Personal Development

Are you ignoring the rest of your life?

I’ve long disliked the work/life balance for several reasons:

• Most of us spend 40, 50 or more hours a week at work. “Balance” just doesn’t seem like the correct word to describe that.
• It’s often a term used for women, as if men don’t need to worry about it.
• It’s an overused phrase that actually means very little.

So, I was thrilled to come across a new concept that isn’t about balance, but about integrating a person’s whole life. It’s called Total Leadership and it was developed by Stew Friedman, Practice Professor of Management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in Philadelphia. Mr. Friedman suggests that we should focus on integrating the four key area of life: work, home, community, and self.

Watch an overview of his concept below and get a look into the whole program here.

Balance is out; integration is in.

photo credit: navonod