Is Work-Life Balance Worth Fighting For?
What makes an organization an employer of choice? So many people list “work-life balance” as one of the key knock-out factors. Like an elusive vision of an oasis in the desert, it radiates with simplicity and philosophical appeal. Some things are more important than work but what does “work-life balance” really mean? A source of much discussion and great frustration among employees, the idea of an organization with work-life balance doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny – it’s an oasis that will always exist on the distant horizon.
One shouldn’t despair – work-life balance may not be such a great idea anyway. The quest for it reminds me of Shel Silverstein’s wonderful story, “The Missing Piece.” Although written for children, it speaks most aptly to adults. Continue reading » »
In the summer of 1989 I decided that I wanted to run the Honolulu marathon (26.1 miles) in December 1990. In August 1989 I sustained a hip injury which virtually made it impossible for me to get in and out of a car. No problem, I think to myself, the marathon is fifteen months away.
By January 1990 I was still having challenges with my hip so my coach, Kit Sundling, came every Saturday to walk me on a track which was softer than the pavement. It took four months of walking on the track, physical therapy, massage and chiropractor visits before I could run again.
We set September 1990 as our next check point by entering the Portland marathon. The goal was to run twenty miles and then stop. We ran seventeen miles and then I broke down – I couldn’t make it to mile twenty.
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Many (many) summers ago, when I was in training to be a lifeguard on New York’s Lake George, the first principle I learned was how to safely approach a swimmer in distress. A safe approach included talking to them, letting them know I was there to help them, and giving them instructions.
The second principle I learned was how to get out of harm’s way if I didn’t successfully execute the first principle. Good to know. If the victim locked his arms around my neck, my automatic moves were: my right arm over his arms, right hand under right side of his chin, strongly Continue reading » »
As a 10-year board member of the Peter Drucker Foundation, I had many opportunities to listen to this great man. Among the myriad wise things I have heard him say, the wisest was, “We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don’t spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop.”
Very true, indeed. Think about your own organization. Have you ever attended a corporate retreat or executive training session that was titled something like Stupid Things We’re Doing That We Need to Stop Doing?
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As a nation, we have projected a sense of righteousness and superiority attitudes that are deeply resented in world. Separateness and superiority have become our way of life, rooted deeply in fear. A question– is our way of living necessarily “right”? Many aspects of American life are unraveling before our very eyes (such as, the ability to live and lead from truth and the ability to care for the whole, our health care system, our economic foundation). I wonder who are we to put forth our superiority? Collective responsibility expressed through empathy and understanding would benefit us all. Therefore, one of the most important things we need in the world today is for each of us to have a sense of what it is like to walk in the shoes of another. Continue reading » »
