In the introduction to this book, I promised to provide you a telescope as you embark on your journey as a manager. In this and the last chapter, you will get two peeks into the telescope. The first one concerns your well-being, while the second look shows you the long runway in your career trajectory.
As a first-time manager, you will have many more milestones ahead of you. Hopefully, with each signpost that you come to, you will find new meaning, purpose and sense of satisfaction. One thing you can count on is that on the road to corporate success, you will be putting in long hours which will take a toll on you physically, mentally and emotionally.
Going by the war stories of “successful people” before us, a common pattern emerges: An endless series of 12 to 14-hour workdays, mounting workload, exhaustion, little family time, constant travelling, poor sleeping habits, unhealthy meals, no time for exercise and weight gain.
The human body, wonderfully resilient and robust as it is, can go on and on taking a lot of abuse and punishment, all in the service of its owners—us. But one day, it will stop working. And that can come suddenly, as the examples that I shall be sharing will show.
If we want to be able to bring more of ourselves to work and live to a ripe old age, then we must invest in our well-being. This means inculcating the ritual of renewing ourselves regularly. There are four domains involved: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
The key is to build into our daily routine short breaks so that we can disengage and recharge ourselves before jumping into the fray again. A manager who has a sense of well-being brings positive energy, hope and optimism to the workplace. He is living a life that will be an inspiration for others to emulate.
The concept of work-life balance has not gained much traction in Asia. Though many governments are alarmed by the falling fertility rates in their population and are actively promoting family-friendly policies, people here tend to put work above everything else.
This work ethic has enabled many Asian countries to make up for lost time and to catch up economically with the developed parts of the world. It also gives Asia a competitive edge over more developed Western countries.
For what it’s worth, it is useful at this point for the first-time manager to pause and address a fundamental question: “Should this be the modus operandi for me for the rest of my career?”
Underpinning this question are two assumptions:
Assumption 1: |
It is hard work and long hours that have made us successful. If we cut back on these, we’ll become soft and will lose out. |
Assumption 2: |
Look at what is happening to the Western countries. While they enjoy a higher quality of life, they are also paying a price in declining economic vigour. Do we want to be like them? |
This is the zero-sum argument. Sounds much like the “either-or” mindset, doesn’t it? Based on this, between work and life, work must always come first. Perhaps, even second, third and fourth. So where does it leave life? Far be it for me to suggest that workers in Asia should abandon their ethic of hard work. However, work and life need not be mutually exclusive. As Asian workers move up the economic ladder and become exposed to new ideas and best practices from around the world, it behooves us to challenge age-old practices and test new possibilities.
We need not continue to accept as an article of faith that the only way to stay ahead is to let work be our be-all and end-all. This is what the Boomers have been doing for the last three to four decades. And one day, they wake up and realize that life has passed them by while they were going full tilt to earn a living.
We have previously discussed the concept of balancing between two polar opposites. The linear “either-or” paradigm accepts unquestioningly that it is either work or life we have to choose between. Hence we choose work. Let’s reconsider. We need not be imprisoned by this outmoded thinking. Let’s instead invoke the concept of complementarity as in the Eastern philosophy of Yin Yang.
All of a sudden, work-life balance does sound plausible, doesn’t it? Well, life is not a spectator sport. It is up to each and every one of us to test this hypothesis and strive for the work-life balance that we seek. It’s a call that each of us must make to decide what works for us. Let’s look at how one manager does it in the following anecdote.
George was a young, high-flying manager in his company. His working hours were so extreme that his bosses became alarmed and were convinced that he was heading towards a complete breakdown. Typically, he would be in the office at 7 a.m. and he wouldn’t leave earlier than 9 p.m., working non-stop and even skipping lunch. Back at home, he would take a quick bath, wolf down some food and then continue working on his computer until 1 a.m. He would take phone calls from the European offices as well.
As he rose early for work and returned home late, his two young children had no interaction with him at all on weekdays. His wife was feeling neglected as George had absolutely no time for her.
On weekends, it was only slightly better. Though George made it a point to spend time with the children, he was otherwise constantly preoccupied with work. As his children put it, Dad was always working, working and working.
When I met George at his boss’s request, sitting in front of me was a nervous and highly- strung young man. At just 34 years old, he was already the Chief Financial Officer or CFO of the European company in Asia. In the last 18 months he had either been travelling or working nearly 24/7 throughout. By his own admission, he wouldn’t be able to last long. He even shared the story of another senior executive in the company who worked just like he. One day, this person woke up and found himself half-paralyzed. With a wry smile, George said he hoped he wouldn’t end up like this.
In the days ahead, he arranged for me to speak with his bosses, peers and subordinates one-on-one to seek their perspectives on his leadership style and working patterns. I also requested to meet with his wife.
What emerged from the interviews was a fascinating picture of a talented person who had lost his sense of balance. He used to be an avid outdoor person who looked forward to his weekends with his family and friends. All that changed when he was quickly promoted many rungs up the ladder. His rapid ascent exceeded his wildest imagination. He was both gratified by the recognition accorded by his bosses and overwhelmed by his increasingly heavy responsibilities.
Co-workers described a kindly and approachable leader who put others’ interest ahead of his own. He was always available for his people—the financial controllers in the countries. Many felt that he was doing work which should have been delegated to them. As he would never say no, colleagues in Europe would make “outrageous requests” for financial data from him. If they wanted them overnight, he would oblige and do it himself.
In the months ahead, George started to understand that the long, punishing hours that he was pulling were in a large part his own doing: not delegating; doing what his subordinates should rightfully be doing; being overly accommodating; not pushing back when he should have, and more importantly, not stepping up to his new responsibilities as a CFO. He also now understood for the first time that his financial controllers, all of whom were senior people, felt that he wasn’t trusting and empowering them. A few put it quite bluntly, “Let us do our job. We are experienced and perfectly capable. We don’t need him to come to our countries to handhold us!”
Three months later, George regained his balance and reclaimed his life. Each morning, he would start the day at 6 a.m. with a 30-minute jog or swim. He would arrive at the office at 7.30 a.m. and leave latest at 7 p.m. By the time he got home, the kids would still be awake. Once the children were in bed, he would work till 9 p.m. After that, as agreed with his wife, he would turn off his computer and his BlackBerry, and devote full attention to her.
He delegated more and empowered his people. Trips to the various countries were reduced from weekly events to travelling on a need-to basis. As he described it, “There is not much need to travel. My guys are on top of the situation. We can check in through emails or over the phone.”
George had learnt to push back and say no to “outrageous requests”. Weekends were now for the family. Working hours had reduced drastically and work and life were now in greater balance. He had become less stressed and more calm. Productivity had improved significantly.
He also discovered that as a senior leader, the way he managed his work-life had an impact on other people around him, for better or for worse. Months ago, when he was spinning out of control, the same feeling was transmitted to his people. They became just as stressed. Now, with his new found balance, the climate had perked up considerably. Colleagues were happier and the mood became one of optimism. Such was the power of emotional contagion. A cheerful heart radiates positive energy that can be picked up by the people around you.
It is commonly understood that a certain amount of stress is necessary for optimal performance. However, too much stress over a prolonged period of time can be extremely harmful. Not only will the people afflicted burn out, their judgment will become erratic. Workplace tension will rise as colleagues become more snappy and short-fused.
When people are constantly under stress and running around frantically, productivity will nosedive. They will work harder and longer and make more errors. Just like the hamster running on the wheel.
Latest studies1 have shown that stress does not just grip us and let go. It will change us by altering our bodies and our brains. When we are stressed, our bodies are flooded with a surge of bio-chemicals. This onslaught chips away at our immune systems, paving the way to cancer, infection and disease. Hormones unleashed by stress eat at our digestive tract and lungs, causing ulcers and asthma. They may also attack the heart, leading to strokes and heart disease. In short, chronic stress is like a slow poison. It kills.
To counter stress, we need to build into our daily routine some anti-stress techniques. Here are some of the keys ones you may enjoy. You will have to experiment and find out what works for you.
♦ Physical exercises such as jogging, walking, swimming, tennis
♦ Meditation
♦ The relaxation response first described by Harvard’s Dr. Herbert Benson
♦ Doing tai-chi or yoga
♦ Listening to music
♦ Hanging out with the family
♦ Playing with children, walking the dog, etc
Many hard-charging managers pride themselves on their ability to work long hours with very little sleep. Like George in our anecdote, such people think that all they need is about four hours, or even less, of sleep. This is a dangerous fallacy. Chronic sleep deficit is not only a performance killer but may cause death!
Recently, I read an article in The Times of India reporting the death of Ranjan Das, CEO and Managing Director of SAP for India. Mr. Das was 42 and the youngest CEO of a multinational corporation in the country. He had just returned after working out in a gym when he collapsed and died of a heart attack.
According to SAP sources, Das epitomized hard work, integrity and a sense of curiosity. He led a very healthy lifestyle, eating right and jogging daily. He had no bad habits such as drinking or smoking, and was always a bundle of energy. Only a few months previously he had even run the Chennai marathon. He was so ambitious and driven that he allowed himself only four hours of sleep a day.
I too had my personal wake-up call a few years ago. In fact, it took two calls to get my attention. At one stage, my consultancy work was so busy that I survived on less than five hours of sleep each day. I was working round the clock, seven days a week, and travelling extensively.
Though my back was constantly in pain and I was suffering from migraine, I ignored all the warning signs and plugged on. Then my body decided to rebel. I suffered a seizure at 8 p.m. at home one night while awaiting a teleconference with my counterparts in Europe. Though I was bedridden for four days, the message was lost on me. As soon as I was out of the hospital, I was back to my punishing routine. Ten months later, I had a second fit—a massive one this time. According to family members and paramedics who arrived, I was in convulsion for an hour while people around me looked on helplessly.
I was placed in intensive care for nearly 10 days. On the night of my admission to the hospital, the doctors warned my family members to prepare for the worst. They said my condition was so bad that it was unlikely that I would pull through. I was put on drip and a life-support system. My life was hanging by a thread. I did pull through. Now the message has finally sunk in.
Our brains need on the average about seven to eight hours of sleep every night. It is foolish, and indeed, dangerous to deprive ourselves of sleep. Not only is chronic sleep deficit a performance killer, it may kill the performer as well.
