Who's in Charge Here, Anyway?

Previously I wrote about today's technologies of "always on" and "always connected" not being the most conducive to work life balance. While those Blackberrys, Qs, and Treos are great to stay in touch anywhere you have a signal, they can be addictive. Worse yet, being responsive 24/7 can create an expectation, and if that person doesn't respond right away, the reaction is "what happened?"

I've known a number of people with very senior titles like vice president, senior vice president, senior director, etc. who are certainly very busy people because of what they do. But although they have titles that seem to indicate that they're in charge of their organizations, their actions don't always seem to follow. Last-minute crunches are one thing, but emails, text chats, and phone calls that take place routinely on weekends, nights, and even during family vacations indicate a very different issue: not being in charge of your destiny.

Who is in charge, anyway? You should be. Use that "off" switch when you need to.

Welcome to the Road to Gumption

Hello, and welcome to this new blog on the topic of balancing one's work and personal life priorities. I will be sharing my observations and thoughts on the topic through periodic posts, and welcome your comments and your experiences as well. Work-life balance is a very broad discussion, but the important thing is to have a discussion about it. That's what I wanted to foster when I wrote The Road to Gumption.

My starting observation is a seed for future thought and discussion. The very advances that make us more productive in the workplace today are potentially the things that create a misalignment of work and personal priorities. A recent survey showed that something like one-third of workers on vacation still use email for business purposes during that vacation. That would include BlackBerries, Treos, and hotel high-speed Internet connections.

So technologies that should allow us to get our work done in less time, in some cases cause us to work even longer hours, though not necessarily at the office. What are your thoughts on this? More from me later.