Don’t turn this way
Don’t turn that way
Straight down the middle until next Thursday
First to the left
Then back to the right
Twist and turn ’til you’ve got it right
That’s pretty much how I’ve been feeling over the last few weeks, like I’ve been stuck in the depths of Depeche Mode’s 80s hit, Get the Balance Right. I’ve discovered that I don’t deal with stress well. We’ve had a hell of a few weeks at BON Hotels, and as we head into VERY exciting foreign ground (conceptual and geographical), I’ve realised that I’m borderline not coping in a personal capacity and my work/life/home balance is waaaay out of kilter!
Fortunately (for all concerned) I have a redeeming quality: the ability to recognise when I need help, and then actually asking for it. After a few weeks of finding myself at my laptop at ungodly hours, dealing with urgent phone calls until 11 o clock at night, I’ve had to draw the line.
Funny how sometimes people are sent to you, precisely when needed. And so, I’ve enlisted the services of a very successful businessman turned business coach to delve into my business style and basically help me restructure the way I am running my life.
How many of us skip a gym session or forego that run because we ‘need’ to answer an urgent email, or because we squeeze in yet another meeting to the detriment of our exercise schedule and ultimately our mental health? I am embarrassed to admit that I am a slave to email. With the last decade of smartphone technology at our disposal, it’s become seemingly normal to be at the beck and call of our business or job. Not healthy and not right.
The first task I’ve been assigned by my business coach is to send a survey to my staff about how they perceive and experience me in the workplace. No sweat, I am thinking, but actually this is an opportunity for me to address my leadership style and square off my downfalls.
It does get lonely in a position like mine, and being the character that I am, I prefer to bang my own head through trial and error. That said, I am still pretty curious to hear the results of our survey and even more so, eager to get some sound advice and coaching.
While we need to be increasingly productive in our working days, more importantly, we need to find a balance in our lives. I need the tools to help me do just that and I’m truly looking forward to walking this road.
