2. INTRODUCTION
Senior executives have discovered through hard
experience that prospering at their level is a matter of
carefully combining work and home.
To learn how they reconcile their professional and
personal lives, the authors drew on five years' worth of
interviews with almost 4,000 executives worldwide,
conducted by students at Harvard Business School, and
a survey of 82 executives in an HBS leadership course.
3. IDEA IN BRIEF
•The Problem
• Today’s senior
executives feel they
can’t achieve balance
through constant
juggling, which
prevents them from
engaging meaningfully
either at work or at
home.
•The Solution
• They find that they are
more focused and
effective by making
deliberate choices
about which
opportunities they will
pursue and which they
will decline.
•The Outcome
• Leaders who maintain
their own human
capital this way
maintains a higher
degree of success and
satisfaction.
4. MAIN THEMES
Many of the executives studied—men and women alike—have
sustained their momentum during challenges while staying
connected to their families.
Their stories and advice reflect five main themes:
Defining success for
yourself
Managing technology
Building support networks at
work and at home
Traveling or relocating
selectively
Collaborating
with your partner.
5. DEFINING SUCCESS FOR YOURSELF
One has to define what success means to him/her —understanding, of
course, that their definition will evolve over time.
7. IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS
In the interviews executives often defined personal success by telling a
story or describing an ideal self or moment in time.
• Several male executives who admitted to spending inadequate time with
their families consider absence an acceptable price for providing their
children with opportunities they themselves never had.
• “Looking back, I would have still made a similar decision to focus on
work, as I was able to provide for my family and become a leader in my
area, and these things were important to me.”
• “The 10 minutes I give my kids at night is one million times greater than
spending that 10 minutes at work.”
8. IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS
• It’s difficult to imagine a woman congratulating herself for
spending 10 minutes a day with her children, but a man may
consider the same behavior exemplary.
• Men still think of their family responsibilities in terms of
breadwinning, whereas women often see theirs as role modeling
for their children.
• “I think that work is such a big part of who I am. I want my kids to
understand what I do. I am a whole being.”
• “When you are paid well, you can get all the [practical] help you
need. What is the most difficult thing, though—what I see my
women friends leave their careers for—is the real emotional guilt
of not spending enough time with their children. The guilt
of missing out.”
10. TECHNOLOGY
• 24 hour availability
• Flexibility
• Connectivity
• Creates mobility
• Saves Time
Advantages
• Causes Distraction at Work and
at home
• Affects Workplace Relationships
• Affects effective communication
• Makes employees lazy
Disadvantages
11. WHAT WE CAN DO??????
Make yourself available but not too available to your team; be honest with
yourself about how much you can multitask; build relationships and trust
through face time; and keep your in-box under control.
“ DECIDINGWHEN,WHERE,ANDHOWTO BE ACCESSIBLE FOR WORK IS AN ONGOING
CHALLENGE,PARTICULARLY FOR EXECUTIVES WITH FAMILIES”
12. BUILDING SUPPORT
NETWORKS
Strong network of behind-the-scenes supporters required.
Absence of primary caregivers necessities the need for paid-
help or extended family.
The thought that you can control everything is wrong.
In case of medical conditions and difficult times support
networks are required to return to normal life.
13. WHY DO WE REQUIRE SUPPORT NETWORKS???
To do tactical things, so that we could be available for
more important things
Support for maintaining family
Emotional support
For a fresh perspective on a problem or a decision
Compassionate bosses and colleagues can even save a
a sinking career
14. SEPARATE OR INTEGRATEDWORKAND PERSONALNETWORKS???
Men preferred separate networks
Women are split over the idea
Integration leads to a relief of being the same person everywhere
Keeping both lives separate help in maintaining efficiency and professionalism
Earlier women were very careful with their images but now “ more women have
come into the workplace, the more I talk about my children “ was pointed out by
a female executive.
15. REASONS WHY PEOPLE PREFER KEEPING WORK AND
PERSONAL LIVES SEPARATE:
SEEKING NOVELTY A COUNTERBALANCE TO
WORK
MAY LEAD TO AN EVER-DECREASING
CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE AND IDEAS
PROTECTING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
FROM THE CHURN OF THE WORKPLACE
WOMEN FEAR HARMING THEIR IMAGE AND
APPEARING UNPROFESSIONAL
16. TRAVELING OR RELOCATING SELECTIVELY
Work life balance is not only about managing time but also about
managing location and more broadly, a person’s role in the global economy
While deciding to relocate or not ,home lives play a huge part
32% of those surveyed had turned down an international assignment
because they did not want to relocate their families
28% did so to protect their marriages
Several executives told about getting sidetracked or derailed in their
careers as a partner or spouse needed to relocate
Travelling becomes trickier with kids
Children are mobile when very young but they want to be in one place
once they turn adolescents or 12 or 13 years of age.
17. “ MANY LEADERS BELIEVE IN ACQUIRING GLOBAL
EXPERIENCE AND RACKING UP TRAVEL MILES WHILE
THEY’RE YOUNG AND UNENCUMBERED”
18. GENDER DIVIDE IN RELOCATION
Females employees are less likely to accept international offers
compares to their male counterparts
Almost none of the men surveyed ( less than 1%, compared with 13% of
the women ) had turned an international assignment because of cultural
concerns
One American woman pointed out that it requires extra effort in Europe
to make sure that she does not “ come off as being intimidating ” a
concern she attributes in parts to being tall.
Another women in Middle East was quoted as saying “ she has had to
bring male colleagues to meetings to prove her credibility
19. REASONS WHY WOMEN ARE UNWILLING TO
RELOCATE
Family Responsibilities
Restrictive Gender Roles in Certain Cultures
Perception that they are unwilling to relocate
Not all travel is equal : Gender Norms, employment laws,
health-care access and views on WLB vary across countries
20. OBSERVATIONS
International assignments are not easy for anyone, or they may not be simply worth it for executives but
they are particularly difficult for women
Members of both the sexes have built gratifying careers while grounding themselves in a particular
country or even city
If travel is undesirable , ambitious young executives should decide so early on so that they do not get
trapped in an industry that does not mesh with their geographic preferences
Travelling is a sign of open-mindedness, sophistication, skill diversity and willingness to go over and
above so the executives not willing to travel should find alternative ways to signal these attributes
Exposure across business lines is equally important as travelling as both help to understand “ THAT
NOT EVERYBODY THINKS AS YOU DO “
“THE FUTURE OF GLOBE-HOPPING IS QUESTIONNABLE OWING TO CARBON COSTS, FUEL COSTS
AND SECURITY CONCERNS THERE ARE CHANCES OF FUTURE TRAVEL BUDGETS TO GO
DOWN!!!!!!”
22. WHY IT IS NECESSARY?
• Leaders needed the shared vision of success for everyone at home-
not just themselves.
• Common goals hold the couple together.
• Emphasizing on complimentary relationship
• Emotional support – the biggest contribution of their partner
• Partner act as an honest critic.
• Partners can help them keep their eyes on what matters, budget
their time and energy, live healthfully and make deliberate choice.
23.
24. WHAT TOMORROW’S LEADERS
THINK
• BEFORE REACHING TO ANY CONCLUSIONS:
• Sample group – The most Elite Professionals of the world.
• Nevertheless they consider it an impossible task.
• EXECUTIVES OF BOTH SEXES CONSIDER THE TENSION BETWEEN WORK
AND FAMILY TO BE PRIMARILY A WOMEN’S PROBLEM.
25. •We can assert 3 simple
truths for future reference
•Life
Happens.
•Multiple
Routes to
Success.
•No one
can do it
alone.
26. “ Because I’m not a mother, I haven’t
experienced the major driver of inequality:
having children. People assume that if you don’t
have kids , then you either can’t have kids or
else you’re a hard-driving bitch. So I haven’t had
any negative career repercussions, but I’ve
probably been judged personally.”
Notes de l'éditeur
home so as not to lose themselves, their loved ones, or their foothold on success.