__ Leslie W. Braksick, Ph.D.

WORK-LIFE IMBALANCEIS A GOOD THINGHow executives can improve the ebb and flow of work and life

T h ultimate life

8challengefor most

leaders is how to balancehome and work - especiallywith today's demandingtravel schedules. While weare chasing urgent businessgoals, we often lose sightof the truly importantpriorities of family, faith andfriendship.Are we doomed to

workaholism as we laborto ensure our company'ssuccess? Or, the flip side:

will we neveradvance in ourcorporate worldif we put familyfirst? I don'tthink so.After many,

many years atthis, I conclude:There is no suchthing as work-life balance- and that'sOK. We live in aconstant state ofimbalance. Lifeand work eventsnecessitateelasticity inour time andattention towardeach. The key is

to know where you are onthe continuum of imbalanceand to be proactive inmanaging through it.On the work side, you may

face weathering the largesteconomic downturn in ourlifetimes, managing througha merger or acquisition,developing a proposal thatmight double your company'ssize, supporting theleadership of the nonprofitboard you sit on or managingthrough a difficult time. Each

6 Smart Business Pittsburgh I July 2011

of these demands extrahours, conference calls andendless days. These areall guaranteed to impingeon your personal or familytime.

Similarly, on the "life"side, you may face thesudden or prolonged illnessor death of a parent orchild, helping your teenagernavigate a difficult time, orsupporting a close friendwho has encountered atragedy. Each can demanda sudden or prolonged timeaway, such that you needothers to cover for you. Youalso need to honor less-urgent but highly importantthings like your son's littleleague championship, yourdaughter's dance recital or along-planned family vacation,regardless of conflictingbusiness demands.These tugs and pulls define

the ebb and flow of our lives- and that's a good thing. Itwill always be this way. Thekey is to have strategies todeal with it successfully:Take care of your physical

and spiritual health. Committo sleeping, eating healthy,and exercising. You must behealthy, both physically andemotionally, to be at the topof your game. If you don'ttake care of your body, thenwhere will you live?

Get ahead of your scheduleby prioritizing your time. It'sone thing to manage tugsand pulls, but it's anotherto be the caboose gettingwhipped around becauseyou've lost control of your

schedule. Work closely withyour assistant or teammatesto ensure everyone is alignedon where your time shouldbe spent.Know who your A-Team

is at work. Tell themabout both the businesspriorities and your personalcommitments. Enroll keypeople who can help youseamlessly cover work needswhen your attention must beelsewhere.On the home front,

recognize your unsungheroes. Devote specialattention to your spouse/partner/parent who sets thetone for how your childrenand others understand thedemands of your job andyour absence from events.Recognize the huge impactyour work challenges haveon your unsung heroes andhow hard they work to helphold everything together. Youcannot thank them enough.Remember that what we

sow, we reap. So, model yoursupport of others when theirwork-life imbalance shiftsunexpectedly. In doing so,you are demonstrating howothers can help you do thesame. Because you bringpassion to both your workand life, and bring yourA-game to the table everyday in all that you do, youwill inevitably emphasizeone over the other at times,thereby living fully intoyour work-life imbalance.But that's a good thing. Justknow its happening and planaccordingly. «

LESLIE W. BRAKSICK, PH. D .. is co-founder of CLG Inc. and author of "Preparing CEOs lorSuccess: What I Wish I Knew" (2010) and "Unlock Behavior, Unleash Profits" (2007). Braksickadvises top executives, their leadership teams and boards 01 directors on issues of strategy execution,leadership effectiveness and organizational performance. She can be reached at Ibraksick@clg.com.