THE FIRST-TIME MANAGER OFTEN BECOMES so engrossed in new responsibilities that the job occupies almost every waking moment. This dedication is admirable, because it indicates that the person is determined to do a great job and be successful as a member of the management team.
A healthy life must have balance, however; while your career is important, it is not your entire life. Actually, you will be a more complete manager if you are a more complete person. You cannot separate the two.
When you ask people what they do, they will automatically tell you what they do for a living. They might be a dentist, accountant, lawyer, salesperson, manager, barber, or truck driver. But we are all so much more than what we do professionally—or if we’re not, we should be.
There are many sad stories of people who retire and lose their sense of identity and self-worth. Their job was their life, and when they retire, they lose their sense of purpose. A person who has this reaction to retirement is not a complete person. Their interests, other than their families, all revolve around their careers. It’s understandable to miss your work, especially if you enjoyed it, but retirement should never be the end of all meaningful life.
A person whose only interest is the job is one-dimensional, and a one-dimensional person is not as effective a manager as a multidimensional person. I’m not referring to your first few months on the job. But after you have successfully passed through the breaking-in period, you need to broaden your interests and your activities.
COMMUNITY WORK
Those who aspire to management need to be involved in their community. You don’t want to take from a community and not put something of yourself back into it. The same is true of your profession. Put something back into your profession through professional associations. These are not completely altruistic recommendations. The primary objective is to be of assistance to your community and the cause of the profession, but there are ancillary benefits. You become known within your community and your profession. You enhance your base of knowledge, and you make contacts and friends. That not only makes you a broader-based manager, but also a more promotable one. And the higher you go in the organization, the more important leadership becomes. Community and professional association leadership positions are good growth opportunities and are viewed favorably in the executive suite of most companies.
There have been countless situations where two people being considered for promotion were both qualified as far as the work was concerned. Although a close call, the difference came down to leadership within and outside the company. In many companies today, staff is allowed “release time” to engage in company-sanctioned community service programs.
OUTSIDE READING
While it is vital that you read about your business, it is also important that you are a well-read person. A manager should be a well-informed citizen and should know what is going on in her city, state, and nation. That means keeping up to date by reading news websites, newspapers, news magazines, industry blogs, and trade magazines. A manager needs to be well-informed about the world: What is going on in the world does affect your organization.
It also helps to read a good novel once in a while. Reading well-written books will improve the quality of your writing. In addition, good fiction writers often have great insight into the human condition. Besides, these books are entertaining, and that is positive too. Some managers have their teams read the same book and then the book is discussed at a meeting or get-together. The book can be on leadership, communication, or a subject related to their business. This practice makes for great discoveries about each of the team members and helps build a high-performing team.
All people at all stages of their lives need to stay mentally challenged and alert. It’s much easier to do that if you maintain broad-based interests. Reading is just one way to do that.
A HEALTHY SEPARATION
You must have the ability and determination to separate work from the rest of the day. It is important to be able to leave work at work and go on with the rest of your life. We need to have interests, hobbies, and other things to do outside of work. A fitness program that meets your needs and keeps you interested is of great value. Exercise is an excellent way to relieve stress.
You will inevitably need to take work home with you at times. At the very least, you will likely find yourself at home in the evenings catching up on emails. Ideally it would not be necessary to do work at home, but in reality that is nearly unavoidable. Work hard to minimize the work you do at home. Try not to fall into the trap of getting less done at the office knowing you can catch up at home. When you do have to get work done at home, set clear boundaries such as allocating specific time blocks for the work and abiding by them. Above all, do not let the work you take home overtake your personal life, which you need to preserve in order to maintain a healthy balance. Technology makes this even more challenging.
WORK/LIFE BALANCE IN AN ALWAYS-CONNECTED WORLD
Maintaining balance between your work life and your personal life will require you to be very intentional and specific with your colleagues. For better or worse, we are now accessible at all hours. The challenge of not letting that connectivity take over your life has two components. The first is your self-discipline in deciding when you are unavailable. If you feel a need to check email at all hours and read text messages regardless of what hour of the night they arrive you will never be successful at creating balance.
The second component is training your colleagues. Do not hesitate to make it clear to your colleagues that you are not available at certain hours unless there is an absolute emergency. This may require you to silence your phone at night or keep it in another room so you do not hear it unless it rings repeatedly. Challenges in this realm include colleagues and customers in other time zones. There is nothing wrong with reminding them that during some of their work hours you are away from the office and in need of personal time or sleep.
Another challenge is the inconsiderate colleague who thinks nothing of texting or calling at all hours. It is up to you to make it clear to that type of person that you are not available at certain times. Sometimes the best way to train that colleague is to not respond to off-hours messages until the next business day. Even a clueless and inconsiderate person will figure out with time that they are not going to hear back from you during certain time windows.
This all starts with you. If you are not able to discipline yourself to stay offline during certain hours and be direct with your colleagues you will need to accept that your personal life will not be your own. It is your choice.