The Importance Of Work-Life Balance For Leaders

You may have heard from others that there’s no such thing as work-life balance. They will tell you that we don’t have separate work and personal lives. It’s a good argument. But it’s flawed.

True, we live and work at the same time, but we’re not necessarily doing what we want when we’re working. We report to others, supervise others, and have our day directed.

With a proper work-life balance, there is a separation between the two.

Man walking on a tightrope over a large gap.

Photo by Loic Leray on Unsplash

The Importance Of Work-Life Balance For Leaders

Work-life balance is important not because working is bad. Nor is play bad. But when we can’t find time for either one, trouble arises.

Think of the business executive who can’t shut off at the end of the workday. He finds himself mired in work. His phone is in his hand while he’s checking emails when he should be focused on his wife and children at home. Years later, after neglecting his personal responsibility, he finds himself divorced, lonely, and considered a bad father.

The Importance Of Authenticity In Leadership

In today’s day and age, authenticity is a crucial piece of the leadership puzzle. People don’t want fake, inauthentic leaders. They want someone they feel they can relate to because the person they’re following is real.

Sadly, too many leaders in the public arena aren’t authentic. They only claim to be.

Honestly, I’ve struggled with this as I’ve watched bloggers and leaders alike fall from their high horses. These leaders claimed to hold their marriage in high esteem. News breaks that they had an affair or abused their spouse. Some leaders say they value their faith. Only to have their actions betray their words.

These leaders all claimed to be authentic. None of them were. They put on a front they knew would sell books, garner an audience, and make them money.

Say No To Say Yes

Why No Is The Key To A Fulfilling Life

Our lives are packed with activities. From kids birthday parties to church obligations, your time is being pulled in a million different directions. Everyone wants a piece of you and your time!

No sign on the side of a brick building

Photo By Alex Rodriguez Santibanez

This tension for your time distracts you from what your heart desires and longs to do. You probably long to spend more time:

  • With your spouse
  • Playing with your dog (I know I do!)
  • Watching your son play baseball
  • Getting healthier
  • Reading or watching enriching content
  • Enjoying a non-fiction book or movie
  • Fixing that leaking sink that’s bothered you for months
  • Working on a side hustle
  • Learning a new skill

Yet you can’t get to these things you long to do when you continually say yes to everyone else. You have to set aside your desires and longings to fulfill the desires of those you say yes to.

The Best Work-Life Balance Tips

While you can’t completely balance your work and outside life, you can do many things to make them more balanced. You can find more time to spend with your wife and children. You can find ways to go to the concerts and movies you so enjoyed going to before the weight of leadership took over. And you can find more margin in your life to do more work.

Tips to balance your life

Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen

The choices you’ll have to make will tip the teeter-totter of balance one way or the other. Yet you can figure out the balance that works for your life.

By using the work-life balance tips below, you’ll discover the extra margin for family, friends, and even business!

The Best Work-Life Balance Tips

1. Choose your priorities:

Do you know what truly matters in your life? If you don’t know what matters to you, you can’t create balance in those areas.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Ant-Man And The Wasp

A Reel Leadership Article

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly return in the 20th Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Ant-Man And The Wasp. In this outing, The Wasp (played by Evangeline Lilly) and her father Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) are in search of Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer), their mother/wife.

What Ant-Man and the Wasp can teach you about leadership

Their search began anew when Scott Lang (Ant-Man) returned from the Quantum Realm, a feat thought impossible. Janet had been trapped in the Quantum Realm for 30 years. They now had the hope she could be alive.

During their search, they run across new threats including a black market arms dealer named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) and Ghost/Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen). These threats hamper their rescue efforts and create fun action scenes you’ll love to watch.