The Downside of 'Tough it Out'
Lonnie Pacelli is an Accenture/Microsoft veteran with four decades of learnings under his belt. He frequently writes and speaks on leadership, project management, work/life balance, and disability inclusion. Reach him at [email protected] and see more at ProjectManagementAdvisor.com.
Recently I read a Forbes article about navigating leadership challenges in a rapidly changing world. The article highlighted 10 areas of focus for survival.
Nothing on the list was an earth-shattering surprise for me. Things like building a robust network, cultivating emotional intelligence, and embracing continuous learning can be found on most lists of focus areas for leaders. What I found interesting was what the article listed as number one: Prioritize mental and physical health.
For some, this might not make much of an impression. For me, it brought back a trajectory-changing time in my life that happened more than 30 years ago.
It was 1993, and I was 30 years old. I had just been through my second job transfer in three years—first from Phoenix to Chicago, then from Chicago to Seattle. Our kids were 3 years old and 10 months old. Patty loved living in Chicago and wasn’t very excited about a move to Seattle.
While the transfer was in process, the engagement I was slated to work on shut down abruptly. Two weeks after we closed on our house in a Seattle suburb, I was assigned to a project in Los Angeles. I started a routine of flying to L.A. each Monday morning, then back to Seattle Friday evening.
Patty was left alone during the week with two little ones, not knowing anyone, in a house with stuff everywhere because the movers unpacked all the boxes…
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"I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen |
