CATEGORY:CEO Chat

CAN WE ACHIEVE WORK-LIFE BALANCE?

Hey Shesh, thank you for the amazing career advice that you are giving through your CEO Chronicles articles. I have one question my colleagues and I discuss often – can we ever achieve work-life balance?

NEVER!

Thank you, Nidhi, for your kind feedback.

The phrase, ‘work-life balance’ is badly coined. This phrase implies that work is something we are forced to do, so that we may earn the resources to have a happy life outside of work.

This is wrong. Work is an integral and important part of life. Incorrect phrases like these condition us to see work as a burden rather than as a path to self-worth. We see it as an obligation rather than an opportunity. Such phrases also cause us to ignore all non-employed workers – mothers, spouses, caregivers, and somehow rank these vocations as less.

This leads us to certain behaviours – to resent the time and effort that work consumes; to feel that work prevents us from leading notionally wonderful lives; to treat non-employed people differently.

I prefer the term, ‘work-leisure balance’.

Work-leisure balance is absolutely critical for our mental, emotional and physical well-being. We need to balance the hours we spend at work with the hours we spend with our family, or reading, or hiking or chilling. We need to nourish all parts of our spirit, and explore the full range of joys the world has to offer.

And, yes, we CAN achieve work-leisure balance. Watch this space!

(May I suggest this brilliant blog?)

#radicaladvice #ceochronicles #businessadvisory #careeradvice #success #purpose #mentoring #satisfaction #fulfilment

WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF THE “POWER OF MANY” OFFSITE?

Hey Shesh, “The Three Bosses Who Changed My Life” is such a profound and inspiring article! You have been really lucky with your bosses! A quick question – what resulted from the offsite where you learnt the Power of Many?

TRUST, TRANSPARENCY AND TEAMWORK

Hi, Niraj. Yes, I have been more than lucky! My bosses took a clod of clay and shaped a professional!

To answer your question – unlike in movies, the situation did not change overnight. What happened next was gradual and organic.

First, the senior managers started trusting one another. This led to less conflict, better communication and closer collaboration. Consequently, we became more effective.

Second, the trust led to transparency. Everyone was comfortable sharing their departmental issues openly and honestly. This led to hidden problems being exposed, reviewed and resolved. So, we became more efficient.

Third, because the senior managers built a good rapport, our teams broke away from the silos that had walled them in. Cross-team collaboration steadily rose. Interdependence was accepted and embraced. The company’s goals took primacy over team goals. Therefore, we became far more productive.

What do you think was the outcome of these three evolutions?

****

The answer? We doubled our revenue within two years! We almost tripled out profit in the same period!

Never overestimated the Power Of Many!

#radicaladvice #ceochronicles #business advisory #careeradvice #mentoring #purpose #success #satisfaction