Advertisement
Advertisement
Balance.jpg
ATD Blog

Growing Talent Development Firms: Is Work–Life Balance a Reality?

Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Advertisement

In my last blog post, I suggested you can be either involved or committed with your business. And while it is certainly a continuum, with grades of degree, the behaviors associated with each are quite different. I argued that while on the surface, being committed seemed to ensure the most likely path to success, it could also be relatively unhealthy to totally commit to your business. After all, there are other things in life to enjoy. As they say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Naturally, this brought up the issue of work–life balance. So, I ask the question: Is there really such a thing, and if so, how much compromise with either must be made to achieve the ideal balance? In fact, what exactly is ideal? Is it simply a matter of what individuals can personally tolerate? After all, we all have varying degrees of activities and demands pulling us one way or the other; some personal, some family, and some work-related. The choices are often very difficult to make. On the one hand, you might feel that if you work too much, you won’t permit enough time to spend either with your family or in your personal endeavors and interests. On the other hand, if you spend a lot of time with your family, it may detract from the time you can devote to building your business, which could negatively impact the amount of time you can spend doing other things. While many of us may use the excuse of needing to work so that we can support our family, it’s a rationalization that can be readily unraveled. The same argument applies: Are you just involved with your family, or committed to it?

The challenge, however, is that work–life balance is largely presented as an either/or proposition. We feel we can’t fully commit to one without sacrificing the other—the proverbial zero-sum game. But this may be a fabricated assumption; to the extent we make it an either/or decision, it will always be one. The result is a lose-lose outcome.

So, how do we manage a win-win outcome? A few years ago, I had a leadership development defense system client. The pressures of that industry are ongoing, as its success is often left up to uncontrollable, unpredictable, and varying government agendas and budgets. One part of our executive level course was a “fireplace chat” wherein participants could ask any questions of the CEO. Invariably, one consistent topic that would surface was how to achieve work–life balance in an environment requiring constant vigilance in the defense of our country.

Advertisement

The CEO gave an insightful response that has stuck with me all these years and changed my entire approach to this difficult challenge. She flat-out stated that work–life balance doesn’t really exist in the business world, especially at the executive level. Instead, it is all about how you integrate the two. She contended that trying to compartmentalize life and work as two separate entities of equal weight was a no-win situation. Her solution was to integrate them 24/7.

Advertisement

You might argue this is simply a semantics answer that avoids addressing the real issue. But I think there is considerable merit in the attempt to reframe the problem this way. I am not sure what integration looks like; it is probably different for each of us. Nonetheless, it avoids having to make the distinction between being just involved or fully committed to your work. You can have both, as long as you define it to meet your individual needs.

Where are you on the work–life balance continuum? What could you do to integrate your work with your life to achieve the lifestyle you want?

About the Author

Steve Cohen is founder and principal of the Strategic Leadership Collaborative, a private consulting practice focused on business strategy and development. A 40+ year veteran of the talent development industry, largely on the supplier side, he has demonstrated a proven track record for building equity by growing top and bottom-line performance for eight different consulting enterprises in the education and training industry he has either founded and/or led. He has been called on to consult with numerous firms needing strategic planning guidance, business coaching, and board advisory services.

His first book, The Complete Guide to Building and Growing a Talent Development Firm, was published by ATD in 2017. His recent follow-up, 12 Winning Strategies for Building a Talent Development Firm is now available on Amazon.

He can be reached at: 952.942.7291 or [email protected].

Be the first to comment
Sign In to Post a Comment
Sorry! Something went wrong on our end. Please try again later.