Summer beckons and many will be looking forward to a break from work to enjoy a holiday. Modern technology, however, means that it takes an iron will not to occasionally check work email when relaxing on the beach or quaffing beer in a bar in the evening. Completely detaching from work while on holiday is really important because it benefits your mental and physical wellbeing, and it makes you more focused, creative, and productive on returning to work. A refreshed mind, for example, generates better ideas, is more objective and productive, and is more creative when problem-solving.
The Badger normally took a two-week summer vacation throughout his career. One year, however, after leading a major fixed-price, IT system delivery to completion, his employer approved a three-week break to enable his batteries to fully recharge! The project had been challenging for the whole team from the outset. Everyone had done a magnificent job and were exhausted. The Badger’s three-week break proved to be seminal. It was the first time that he truly detached from every aspect of work while on holiday. The break fully revived his mental sharpness, physical energy, and motivation, and it produced much greater awareness that work-life balance is important no matter what role you fulfil at work.
The Badger returned to work afterwards refreshed, focused, and determined to establish a better work-life balance. On his first day back, while liberally applying the delete key to his email backlog, the company Chief Executive called unexpectedly. Caught off-guard, the Badger’s initial surprise and immediate pang of anxiety quickly dissipated. The CEO wanted the Badger, a delivery practitioner, to join the company’s overall leadership team to oversee all projects across the company. The CEO sensed the Badger’s hesitation and made three points. Firstly, that it was a good career move and also what the company needed. Secondly, that the role would broaden the Badger’s leadership skills, his perspective of how the company operated, and that it would sharpen the overall leadership team and improve decision-making with company-wide impact. The third was that delivery actually produced the company’s profits, and so home-grown delivery leadership talent was preferable for the role rather than recruiting externally.
The Badger mentioned his greater appreciation of work-life balance. The CEO chuckled and noted that while every person is different, the reality was that intelligent, focused individuals who want job satisfaction and success find a balance that enables them to achieve these objectives. The Badger took on the role, never looked back, and learned over the years that the CEO was right. Successful careers are built primarily on hard work and getting the job done, and finding the right work-life dynamic that works for the individual and their personal circumstances…
