I have a client – lets call her Cheryl because that isn’t her name, who is a senior human resources (HR) executive earlier in her career when we first met, she was asked by the Chief People Officer (CPO) of one of there divisions to have her team perform all the recruitment for the field managers. Now that would have been an enormous undertaking. HR would have been over-taxed and unable to deliver its core services. She felt it was the wrong thing to do for the business, needed resources were lacking, and she knew this was not aligned with the business strategy. But the CPO initially felt she was being insubordinate and took the issue to her boss. Her boss supported her not only because they were aligned on the business vision but also because Cheryl presented a sound business rationale for saying no. What my client did do—which is very important—was that she identified another solution, another way it could be accomplished. They out-sourced the recruiting. She helped the CPO think it through and she got credit for developing the strategy and future vision for that (CPO's) division. She did this not because she wanted to get out of work, but because she wanted to do work that adds value and is aligned with the broader vision—work that allows her to grow. She wanted to "keep her hourly rate high" in other words.

When it comes down to it, work/life balance is about more than simply having time-balance in your personal and work spheres. It is about having meaningful engagement both in your personal and professional life. By not saying ‘no’ to some tasks in business—or by saying ‘yes’ before defining your terms—you run the risk of offsetting the balance in both spheres of your life. The quality of your work will suffer if you have too much on your plate or have taken on a project that is not wise for you or the business—and your personal life will suffer because it is from this sphere that you will likely have to borrow from to get more of your most precious resource: your own time.

To hire Charmaine for executive coaching, workshops or keynote speaking, contact us at: (323) 224-6820.

Speaking of Success Tip #3: Don’t forget to develop your bench strength

All organizations should be concerned about how they develop their bench strength; it’s how you grow you business and sustain a certain level of intelligence in the organization.  

Have a well-established program for high potentials, but also have constant professional development for the general population. High potentials are so named not only because they offer a high potential to the organization, but also because they have a high potential of leaving the organization if more attractive offers lie elsewhere—they will be the most heavily recruited individuals within your organization. Your ‘B’ players sustain your organization and are less likely to leave—provided they feel valued in your organization and there are development opportunities for them as well. This is also one of the best ways to make your company desirable: creating development opportunities at all levels in an organization lays the groundwork for becoming an Employer of Choice.

Griffith Laboratories is a great example of an organization committed to talent development at all levels. I was brought in to work with Griffith’s senior management a few years ago to develop and carry forward a variety of programs for Griffith’s leaders and future leaders, but soon was delivering training programs at various levels. Griffith understood that building bench strength would give them great stability and intellectual capital—and it has!

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