True North, Emerging Leader Edition, 3rd Edition

7LEAD AN INTEGRATED LIFE

The world will shape you if you let it. To live the life you desire, you must make conscious choices.

—John Donahoe, CEO, Nike

The most frequent question emerging leaders ask is, “Can I have a great career and a great family life?” Increasing job pressures, time demands, and the complexities of two‐career partnerships make this integration more challenging than ever. Young leaders have seen many in their parents' generation sacrifice their families for their careers and have lived through the pain of broken marriages and estranged relationships. They are committed to living differently.

If you find yourself getting too caught up in your work, ask yourself, who are better leaders: 80‐hours‐per‐week executives who live for work and subordinate everything to their career, or leaders who work hard 50–60 hours per week but balance their work with the needs of their families? Which leader would you want to work for?

Paradoxically, people who live for work are less effective than well‐balanced leaders who integrate work into their lives. One‐dimensional, work‐obsessed leaders struggle to relate to others, develop perspective, and stay grounded. In contrast, leaders who cultivate an integrated life commit to invest time in all aspects of their lives: family, work, community, friends, and personal time (Figure 7.1).

As the frequency of communication has intensified, the pace of business has increased. There is never enough time to do everything because the ...