Send to KindleA boss once told me a story about a friend. This friend had been offered a very coveted position, one that was highly sought, but for which few were considered. The day of the notification he went home to tell his wife and children but before he could say much his teenage son requested his dad accompany him to the high school awards banquet the next week. He would be graduating that year and really wanted his father to attend. Realizing this was important, the father rearranged his schedule and attended the banquet. By the end of the evening he was deeply disturbed. The next morning he went to work, turned down the promotion, and submitted his retirement. Why? The previous evening his son had won several awards, all for activities the father was barely even aware the boy had been doing. He realized, perhaps too late, that he had sacrificed something precious and unrepeatable in favor of career success and that he had chosen the wrong course.
How many leaders can see themselves in this story? Probably more than will would admit it. It’s all too common to aggressively pursue success, to gain gratification in that success, and keep striving for more, at the expense of a personal life. The problem is, work success won’t last forever, but family and personal relationships should. Yes, career success often means a more comfortable standard of living, but as the father in this story discovered, there are still things worth more than money.
This is something for leaders to watch in their subordinates as well. Help prospective leaders, and those just getting started, develop a good work-life balance. That doesn’t mean you or they shouldn’t work hard or put in the long hours that are sometimes necessary. Those things are part of the job, but must be balanced with time away spent with family, friends, or just doing things they find relaxing. Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler (1978-1993) was working hard to save the company after he took over Chrysler, but he stuck to his policy of no work from Friday night to Sunday night. Only on Sunday evening would he take out his briefcase and review the schedule for the coming week. Over the weekend, his family had priority.
The concept of work-life balance is more prevalent now than in the past, but I believe the problem still exists, thanks to technology. How many times do you actually work from home after normal hours because you have a computer, Wi-Fi, and a cell phone? In fact, I think the problem may be getting worse, not better.
It’s critical to a leader’s mental and maybe even physical health to balance work with their non-working lives. That means it’s also a leaders responsibility to make sure the people who report to them are doing the same.
