing.”

Leadership Lesson
It’s the small habits. How you spend your mornings. How you talk to yourself. What you read, and what you watch. Who you share your time with. How you maintain your health and inner peace. This is what will fuel and shape your life. Life is made up of many moments, live them!

Facta Non Verba – Deeds Not Words