Control Your Circumstances – Work Life Balance
Are you in a leadership role where the targets are moving, results seem unachievable and you are struggling to find good people?
If you are in a multi unit role, there are times where you may feel you are never going to get ahead. You take two steps forward only to feel as if you immediately, then take 5 steps backwards. You may also have a struggle with balancing personal and professional life, leading to you contemplating jumping ship and starting over.
You may feel under appreciated and grow frustrated more and more each minute. If you have the above happening, you are not alone!
Don’t Give In, Don’t Quit!
Think back to the joy and excitement you felt when you finally became a multi unit manager. You were on top of the world and could conquer anything and everything that was thrown at you!
What Happened, What Changed? What Happened To Work Life Balance
Typically, we end up getting in a rut going through the motions and putting fires out. When we become the do’ers vs leaders, we typically begin to lose our ability as remote leaders to foresee any future issues in front of our nose to react to. We tend to overreact and chase the clock. This then leads to more fires as we grab our hose and work more hours each week while producing decreasing results & metrics while the viscous cycle continues to repeat itself.
Before you know it, weeks turn into months, months turn into half a year to a year. You then realize you have sacrificed family functions and personal balance. Now you become resentful to your organization, feel trapped, irritable and dream of an escape. Sound familiar? If so….
Stop the madness!!!
Take a moment and breathe. Literally, sit there and take a few deep breaths, go into your office, shut your phone down and eliminate interruption and distractions. It is time to think, really think about what the obstacles are and how to remove them. This is not an organizational issue, this is a time management, managerial / leadership issue. Yes, as you are thinking, you must first begin to look in the mirror to reflect to move forward.
The importance of solving the current situation is because you will face the same circumstances with the same role in any organization. You need to figure out how to conquer the situation you are not pleased with. How to balance your life while achieving results. There is a solution and there have been many people in your shoes that had overcome this challenge.
Get some of the frustrations off your chest
It is ok to seek advice from your superiors. Your managers are unable to help if you have not shared your questions or concerns. It is time to seek advice and guidance in order to allow those whom care about you to support you. Remember, your managers are not mind readers, you should not keep these feelings of frustration inside until inevitably, you end up giving notice.
Do not assume you know what your manager will say or think, I can assure you, if you are authentic and are seeking guidance without allowing emotion to get involved, 9 Times out of 10, your manager will help get you unstuck. To prepare yourself for this conversation, be honest with your manager, inform him or her of a couple potential solutions. Then gain their guidance to determine if you are on the right page.
I am sure you allow your team to vent to you at times. It may not change the circumstance or improve results but it sure does allow your team to unleash and remove the feelings of anxiety. Do yourself a favor and also seek the support of your manager. Venting upwards vs down will at least give your manager the opportunity to assist you. This will also give you the opportunity to release some of your anxiety and stress.
Don’t let your feeling fester
If you do not vent to your manager, typically you will vent to everyone in your personal life. This creates a tainted group of people when you seek advice as to whether or not you should hang the towel up. If they only hear your frustrations, of course they will guide you to leave.
The other element we get trapped with from time to time, when in this predicament, is to over exaggerate how bad everything really is. Ever caught yourself uttering how much you have been working? How you haven’t had dinner at home in 7 weeks? You work every weekend? Have you ever said these things, knowing that they are exaggerated to an extent?
They may feel true but upon analysis, they are mild exaggerations. In essence, you are snowballing this vicious cycle and sabotaging yourself from being able to solve the problem. If you really want to conquer this Work Life Balance challenge, focus on the present and the future vs a tainted picture of the past. If you continue to look backward and you are bound to walk straight into a wall!
Analyze your workweek to find balance
How much are you really working? Have you asked what the expectations from a workweek are or are you creating your own vision of what it should be? It never hurts to ask questions. Identify what the expected workweek is and challenge yourself to find solutions to get everything done in that amount of time. If you keep working 10 more hours every week to get everything accomplished, when will you figure out how not too? You will not, the 10 hours will eventually turn into 15 and 20 and you will blame the organization for this lifestyle vs seeking alternatives to work through others to get everything done.
During your brainstorming session, identify the 5 reasons why this problem of overworking is continuing to happen. Ask yourself –“Why am I working this many hours.” Once you answer the question, repeat the process and ask why / answer 4 more times. This will surely identify what the true root cause is and get you moving closer to work life balance.
Mindset yields focus and direction
If you are able to switch from a victim mindset to a solutions based mindset, you will find more solutions vs more reasons you are frustrated. Take the time to outline the time suckers and place roadblocks against these. The culture you create for your team is a culture allowed – whether bad or great.
Create leaders whom are able to think for themselves and amazing things will happen within your market. Do not swoop in and answer every questions. Do not try to fix every issue – instead ask your team questions. More times than not, your team has the answers, they just lack the confidence. Unleash the confidence within your team and step back from the role of fixer.
The multi unit manager role is a difficult role! However, there are many successful people within this role whom have figured out how to balance their personal and professional life. You are able to do the same if you are focused relentlessly on finding the solution. If you are looking for specific guidance on your opportunities and frustrations, please reach out to us at leadershipism so we are able to assist.
Good luck you and if you need any advice becoming unstuck and navigating the waters of work life balance, please ask!
