“Good things happen to those who hustle.” — Anais Nin

I have been a fitness instructor with GoodLife for over 13 years. I started as a member, looking for an evening and weekend activity to help me burn energy, try something new, deal with stress, and meet new people. Years of playing team sports drew me to group fitness, and the rest, as they say, is history. I share this because much of what I read or hear about side hustles comes from the employee perspective. Particularly in today’s socio-economic climate, I believe there is value for leaders in taking on a second gig. Rather than viewing another job as a distraction, we should consider it a tool for innovation, growth, and long-term relevance.

Work your innovation muscle

My side hustle working for an organization 100 times larger than the one I run daily allows me to see different processes and policies, which, although not always applicable, provide a point of reference for my day job. Doing something completely different from leading the agency also clears my head. That freedom to get outside myself has helped me solve many issues just from gaining a little distance and shaking up my routine.

Grow your brand

Leadership is more than words in a boardroom or policies on a page. Leading a class of individuals with varying levels of fitness and ability while keeping them all engaged, motivated, and driven towards a collective finish line requires me to adapt, sometimes even from class to class, to the people who leap, reach, stretch, and sweat before me. The ability to be flexible (mentally and, well, physically) in a fast-paced world is simply a gamechanger.

Share what you’ve learned

The fitness gig also showcases my conviction in the therapeutic power of movement. There’s proof in this (fat-free) pudding, I’ll tell you. It gives me a stage (literally) to show people a version of middle age that makes them question what they believe and what they can achieve. It’s the sharing of a significant value and passion that I can’t necessarily translate the same way in the agency.

When more is in fact, less

Counterintuitive to some, novel work can help alleviate burnout. When what you do feels personal and energizing, it negates the fact that you’re actually pushing yourself to do more in the same amount of time. We’re not all lucky enough to have our day job be the thing that fulfills us. The side hustle can provide that experience. It’s definitely worth finding out.

The passion project, when pursued with intention, isn’t a distraction from leadership. The whole point of leadership isn’t to manage what is; it’s about imagining what could be. I think the question we should pose to ourselves is, What can I become by starting one?

I look forward to your response.