Work Life Integration – Dan Greer

6 Causes Of Burnout And How To Avoid Them

Dan Greer — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 13:18:30 +0000

Burnout to me is caused more by the people you are working with than the amount of work that you are doing. The emotional strain of insecure people who are always causing drama will eventually pull you down. Great leaders are agents of change. We also must realize that if you work with the wrong people too long, that toxic culture will change you. HBR kills it again:

“A fog of burnout surrounds you: You’re perpetually exhausted, annoyed, and feeling unaccomplished and unappreciated. Everything in you wants to quit your job. But is that the best choice? Ultimately only you can know what is right in your situation. But there is research that can help you determine whether you can salvage your current job or whether the mismatch between you and your current position is so great that you need to look for a new one.”

If Want To Use Your Phone Less, First Figure Out Why

Dan Greer — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 14:40:15 +0000

This is an ongoing battle that most of us are loosing. This constant state of connectivity is robbing us of relational and emotional margin at an alarming pace. So what to do without throwing the baby out with the bath. This HBR post is very helpful:

“We live in a busy world. We use our smartphone to answer emails, calls, and instant messages at all times of the day: in business meetings, at lunches, while waiting for the bus, queuing at the grocery store, and even during special occasions and family gatherings. Similar scenes may be observed in local parks where parents often push the swing with one hand and scroll through their phones with the other, occasionally resurfacing to give their kids a smile.”

7 Surprisingly Simple Ways To Become More Productive

Dan Greer — Thu, 30 May 2019 19:25:19 +0000

Technology and I have a strong love/hate relationship. Just when I think it is serving me, I realize I just wasted 20 minutes of my life looking or reading something that was a total waste. One major thing, specifically the smart phone, requires tremendous self discipline. This Carey Nieuwhof post is excellent:

“Ever notice your day seems to vaporize and you wonder what happened to all your best intentions? You’re ready to leave work but you barely even dented your to-do list. As a result, you’re going to have to try to justify squeezing an hour of work in once you get home, or just get up at a ridiculous hour tomorrow to try again.

Not only is that pattern unsustainable, it’s mysterious. You try not to have it happen again, but it does anyway. So…what causes that?

When Life Gets Busy, Focus On A Few Key Habits

Dan Greer — Tue, 28 May 2019 19:34:06 +0000

When my life gets really busy, I have to call timeout and reset with just my basic core priorities. They prove to be foundational in a process of regaining my margin and momentum. Self talk about one day this will always slow down is a lie to prevent us from doing what is really important. This HBR post is excellent:

“Eight months ago, we welcomed our third child. In the past, we’ve written about how to navigate careers, stress, and even “annual planning.” You’d think we’d be prepared for wonderful but disruptive life events like these, but as Mike Tyson famously quipped, “Everyone has plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Leaders Must Have Great Habits

Dan Greer — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 15:37:40 +0000

There has never been a time for leaders when their have been more daily demands with less capacity to meet them. This is especially true when you combine all the demands of life both at work and home. The importance of leadership integration into our whole life has never been more critical. This Forbes post is excellent:

“What else will move the needle for you, in work and in life?”

In the last year, when I’ve asked this question during preliminary leadership coaching conversations, I’ve noticed a pattern of hesitation. “I don’t know if we can talk about this …”

Then slowly, my client gets more courageous. I hear, “I don’t know how to disconnect,” or, “I love what I do, but the hours, they don’t feel healthy.”

I silently cheer as I hear these true confessions of smart yet overworked leaders. I respond with, “What happens if we don’t talk about it?”

You Can Be A Great Leader And Also Have A Life

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 20:08:46 +0000

As an executive coach, I have an inbound form that all clients fill out prior to our first time together. They have an opportunity to list different areas for development. Without fail, work life balance shows up on everyone’s list including mine. The lines have become so blurred and technology keeps us so connected that many times personal and family priorities drop through the cracks. This HBR post was very helpful to me:

“Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk tweets that no one changed the world working 40 hours a week. He rarely sleeps or sees his kids and had a famously public meltdown. Apple’s Tim Cook is on email before the sun rises. And billionaire Mark Cuban worked until 2 am launching his first business and didn’t take a vacation for seven years.

These intense work styles are often celebrated as the only way to get to the top and be a super-productive leader.”

Busyness Is Our Worst Addiction

Thu, 06 Dec 2018 16:25:49 +0000

Every day we all ask ourselves How am I doing? Where you go to answer that question is critically important. We all need security and significance but if you have replaced real accomplishments in your life with just more activity, especially at work, then you are headed for a bad place. This Forbes post is worth the read:

“When you think of addiction, you probably think of drugs and alcohol. However, you can be addicted to anything. Addiction is being compulsively or physiologically dependent on something habit-forming. Do you know what most of us are addicted to? Being busy. Busy is habit-forming. People pride themselves on being busy, but busyness is an addiction that needs to be cured.”

7 Reasons To Own Less

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 11:00:20 +0000

I encounter a lot of stress not only in my own life but especially with the executives I coach through my company. One of the self inflicted wounds in this overload world we live in is caused by the demands our stuff places on us just to maintain what we already have. I did not have the wisdom or courage to do anything about this on my own but with down sizing our home, I am now a true believer. This Forbes post is worth the read:

“Ten years ago, I decided to embrace minimalist living. I was spending too much of my life caring for possessions and I was wasting too much money managing and accumulating things I didn’t need. Those possessions were not bringing me joy or lasting happiness. They were keeping me from the very things that did.”

How To Help Your Spouse Cope With Work Stress

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 19:56:29 +0000

The hardest part of the day for most of us is when we get home and finally look forward to not having to be the person who is on in the room. The challenge: that is the exact same expectation everyone else has who walked through the same door. This HBR post was very helpful for me:

“Home is a sanctuary from work stress, right? Not always. Even if you are able to leave your projects and worries at the office, your spouse may have difficulty doing so — and that stress can rub off on you. How can you help your partner cope? What’s the best thing to say when your partner starts complaining — and what should you not say? Is there a way to help them see things differently? And how can you set boundaries so that home can be a haven again?”

What Busy Leaders Really Need From Their Spouses

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 11:00:14 +0000

My passion is to help develop leaders so they can fully integrate their personal and professional lives. This is not about balance but the willingness to be a great leader in every area of your life. If you don’t develop the ability to lead yourself first and then at home you can forget reaching your potential at work. This post by Andrea Williams was excellent:

“With divorce rates hovering between 40 and 50 percent, experts spend countless hours discussing the reasons why so many Americans can’t make their marriages work. Arguments over money, sex, and kids are perennial fire starters. But there’s another issue that is critically important—especially for husbands and wives with demanding careers.”