BALANCE

Harvard Business Review?published an interesting article on how successful executives balance work and life. 4000 executives worldwide were interviewed over five years.

The article cites success factors such as deliberate decision-making, around which opportunities to pursue and which to leave instead of just reacting to events, as well a careful combination of work and home. Those who were successful typically involve their families in work decisions and activities, and balance work and home over long periods.?

These executives had five main points in common:?

1)?Defining Success for Yourself

For example, when leading a major project, determine early what a win looks like.?

2)?Managing Technology

Nearly all executives interviewed highlighted the importance of managing email, text, voice, and other communication. It came down to deciding when, where, and how to be accessible for work.

3)?Building Support Networks

A strong network of supporters is important, for example, paid help or assistance from extended family for more tactical things like shopping and cleaning; trusted colleagues and supportive managers were also cited as vital for well-being.

4)?Traveling or Relocating Selectively

Many executives believe in getting the international experience as early as possible to protect marriages and children from being uprooted.?

5)?Collaborating with Your Partner

A shared vision of success between everyone at home, or common goals, kept everyone together. Many executives also highlighted the value of complementary skills of partners, for example, emotional intelligence, task focus, or behavioural skills.?

I always read these types of articles and wonder what they mean for we regular folk ? the ones who don’t have enough latitude in an organisation to decide what success looks like in a project, since the executive gets to do that and inform us. And the ones who can’t afford a team of nannies and au pairs, and have to instead rely on a day-care that closes promptly at 17:30 with fines for late collection of our little ones.?

Perhaps it requires a re-examination of what balance looks like for the typical worker, whether specialist or manager. The eight-to-fiver with limited budget, limited latitude, limited time, and limited support.?

1)?Defining Success for Yourself

Working as a member of a team, whether it is Project, HR, Sales or wherever you belong, means that you often do not have the right to dictate what success is going to look like.?

Take a step back. What does career success look like to you personally? If you work in a company of 10 000 people, with one CEO, one CFO, one CIO, and so forth, is success truly only the corner office? What are your chances of achieving one of those positions??

Is success the 4.0 performance rating? Quick career growth? Learning new skills? The top achiever award? Or is success doing your part, working hard, and being part of a winning team??

Clarify for yourself what makes you feel good about your achievements and not what you have been taught to view as success, i.e. flashy car, fancy title, MBA, or a hundred people in your reporting structure. Decide what makes you feel satisfied with your work, week by week, or month by month, and force yourself to learn to view that as the only success that counts.?

2)?Managing Technology

Companies often mandate how technology is used and expect quick responses to emails or late night WhatsApps with a, “Sorry to bother you, but just quickly…,” infringe on any type of work-life balance that you might want to achieve. The research findings in a 2014 article in the?Journal of Marriage and Familyon stress management reports, showed that ongoing mobile communication was linked to heightened psychological distress and reduced family satisfaction, and an article in?BioMed Research International?adds that it negatively impacts physical health, work performance, and recovery from fatigue.?

If you cannot move away from being available on WhatsApp and email totally, start to limit the time that you are available. Gradually shorten the hours in which you respond, for example, by half an hour a week until you stop responding at a reasonable time that works for your family. That brings you down from, say, responding to emails until 23:00, to only responding to emails until 19:00. And because it is a gradual process, you get comfortable with it whilst slowly getting your manager or team used to it too.?

3)?Building Support Networks

The first prize for a support network if you have children, would be a reliable nanny or child-minder. Unfortunately, this is not in the budget of many non-executives. Find a way to create support here; alternate days with your partner to drop and collect kids from aftercare, or make use of a reliable transport service. Even arranging with a grandparent or other family member to collect the kids one day a week might take some pressure off you, and create room for another activity to restore balance.?

4)?Traveling or Relocating Selectively

BusinessTech?reports that South Africa is one of the worst countries when it comes to traffic congestion. A drive from Alberton to Sandton can take 71 minutes in traffic. One way.

While executives might choose their international travel and relocation selectively, perhaps it is worthwhile for the non-executive to choose travelling locally selectively. Is over two hours a day in traffic truly worth it? Is relocating perhaps an option to ensure a shorter trip? Or can you carpool, giving you reading time or study time when it is someone else’s turn to drive? Explore your options for public transport. And if there are absolutely no alternatives, perhaps consider finding a hobby or gym close to work where you can spend rush hour doing something healthy that restores balance, and at the same time rescue yourself from sitting in traffic.

5)?Collaborating with Your Partner

Studies show that those engaged in positive relationships live longer, heal faster, have stronger immune systems, and are less likely to have heart disease. You do not need to be an executive to understand the importance of a quality relationship. Time is love. We show love to children by giving them quality time; we show romantic interest in someone new by spending time with them on dates.?

Collaborating with a partner might mean bringing back a date night each week where you both can relax and reconnect, or exercising together.?

It might be asking your partner to pick up a couple more responsibilities around the house or with the kids to free up some of your time and energy for greater balance, or it might be the two of you working together to finish tasks such as dinner and housework faster to enjoy greater leisure time. Collaboration here also means time for individual pursuits – it means establishing trust and a routine where each person has time to pursue their own interests, whilst the other one holds the fort, knowing their turn will come.?

How To

The Life Balance Wheel is a popular tool to do a quick assessment on your current balance. You can download a version from the Internet easily.?

There are typically eight sections to the wheel. For each section, consider how fulfilled you are on a scale to 10. Make a dot to represent where you fall on that scale.?

Once finished, connect the dots and have a look at the shape. Peaks and troughs tell a story of fulfilment and lack of fulfilment.

What is lacking in your life?

What stands out the most?

What can you combine? E.g. Health and Family combined means you spend a few minutes a day exercising or being physically active with the kids.?

Then decide what you can do daily. Ten minutes a day of quality time with your partner before bed does not sound like much… but it quantifies very quickly towards the end of the month. Twenty minutes a day of soccer with the kids or cycling around the neighbourhood doesn’t feel like much, but per week it adds up to the magical 140 minutes of elevated heart rate that busts diabetes, fights cancers, boosts immune system and mood, and enhances longevity.?

It does not have to be perfect and you don’t have to give time and energy to every component every day… do what you can with what you have. If today you have half an hour, and you spend twenty minutes on the kids and ten on exercise. Your hobby can wait for tomorrow. But a sustained effort will quantify into enough effort in each category over time to start seeing results.

And lastly… low energy is related to low actualisation and balance. Don’t wait to feel better before you do this… do this and you will feel better.

Balancing all the aspects of your life is so important.?Get in touch?if balance is something you would like to explore for yourself and your loved ones. I’m a life coach, passionate about helping others to achieve well-being and balance in work and life.

I'm an experienced Senior Business Consultant helping people across divergent industries to balance all areas of their lives for a happier and more fulfilled worklife. I'm skilled in Emotional Intelligence (training and coaching), Career Development, HR Consulting, Organisation Development, Coaching, and Psychological Assessment. Read more articles on my website:?www.avssa.net