Balance is something many leaders don’t do well for themselves.
Balance is something many leaders can’t help their teams with because…like I said, they can’t help themselves.
Balance, something many leaders want to believe they understand.
Balance, something we continue to tell ourselves is important yet don’t set boundaries or examples to make it stick.
Balance, something that keeps us performing well at our jobs.
Balance, something that when it’s not done, ends up breaking us down, people leave jobs and we get burnt out.
There has never been a more important time to think about balance than right now.
Work from home demands balance. And if you aren’t focused on it, and giving your team the foundation and support to find it, you’re at risk.
You’re at risk for people being tired.
You’re at risk for people being unhappy.
You’re at risk for people leaving, even during a time where it appears some think, ‘employees should be lucky to have their job right now, so they will work harder.’
Wrong. Most work hard enough. And if they don’t, it’s most likely a result of imbalance.
Set boundaries. Provide guidance. Provide support. And provide understanding. Be an example. Be a leader.
If you want to dive in more, here’s an article from Harvard Business Review with further insight.
“Now is a time for companies to step back and reexamine which traditional ways of working exist because of convention, not necessity.
Executives and managers have the opportunity to choose quality work over quantity of work. They can value the creative ideas that emerge after a midday hike or meditation session, rather than putting in face time at the office. They can stop rewarding the faster response over the better response, or the longer workday over a more productive workday.”
https://hbr.org/2020/04/what-will-work-life-balance-look-like-after-the-pandemic