Four years ago today…

 

In my mind, today is the four-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic in the United States. On this day in 2020, both the Houston Rodeo and the NBA shut down entirely. Not long after that the entire country was pretty much in a lock down. For some of us it was a few weeks, for others it was much longer. Every single person, business, organization, and activity in our world was impacted. Many are still feeling that impact. Our world is not the same four years later.

 

What have we learned? I will stay away from medical, political, or socio-economic lessons. What have you learned as an individual? I have shared these questions before. They are worth considering again. Actually, they are worth considering frequently, not just in the wake of a pandemic.

 

·         Are you going to have better family relationships?

·         Have you learned a new craft or skill?

·         Are you growing in your faith?

·         Have you discovered new ways to give back in your community?

·         Will you be more serious about saving 2-3 months of living expenses?

·         Has your perspective about work/life balance changed?

·         Do you have new goals and objectives for the balance of the year?

·         Will you bring a new level of commitment and energy to your job or your business?

·         Have you read a business or self-help book you have been putting off?

Balance

 

There is always a lot of talk about work life balance. I want you to consider a different aspect of balance. There are fine lines in life that requires intentionality to navigate.

Consider…

·         Our strengths too excess, become our weakness

·         We often treat our loved ones worse than people we don’t even know

·         Things we love can become obsessions and unhealthy habits

·         A singular hyperfocus on any one aspect of life leaves voids other parts of our lives

·         Ever had a love/hate relationship?

How do you balance these aspects of your life?

Remember this line from a Jimmy Buffett song…

-       “It’s a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.”

Leadership is Balance

The challenge of being a leader is walking a fine line that requires incredible balance and sensitivity.  Great leadership qualities can’t be taken to extremes, they have to be balanced.  The challenge is to be…

·         strong, but not rude

·         kind, but not weak

·         bold, but not overbearing

·         humble, but not timid

·         proud , but not arrogant

Successful leaders are good at balancing these qualities.  How about you?

The Fine Line of Leadership

The challenge of being a leader is walking a fine line that requires incredible balance and sensitivity.  Great leadership qualities can’t be taken to extremes; they have to be balanced.  The challenge is to be…

• strong, but not rude
• kind, but not weak
• bold, but not overbearing
• humble, but not timid
• confident , but not arrogant

Successful leaders are good at balancing these qualities.  How about you?

Life Balance

"We praise people who want balance in their lives, but reward those who work themselves to death."

-       Roy Neel

What a confusing message, the difference between who we praise and who we reward.  Roy Neel is the former Deputy Chief of Staff for President Clinton who quit that position to take a job that would allow him to spend more time with his family.  It really is funny the way we get things backwards in our society.  Neel saw that and did something about it.  Good for him.  We should all do what we can about these inconsistencies.  How can we expect our children to understand balance when we reward the opposite behavior?  How can we as adults feel good about choices that lead to balance if the rewards are based on different criteria?  In your own world, your home, your department, your company, think about the behavior you reward versus the behavior you praise.  Shouldn’t they be the same?