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Hi, I am Nataly and I am the co-founder of Work It, Mom!
I write the daily Work It, Mom! Blog where I talk about issues affecting working moms, goings on in our Work It, Mom! community, new site features, updates,and contests. I also share my own juggle between work and family and love to see members jump in with comments. Come and visit often!
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Can you excel in your career and have some work/life balance?
Categories: Balancing Act, Career Talk, Working Women Issues, Your life
Thanks to Marci Alboher, the author of the Shifting Careers blog, for linking to a series of posts about career success written by Marc Andreessen.
Marc Andreessen knows something about career success — he was the founder of Netscape and several other extremely successful companies. Before I even finished reading Marcy’s post, I clicked over to see what Marc had to say about career success (I happen to be a fan of his blog and writing.) Not far into his first post in the series is this paragraph:
These posts are aimed at high-potential people who want to excel throughout their careers and make a significant impact on their fields and the world. These posts are not appropriate for people for whom work/life balance is a high priority or for whom lifestyle is particularly important — if that’s you, there are plenty of existing career planning resources for you already!
Now, let me say first that Marc has some good career advice to offer and I agreed with a lot of it. But I couldn’t shake the assumption in his introduction that in your career and making an impact on your field isn’t something you can do if you care about having some work/life balance.
In fact, I took what he wrote very personally. I care very much about my work AND my life and family and at the same time, I believe that what I am doing is important and is making an impact. I know plenty of men and women who are great at what they do and are also great parents/friends/people who invest time in their lives and families.
But maybe I am wrong in my reaction. I don’t believe in work/life balance and don’t think that my life is very balanced. It’s truly a juggle, a tough juggle, but one which does allow me to have an impactful job and be a mom, wife, daughter, friend, and person with interests other than just those related to my work. If work/life balance means having plenty of time to invest in your career AND plenty of time to take care of your family and your own needs, then no, I don’t think that’s possible at all.
What do you think? If you value some kind of work/life balance, are you not a “high potential person who wants to excel in her career”? Are the thousands of moms who are opting out of high-profile careers proof that what Marc Andreessen writes is true? Or is his idea about excelling in a career and making an impact on your field extremely limited?
Sound off, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this.
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Work/Life balance is very very important to me. I believe you can still have an impact, but often something’s going to give. Not always though.
For instance, I was in outside sales. Advertising sales to be specific. The economy in Northern MI made the last few years very, very stresful in my career. I was suffereing physically (heart racing, eye twitching) because I needed to hit my numbers. I needed to do what was best for my clients. I needed to satisfy my employer. But my family life did indeed suffer because I was just plain empty at the end of the day. That kind of work wasn’t for me, I guess.
I recently changed jobs. I now work in a less-stressful environment that doesn’t have a quota hanging over my head. I make an impact every, single day to the residents I serve, my employer and the public. And I have ALOT left over at the end of the day to devote to my family and friends.
So, yes it CAN be done. We just have to find the right fit.
Great topic, btw!
Sister Honey Bunch | January 28th, 2008 at 10:29 am
It’s somewhat dependent on the type of job.
If you (that’s a rhetorical “you”) feel that having society dictated “high profile” job is the only way to succeed, then there very well could be a problem.
There may be jobs where the key functions simply don’t fit with your life, and, therefore you’ll never feel you are excelling, no matter how hard you try.
Like Sister said, I prefer to think of it as a work-life “fit” rather than “balance” or “juggle” (though there are days that feel that way)
You have to decide what “excelling’ and “making an impact” in your career means to you and how you measure it before you race toward what your industry perceives as excelling and making an impact.
Elizabeth | January 28th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Here, here Elizabeth! (insert sound of clinking wine glasses). It is SO important that we define what success means to each of us individually.
I don’t think you have to drop everything in your life to make a significant impact on your field or in the world OR to be a ‘high-potential” person. Just what high bar is he referring to? Is it to be a millionaire? A billionaire?
I set out to prove with my first company (which I started when my daughter was 6 months old) that you could build a profitable, successful company and still have a life. Although I didn’t rock the world with my company, we enjoyed multi-million dollar revenues and provided good jobs for people. To me, that was success. Granted it was not a Gates Foundation impact, but there’s got to be something in between a drain on society and a billionaire.
Julie Lenzer Kirk | January 28th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
wow this is interesting. I think there is so much more to a successful career and balanced life than how many hours you work. There is also the pleasure you derive from the career and the support system around you that makes you successful.
I agree you can’t have much of a life at all if you live in a vacuum (or at work, for that matter) in order to gain the success that Marc talks about. But how many successful people really do that? Sure there are a few that sacrifice friends and family for business success, but just because you do that does not mean you are guaranteed success.
I believe you CAN balance the kind of success that Marc speaks about if you have family and friends and a great spouse and at times even a community (of whatever kind) that helps support you through out the process. You also have to actually like what you are doing and feel like you are making that impact or difference by doing what you do – you have to have that passion! Because there WILL be days or weeks when you work long crazy hours and it feels like you haven’t seen your family in forever. And there will also be down periods where you do spend more time with them and enjoy every second of that time! While you aren’t able to be there all the time, with a support system, you know everyone in your life is loved and cared for in the best possible way while still allowing you to be successful and HAPPY in your chosen career.
I think the really tricky part is remembering to show your appreciation to those who support you while you are trudging away! A little ‘thank-you, I couldn’t do this with out you’ goes a LONG way towards your own success – both at home and at work!
Kate | January 28th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Amen to what Kate said.
The challenge with work/life balance is the insidious mindset that being successful means you have to work 20 hours a day. It’s this mindset that is forcing talented women in the workforce to opt out. I made significant contributions to my job both when I was working part-time and when I was full-time. And my husband is very successful in his field and makes a positive impact on his clients everyday and is the model for work/life balance. We need to redefine the picture of success in this country.
Maybe he should have said, “These posts are aimed at people who have no life and therefore are free to devote every waking hour to their work…”
Amy S. | January 28th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
This blog was very encouraging to me. I am an expectant mother who is (or was rather) 1 year away from obtaining a doctorate level degree…something I’ve worked very hard towards for 9 years. Now that I am expecting my first child, my “finish line” has been pushed back by an additional year (at least). I”ve been very concerned about how to “redefine” my career outlook now that I am soon to be a new mom. I’ve always imagined (and aimed for) being finished with school so that I wouldn’t have to choose between my career and my family. I”m realizing though that that is a balance/fit that will always be present. Each of your comments has helped me to fight the pressure of meeting some “unwritten measurement” for success and find a way to carve out a proper fit for both my family and career. Thank you.
Misty | June 12th, 2008 at 8:12 pm