Create Career Sustainability One “Tweak” At a Time

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I am blessed & honored to have Cali Yost guest blog.  The New York Times calls her “one of the smartest, sophisticated thinkers” and Mashable lists her as 1 of the Top 14 Career Experts on Twitter.  Personally, Cali has helped me achieve work+life fit! Not an easy task and an ongoing process.  I urge you to read her post and buy her book.  It will make a big difference in your life.
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A couple of years ago, Sharon’s financial research team moved to another bank.  It was a difficult and stressful period.  Everyone logged long hours and frequent business trips across multiple time zones.

They did it because what mattered most, at the time, was that their team stayed together and made the transition a success.  But now, as Sharon explained when I met with her recently, “The leadership team is literally falling apart and we are only in our mid 40’s.”

“My two direct reports, who have been with me for over ten years, are having the most trouble.  One has migraine headaches that are so severe that, once or twice a week, he’s either late or doesn’t come in at all.  The other is in the midst of a messy and distracting divorce.”

She continued, “I am trying to be patient. I don’t want to let either of them go.  I’ve already lost too many valuable people. We have been through a lot together and they help me run the business.  I’ve tried to give them the work flexibility they need to deal with their issues.  I am hopeful, but I need a life too.”

“I can’t help but wonder what we could have done differently.  At the time, it seemed as if we had no choice but to give everything we had to work.  Looking back, the pace was unsustainable.  We are all paying the price now.  Unfortunately, I’m not sure what the alternative would have been. ”  Then she stopped and looked at me, “Was there an alternative?”

Sadly, Sharon and her team are not alone.  Leaders in today’s competitive, 24/7, global economy easily fall into an “all work, all the time” trap.  It may seem to make perfect sense at the time.  But, ultimately, it undermines the very career longevity and success they are trying to achieve, personally and for their team. 

The “all work, all the time” behavior of leaders sets the tone for the rest of the workplace.  It makes it difficult for others to confidently take the lead and manage their responsibilities on and off the job.

I explained to Sharon that small shifts in how the team approaches work and life will help them recover from and avoid the trap in the future. 

In my new book, TWEAK IT: Make What Matters to You Every Day (Center Street/Hachette) I share how to build a solid foundation of everyday well-being and order in the face constantly competing demands.  The steps include:

Take deliberate action in the areas that sustain your health, personal relationships, career networks, job skills and life maintenance, or they won’t happen.  Fifteen years ago, before mobile phones and the Internet, you could put in a 10-hour workday, go home and focus uninterrupted on other parts of your life.  No more.  You need to put up the boundaries.  My research shows that most of us still haven’t quite grasped this fact. 

Openly encourage work+life “fit,” not balance.  Say the words “work-life balance” and leaders immediately laugh, roll their eyes and throw up their hands like they’ve heard the most ridiculous joke.  In their minds, a 50-50 split between work and life is never going to happen.  So why bother. 

But work+life “fit” is not only possible.  It is a must.  It’s about finding the fit between your work and life based on your current realities on and off the job.  If there’s a lot of work right now, fine.  In that context, what could you do to get some sleep, eat healthfully, move your body, connect with your loved ones or whatever you need to do to be fresh and your best?  That’s your fit.

Follow the simple, weekly TWEAK IT practice.  It helps you harness the power small, deliberate actions, or “tweaks,” that makes a big difference.  Look at your work and personal “to do s” for the week. What’s missing? What do you want more of, and less of? What do you want to continue? Write the small actions in the areas that matter to you right now on your calendar and priority list.  Get to bed early one night.  Have dinner with your partner and don’t check your phone. Attend a class to learn a new skill, or plan a long weekend away.  It doesn’t take much, but over time, these moments add up.

Communicate with, collaborate with and cover for each other so that what matters at work and in life gets done, flexibly and creatively.  For example, after the team returns from a business trip, take turns working from home one day.  Instead of commuting that day, pay your bills.  Walk your dog.  Catch your breath.  This coordination is especially important in businesses with global clients.  Create a time zone coverage schedule so everyone gets periodic breaks from late night calls and emails. 

Don’t seek perfection.  If you achieve 70% of the small actions that matter to you, it’s better than 0%.  You may miss lunch with a friend because of an important work call, but the point is that you made a conscious choice.  You deliberately, and intentionally chose whether or not you will take that call or miss that lunch.  Rather than having it not happen by default. 

If Sharon and her team follow these steps, they won’t fall into the “all work, all the time” trap again and would still get the job done.  In our highly mobile, always on, 24-7 society, business success must include career sustainability.  We create it together one small, deliberate, imperfect “tweak” at a time. 

What small actions matter the most in your everyday work+life fit?

To take the lead and start managing your everyday work+life fit, read TWEAK IT: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day. Track your “tweaks of the week” on your mobile device with the “My Tweaks” tracker on the www.tweakittogether.com site.  

Are Non-Profits Doomed to Fail in Haiti?

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With the 3rd anniversary of Haiti's Earthquake upon us, I asked Kona Shen, Founder and Director of GOALS Haiti, for her perspective.  Kona has a long-standing passion for Haiti and has lived there for the past 3 years. She's seen what has and hasn't worked with the aid that has flowed into the country. This is Kona's second post here and third mention.  Her insights give us pause to think, especially about 'social' enterprises.
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It’s hard to know anything in Haiti. Take the unemployment rate: it may be 52%, it may be 70%, or it may be higher. Like everything in this country, it depends whom you ask, and why.

This lesson is one of the first I learned in Haiti. I began volunteering in Haiti in 2007, and moved to Léogane in 2010 to begin my work with GOALS. The more time I spend here, the less I know. This is especially true following the January 12, 2010 earthquake that killed 230,000-300,000 people.

The earthquake was one the largest natural disasters in modern history. About half of American households donated, and aid poured into Haiti, determined to do good (New York Daily News). This year, the media marked the three-year anniversary with a review of aid efforts. The Independent published, “Haiti: the graveyard of hope,” while TIME published, “Haiti Three Years After the Quake: There’s Good News, Too.” Clearly, there is a wide range of opinion. And if there’s something Haiti has plenty of, it’s opinions.

Parts of Haiti have achieved remarkable progress in their recovery since 2010. In Léogane, where I live, streets are now paved, there are more public wells, and new businesses have opened their doors. The town is starting to look more and more like its pre-earthquake self: poor, but bustling with entrepreneurial activity.

Foreign aid is complicated everywhere, but perhaps especially so in Haiti. Historically, Haiti was fiercely independent. In 1804, a thirteen-year slave rebellion was won and Haiti became the world’s first black republic. In the following decades, Haitians successfully fended off foreign invasions while simultaneously succumbing to a long cycle of internal upheavals.

Today, Haiti is infamous for deep-seated aid dependency and its heavy reliance on remittances from abroad. Throughout Haiti’s history, people have survived slavery, dictators, and disasters. As with everything else, foreign aid has become another opportunity for families to strategize new ways to create better lives for themselves and their children.

Knowing all of this, what role do non-profits have in Haiti?

There are an estimated 3,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Haiti. In 2005, only 343 were registered with the government (Schuller). Today, the number is still under 600. Granted, it’s not an easy process to register; GOALS has not yet completed it, and our application is currently being reviewed by the Haitian government. But there is a systematic reluctance for non-profits to recognize a need to play by the rules in Haiti. The wasted funds, the sloppy results, and the lost opportunity to “build back better” – if it ever existed – are closely tied to this disregard.

Compounding the problem is a poor allocation of the resources that do exist. A study published in the Fall 2010 edition of The Journal of Haitian Studies showed that “it is 125 times more likely for someone outside of metropolitan Port-au-Prince to be in need for water, food, medicine, clothing or tents,” but that only 4% of NGOs focused outside of the Port-au-Prince area. Too often, foreign aid becomes oriented around donor’s preferences and opinions, and not real needs on the ground.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal (“Why Charity Hasn’t Done Much for Haiti”) argues that non-profits disrupt market economics because freely distributed resources reduce pressures on politicians to enact needed reforms. Foreign donors, of course, have their own agendas. Of every $100 of Haiti reconstruction contracts awarded by the American government, $98.40 went back to American companies (National Public Radio).

On the ground, the story is more nuanced. Non-profits that hire locally, buy locally, and build locally are injecting funds from foreign donors to boost local economies. It is a tertiary effect – beyond direct and indirect social impacts – but an important one. These programs not only provide services, but pay salaries and increase local business, too. Ultimately, non-profits can be stakeholders if they deliver results, partner with governments, and stay committed.

There are no easy answers to solve Haiti’s problems. Non-profits do have the information needed, though, to adopt recommended practices to better serve those in need. We must recognize the role of the Haitian government. We must create services based on real needs, not perceived ones, when such information is available. We must support local economies. We must be realistic. Real change is often slow, long-term, and riddled with failures along the way.

Most of all, we must keep an open mind. There is rarely one right answer, and solutions come in many guises. Haiti has taught me many lessons, but this tops the list: the less you’re sure you know, the better.