This is one of a series of articles discussing the 9 key elements you need to get complete career confidence.
What I’ve learned in my 25+ years of working as a leader and coach in the technology sector, is that there are 9 key elements to get ahead at work.
You might think that I’ve got it all figured out … but you wouldn’t have thought that if you’d met me 15 years ago.
Since setting up as a career coach in 2012, I’ve got really frustrated at seeing women make the exact same mistakes as me. So last year I put together a career development programme called Complete Career Confidence.
It’s based on my biggest mistakes (and I’ve made some big ones).
The thing is, I know that when you’ve got clarity about what you want, you can make decisions and take action fearlessly and effortlessly.
Taking action gets results – it gets you the career success you want.
But taking action is a lot harder if you don’t have balance.
Over the last few articles, I’ve talked about the first four elements: ambition, contribution, purpose and success mindset.
Today let’s explore the fifth element, balance.
Why it’s essential to improve your balance to get ahead at work
Before we dive in, I confess I’ve not always been good at this.
If you’d met me a few years ago, you would have met an ambitious woman in technology.
Problem was, I wasn’t good at getting the work/life balance right. I worked long hours, drank too much, wasn’t sleeping well …
I took up cycling as a way to ‘switch off’. Then a couple of racing accidents left me with a broken leg and brain damage.
Not one to be beaten, I got back on my bike and continued ‘full-speed’ through life.
On the outside, I was extremely successful but, on the inside, I was constantly feeling overwhelmed, suffering from IBS and not taking care of myself. When I found myself wanting to self-harm, I knew something had to change. I quit my job.
I really REALLY don’t want you to make the same mistakes as me.
When I talk about balance with my clients, I’m not just thinking of the work-family-life balance. I’m talking about your personal balance.
Balance is essential to your career success. It’s a ‘must have’ not a ‘nice to have’ to look after your own wellness in order to bring balance to your life.
Your wellness is the easiest thing to drop but it’s almost the most important. It’s not just your physical health, it’s your emotional and mental health too. When I talk about taking responsibility for your own wellness, I’m not just talking long baths, spa days, mud packs and meditation.
Looking after yourself means knowing how and when to say No at work (and at home).
It means being clear on your boundaries.
It means time to yourself.
It means taking a proper lunch break.
As well as all the good stuff like getting enough sleep, being active, eating well etc.
Look after yourself first so that everything you do works for you. Nobody else will do this for you.
Do this to get balance, personal balance. When you have more balance, you have more clarity and more confidence.
THAT’s how you’ll make a bigger impact and stand out from the crowd at work.
How to improve your balance
Here are three things you can do to improve your personal balance so you can get ahead at work:
- Write down ten things you could do to prioritise your self-care.
- Now pick just one of those things and block out time in your diary to do it.
- Giving yourself permission to focus on your personal balance can be hard. Check out the Complete Career Confidence accelerator programme to join a community of like-minded women and work on your success mindset together.
Pop a note in the comments. I’d love to hear how you get on. And in the next article we’ll explore Impact.
p.s. Why I want you to check out Complete Career Confidence
In Complete Career Confidence I’ve distilled everything I’ve learned from 100s of hours of one-to-one coaching, my three online conferences, multiple workshops and online classes.
I wanted to create something practical and actionable; that gives ambitious women the right tools at the right time to get the clarity you need to manage your career with confidence and purpose.
When you’ve got clarity about what you want, you can make decisions and take action fearlessly and effortlessly. Taking action gets results!
The next Complete Career Confidence cohort starts on Monday 18 May. Sign up before 14 May to get 50% discount as well as £346 of Early Bird bonuses.
Thanks for this article Sherry, it landed in my in-box at just the right time to get me through the day, thank you. Sharing your own story like this is very powerful too. Right, I will try to find my own balance today!
I’m so glad this story resonated for you. Let me know how you get on finding your own balance.
I’m glad you found this helpful.