Keith Hammonds' October feature story, Balance Is Bunk! reassesses the state of work-life balance. Can we ever truly design a balanced life that works? Or is the journey a neverending series of tradeoffs and accomodations?
In her blog Talking Story, Rosa Say considers a couple of additional layers to the discussion. Reading a recent Margaret Heffernan column in parallel with an FC Now entry about management characteristics, Say challenges Margaret's contention that an emphasis on hours -- time spent at the office -- is about dominance and top-down control. Instead, she offers, our leaders may very well be lonely.
"Many managers are overworked, need help and direction, and want company," Say writes.
What think you? Are our leaders -- is being a leader -- lonely?
Related Stories: | Topics:Work/Life, work-life balance, Keith Hammonds, Margaret Heffernan, Business, Jobs and Labor, Worklife |
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Recent Comments | 3 Total
October 6, 2004 at 11:46am by Kathryn
My vote is fear. The work harder, faster mentality is a factor of fear, fear and distrust. By with holding information management 1) works blind and requests others to do the same, 2) forgets who needs to know thus generating a "they don't care" mentality, 3) create an excuse for not taking the time to do what's really needed (think/reflect, share, experiment, train, educate, etc.). All of these have consequences, inluding an increased desire to control/frce/manipulate each other, a feeling that no one cares or understands (loneliness), and anger (others get in the way, don't care, etc.).
If we are willing to slow down, open up and plan, we can get out of many of these issues. Faster, harder, doesn't cut it.
October 6, 2004 at 12:54pm by Kelleen
I'm intrigued by the leap that's being made here. Yes, leadership can be lonely (as well as stimulating, rewarding, frustrating, etc.), especially if one is doing it right. However, I think real leaders accept that as part of the burden of leadership.
While I can trace the path that has been made from work-life balance to control to loneliness, I still think it's quite a leap. It almost seems like we're blaming someone other than ourselves for our own imbalance.
October 6, 2004 at 4:22pm by Rosa Say
Aloha Heath. The intention of my blog’s post was to point out the perceptive accuracy of Kate Bernhard’s statement; it’s easy for new managers to confuse what they do with who they are. My message was directed to the leaders of a business, urging them to spend more time mentoring the managers who work for them so that new supervisors in particular can create good work habits early in the game.
However, I’m glad to see that your twist here to focus some attention on the loneliness factor inherent in mid and top-level leadership is also stimulating some discussion. Kathryn makes an excellent point in her earlier comment on the fear factor: the positive flip side to her red flags is what happens when information is shared instructively and inclusively; that’s where mentorship flourishes. Thank you for continuing the discussion!