I have always admired Dr. Eve J. Higginbotham. She is the Vice Dean and Professor of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and I consider her both a friend and professional colleague. I sat down to interview her about Diversity in Leadership last year, but I wanted to share a letter she wrote following the death of George Floyd and the ensuing public outrage and awakening we are now seeing. Thank you to Eve for being such a vocal leader. I will be sharing more on my thoughts about how leaders need to be responding to the current moment next week.
My heart is broken. As a community, I know we share the pain of what our nation is experiencing at this time. The disproportionate impact of COVID 19 on communities of color was only the beginning of this angst, as we recognize that these disparities in illness reflect structural inequities in our nation. The deaths of Breonna Taylor and Armaud Arbery were added reminders of the basic belief held by some individuals that black lives do not matter. Then, on the evening of Memorial Day, a video appears that should disturb all of us to our core, the brutal and horrible death of GeorgeFloyd, painfully being executed under the knee of an officer. Now the entire world knows just how devalued black lives are in the country. It is a visual reminder that this is a country that is not a just, fair, and civilized society.
As a democracy, we share a social contract that we will share values and abide by a code of laws. That code was broken under the crushing pressure of police officer’s knee and thus, the protests continue day after day. In previous times, we had national leaders who could articulate unifying messages, to immediately act constructively, to reaffirm our core values, and renew the social contract. Based on the actions of government leaders on June 1, we are either headed towards a military state or for those of us, who remain hopeful, we will emerge a better society, infused with renewed purpose and a refreshed, revised agenda.
I am reminded during this difficult time of the phrase, “to whom much is given, much is required.” As professionals, we have had opportunities that few others will ever realize. We also have responsibilities as medical professionals, in our roles as healers and scientists. Thus, using our gifts, our opportunities, our blessings, what can we do to help craft the alternative path to the one that national leaders appear to endorse. How can we emerge as a better society?
Each of us will need to seriously reflect on this specific question. To get you started, here are a few thoughts to consider. First of all, reflect on your own biases and recognize that we all have biases. I once thought that this was a given, a concept shared by most, however there are many who believe they have no biases which is impossible given the society in which we live, as described above. I start here because once one begins the process of mitigating bias, your thought processes are rebooted to consider other ways to view relationships and the world. For example, the world could easily detect the bias in the interpretation of the first autopsy report of George Floyd, which found no evidence of asphyxiation. Most of us quickly knew that this conclusion was a biased interpretation of findings considering that Mr. Floyd expressed his own diagnosis minutes before passing when he stated, “I can’t breathe.” The initial report noted other chronic conditions that contributed, likely heart disease within the list. However, Mr. Floyd did not complain of chest pain in those final moments, but difficulty breathing! Thus, it was no surprise that a family sponsored autopsy affirmed asyphyxiation as the cause of death.
Theexample of Mr. Floyd’s autopsy report reminds me of the biased “science” of Samuel Morton and his attempts to create a ranking for the skulls he filled with seeds to measure their volumes. This misguided experiment haunts our society to this day. It reminds of Benjamin Rush, who recruited African Americans to care for patients who were seriously ill with yellow fever because of perceived immunity to the disease. This perceived immunity continues to haunt us today based on initial beliefs among some individuals that believed that African Americans were immune to COVID 19. Of course, we know now that this previous understanding is ludicrous. While we cannot erase the misguided findings of these physicians and scientists, we can document an alternative narrative based on data, refreshed understanding of the impact of previous practice, and a new paradigm to understand pathophysiology and care for patients without using the framing put forward by Morton centuries ago.
As the title suggests, my heart may be broken but I remain sustained by hope. The chant “Keep Hope Alive” encouraged me to get up every day “to fight the good fight” in the 60s and the 70s, and I hear that same phrase now in this moment. As a biomedical scientific community, we have to move away from the use of “race” as defined by Morton which was erroneously captured as a biological construct. I was hopeful when the Human Genome Project was completed, demonstrating that we are 99.9% the same, however, the practice unfortunately continues to be still trapped in an outdated mindset. Certainly we need to discuss the institutionalized racism that contributes to the health and disease, however the term “race” should remain a social construct and not a biological construct. We need to remove “race-corrected” risk factors and therapeutic strategies and distill the key contributors to disease down to specific biologically measurable findings. In my own discipline of ophthalmology, the best example is the use of central corneal thickness to define who is likely to develop glaucoma among ocular hypertensives, and not simply the phenotypic presentation of a patient. Thus, one can examine an African American patient with thick central corneas and ocular hypertension and follow that patient rather than immediately treat. Each discipline has similar examples, and thus there is the opportunity to reframe the interpretation of findings in an unbiased way.
Yes, I am hopeful that this next generation of physicians and scientists will be forever transformed by these last several weeks and at the very least move the practice of medicine and scientific discovery to a more equitable platform. Besides voting in every election, these are just a few of the actions we have within our grasp. By implementing a new way of thinking and acting upon that reframing, we can expect to arrive at a new plateau, where black lives matter, and renew the social contract for everyone.
The COVID 19 pandemic is certainly giving us the opportunity to see how leaders perform during a time of crisis. It is also making us more aware than ever, the important role true leadership plays in supporting our society when uncertainty is the norm. We have all seen good and bad examples of leadership throughout the past month. If you are a leader, here are some of the guidelines that I am following to lead during this crisis that may also help inform your own leadership style:
Remain calm, continue to let your presence be known and reassure your team – your team will look to you to gauge their anxiety. Remember, during this difficult time team members will be hyper-focused on what you say and do.
Be clear, concise and consistent with your communications – Develop a small group to tap into to see if your messages are getting across. I sometimes believe I am being clear, but then hear that people are reading different intent into my messages.
Be decisive – during times of crisis, your teams are looking for a decisive leader. Have confidence in your decisions, but let them know that you will adjust as more data comes in that informs your decision making.
Be visible – how can you be visible during a time of physical distancing? Hold virtual meetings using a video function, check in more frequently with people and if you have the opportunity, visit people in their workplace and thank them. Either way, take the time to show your gratitude.
Assess your team’s capacity – make sure you are giving people time to disconnect.
Foster creativity – I am always reminding people to practice progress over perfection. Put diverse teams together and give them space to come up with creative solutions to problems.
Don’t forget to spend time on planning for the future – it is easy to get consumed during a crisis. You need to set aside time each day to think about the long term success and viability of your organization.
It is easy to lead when all is going well, it’s during times of crisis that you need to make the conscious decision to be a good leader. Learn from other leaders that you admire, your team is counting on you. What are some examples of strong leadership that you’ve notice since this crisis began? What challenges are you facing in your own organizations?
As someone who takes goal-setting seriously, I enjoy looking back on the year, assessing progress I’ve made and looking ahead to all that I still want to do. While long lists of New Year’s resolutions often set you up for failure, I prefer to focus on one professional and one personal goal for the next year. I’m sharing mine below, but I’d also love to hear from you. Reading your comments helps me learn what’s important to you, and to get new ideas for topics to cover on this blog.
My 2020 Goals:
Personal: Take a few minutes each day to meditate.
Professional: Double my efforts to make connections with and listen to front-line staff.
My Favorite Posts from 2019:
Knowing Your Bandwidth
I began thinking about this post a few weeks ago, on a typical Sunday evening. My husband Lou and I had been traveling and we’d just returned home. I intended to use the evening to get the kitchen ready for our remodel that was about to begin, pack up everything that needed to be moved, complete the rest of my New Years cards and get ready for the week ahead. As I began this work, he became frustrated; “Madeline, you have an endless supply of bandwidth, and you have to remember that I do not.” READ MORE
2. The Upside of Vulnerability
We live in a culture with an ever-increasing focus on perfection. Whether it’s at home or in the workplace, we put so much pressure on ourselves to do everything, and do it perfectly. At work, the idea of always being over-prepared, with no question you can’t answer and nothing you haven’t thought of is likely appealing. However, this masks one of our most powerful tools as a leader – vulnerability. READ MORE
3. Developing Our Successors, Millennial Women in the Workplace
I am passionate about sharing advice for young women looking to advance their careers, especially for those looking towards the C-Suite. I offer suggestions on everything from taking stretch assignments and negotiating raises, to adjusting bad speech habits and dressing like a leader. However, I sometimes wonder if we’re expecting younger generations to conform to our workplace norms at the expense of truly letting their unique priorities and values shine through? READ MORE
4. Unlearning the Lessons of Charm School
There is nothing more rejuvenating than spending an evening out with close female friends. The camaraderie, support and laughter that accompanies these types of friendships is, in my opinion, an essential part of mental health. I recently had dinner with my two closest friends; women I can share anything and everything with, and with whom I can truly be myself. We talk about our common experience of having our children get married and laugh about how men (and specifically, our husbands!) need to find “man friends” (why do women seem to be so much better at recognizing the essential nature of supportive friendships!?) READ
5. Developing Helping Relationships, Making the Most of Your Networks
With the growth of social media platforms such as LinkedIn and endless other networking groups, we’ve seen a significant increase in our personal and professional networks. Just think about your connections. Now, think about how many of those people you actually know. How many of them could you help you advance your career or make a meaningful business connections? How many of them could you truly ask for a favor or an introduction? Probably not many. I think it’s important to learn how to develop more “surface-level relationships” into more meaningful relationships that can help us meet our personal and professional goals. READ MORE
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2020 – please leave me a comment below and tell me what you’d like to read on the blog on the next year.
In my role, I’m fortunate to meet so many inspiring women. Part of the purpose of this blog is to share those experiences with a larger audience so that you can be a part of the conversations I’m having with other women leaders. One such woman is Lynn Yeakel, the Director of Drexel University College of Medicine’s Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership, and the founder and president of Vision 2020, a national, non-partisan women’s equality initiative with a particular focus on the year 2020, the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote. Lynn has had an incredible career; she was a founder of Women’s Way, the first and largest women’s fundraising coalition in the nation, and served as its CEO from 1980 until 1992, when she ran for the U.S. Senate, drawing national attention, winning the primary and nearly unseating the longtime incumbent, Arlen Specter. In 1994, she was appointed by President Clinton to the position of Mid-Atlantic Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She’s a published author and has been recognized with numerous honors and awards for leadership and humanitarian contributions.
I recently had the pleasure of listening to Lynn speak at an event for Women’s History Month, and knew I had to hear more from her. She was gracious enough to share her thoughts with me and my daughter-in-law, Kaitlin, on the state of gender equality and women’s leadership.
MB:
Something I heard you say really caught my attention: “We need to think and act like the majority that we are.” Can you expand on that and offer some practical advice for women on how they can go about thinking and acting like the majority?
LY:
You know, I say that all the time, and you’re the only person to ever ask me this. After my loss in the national elections in 1992, I was speaking in Scranton trying to cheer people up, and I said, we really need to think and act like the majority we are – there are MORE of us. I heard from so many women during that race that told me they’d never registered to vote, never bothered to vote because they’d never seen a candidate that represents their point of view. I really learned that if we can stand together as women, we can change things.
In that statement there are two verbs – THINKING and ACTING. Thinking really means claiming our equality and power. I think it’s important that we identify by our gender first, then by race or religion. By aligning together as women, we are so much more powerful. If I had one goal in life, it would be this – helping women unite together around our common values, goals and concerns. This was a huge challenge in the women’s suffrage movement, and still is today.
The acting part refers to helping each other as women. I remember interviewing a woman once who had been out of the workforce for many years, staying home and raising her children. She was talking herself down, saying things like, “well, I’ve just been staying home with my kids, I haven’t had any work experience in a long time.” I immediately recognized the leadership skills it takes to be the CEO of your household, and knew they were transferable to the job. Women in the position to hire other women will see this – I’m not sure if men would. We need to help each other when we’re in the position to do so.
Another key element to acting like the majority we are is being civically engaged. One in three women didn’t vote in the 2016 election. Many aren’t even registered (in fact, that’s one of our biggest goals of the Vision 2020 initiative). It’s so important that women be informed about politics AND that they support women who are running – write checks! So many women struggle with embracing our worth, and women candidates in particular tend to have more trouble asking for money – we need to fund the women we believe in.
MB:
Have you noticed any generational difference when it comes to thinking and acting like the majority? Given that you interact with so many young women at Drexel, what do they say to you when you make that statement?
LY:
When we launched Vision 2020 in 2010, we asked students in Drexel’s College of Media Arts & Design to interview women and men on the streets of Philadelphia and ask if they thought men and women were equal. There was a video clip of one young woman in her late 20’s, who thought for a minute and said, “yes, until they have children.”
My daughter is a lawyer and she decided to work part-time from home after having two, and then three, children. It never really hit her what I was talking about all these years, until she experienced motherhood. I think there are still so many structural challenges women face after they become caregivers that keep discrimination and gender inequality present in our culture. When I was growing up, it never occurred to me that there was gender discrimination, until I started searching for a job. I had been surrounded by strong women and discovering that was one of the most frustrating and humiliating things I’ve ever dealt with. I think in general, times are better for women, but these issues still exist.
MB:
I know you’ve run for elected office in both Senate and Gubernatorial races; what’s your reaction to the change in Congress in the 2018 midterm election? What did running for elected office teach you, if anything, about the way people react to a woman advocating for herself to hold a leadership position?
LY:
I think it’s fantastic that we have so many more women in Congress now. I want to see these women be able to DO things. Changing things takes time, and the guardians of the status quo will always be there – people who have power and don’t want to share it. I’m glad that Nancy Pelosi is showing great leadership to the newer generation.
I have observed that women and men often have different motivations for running for office. Often, men want to be in control and have power. Women for the most part, have a mission, something they want to change or do. In fact, I saw running as a huge personal sacrifice. It was so hard on my family and I was treated totally differently than my male opponent by the media – when they covered me, they described my clothes, jewelry or haircut. Interestingly, I was also often defined by the men in my life. There was something in my father’s voting record that ended up hurting me, my husband’s membership in a golf club that lacked diversity, and a sermon my church pastor gave about his experience in Israel – things that had nothing to do with me or my campaign were used to define me in negative ways. How often do we see male candidates get defined by the actions or activities of their sisters, wives or mothers?
Bill Bradley from New Jersey was in the Senate at the time – he campaigned with me a number of times and talked about the fact that he had been a basketball player before he ran for the Senate and got elected. He didn’t know why he was accepted, while my experience, having run a non-profit organization, somehow wasn’t relevant to hold office. Politics is always nasty, but especially so at that time for women candidates.
MB:
You’ve had an incredibly long and successful track record in advocating on behalf of women and fighting for increasing the number of women in leadership roles across all aspects of American life – where do you think we are still falling short, and how can we continue to address it?
LY:
I actually loved a comment you made when I heard you speak, Madeline, citing the statistic that even though women make up the vast majority of healthcare employees, only 3% of healthcare CEOs are women. I use that in talks all the time now, because I think it illuminates one of our biggest challenges. We need more women in policy making and decision-making roles. I think a great example of what happens when women are in charge is the “Take 2” initiative from Mary Barra, Chairman and CEO of General Motors. It’s a job re-entry program, addressing the issue of “experienced female STEM talent – particularly women – who have taken extended leaves of absence from employment to care for children, aging/disabled parents or other personal needs and are now ready, but uncertain, how to successfully return to the workforce.” That’s why women’s leadership matters and is a great example of a woman in leadership actually doing something to help other women.
MB:
Your first book, A Will and a Way, is described as presenting “insights into the key issues of women’s independence based on your own experience and lessons from history.” What do you see as the biggest challenges to women’s independence today, and in what ways do you think women still give up their independence that are detrimental to their power, happiness and self-advancement?
This is totally still a problem. I mostly see it in terms of economics, and sadly so many women in newer generations have fallen into the trap of so many women of my generation. You have to have your own checking account! I’m so grateful that my parents taught me the importance of having my own economic independence – and to keep it and sustain it. They made me take a typing class when I was young, emphasizing that I needed a skill to be able to get a job. I really give them huge credit – that was so far ahead of their time to teach their daughter that. I firmly believe that a man is not a financial plan – it wasn’t then, and it isn’t now.
MB:
What are you most optimistic about right now? What are you most concerned about?
LY:
I’m really optimistic about all the women stepping forward to lead, both in politics and business, and the efforts I see among women to help each other get on boards and other leadership positions. I also feel that civic engagement is increasing. I want to see these women do concrete things that clearly contribute to women’s opportunities for success.
What worries me most is that when it comes to the matter of gender equality, our history has always been two steps forward, three steps back. There has always been a backlash when women make progress, and I don’t want the newer generation of women to take it for granted that things are going to be fine because more women are getting into leadership roles. We can’t back down or slow down.
MB:
What key pieces of advice could you leave our readers with – women from all walks of life who care about advancing women in the workplace, based on your lifelong experience in leadership positions?
LY:
I love the line in Thelma and Louise – “you get what you settle for.” Don’t settle for less than you deserve. That means whether it’s a job, a relationship, anything that doesn’t satisfy you. You’re entitled to your own life and far too often women settle. Also, let’s pay attention to how we’re raising our future generations of women. Gender pay inequity starts so young – little boys mow the lawn, walk the dogs and other paid work. Girls do laundry, wash the dishes, and other types of unpaid domestic labor. We need to teach girls to value their worth early on.
Finally, and this is really important to me – I care deeply about men being a part of the solution. My father was my role model, I’ve been married many years, and I have a son who I’m very proud of and I have four grandsons. For shared leadership to work, men have to be involved and see it as a benefit. I believe we are women and men by chance, we’re sisters and brothers by choice. Thank you to Lynn for her time. Be sure to check out Vision 2020 for information and ways to get involved in Women 100: A Celebration of American Women, Vision 2020’s year-long commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Recently, philanthropist and businesswoman, Melinda Gates, spoke about the idea of reimagining the modern workplace. In an article published on LinkedIn titled,“We’re Sending our Daughters into a Workplace Designed for our Dads” she advocated,“new technologies, new business models, and new social movements are completely redefining what it means to go to work. So why don’t we take this opportunity—this moment of radical redesign—to advance equality and inclusion, and build the first workplace in history that actually works for everyone?”
She argues however, that the types of features developed (slides between floors, swings, sleeping pods) are created with a largely young, white, male employee in mind. She challenges us to think about what big, bold, disruptive ideas exists for creating a workspace that appeals to women. I was fascinated by the idea that maybe our physical workspaces have hindered the advancement of women’s careers. I decided to talk with CHOP’s Director or Facilities Planning and Design, Natalie Miovski Hagerty, to dig into this idea further.
MB: How, if it all, has gender played a role in the spaces you design?
NMH: As a female working in the male-dominated architecture and construction industry, I’ve always worked hard to bring awareness to the female voice in my building designs. But I feel like this is a new opportunity to think about how we construct workplaces that are more in line with what women want. I think unfortunately, gender has typically played a role in the way the article you mentioned described – usually only in reference to female-focused coworking spaces or female-specific program spaces, like lactation rooms. However, I think one of the things we don’t do enough is empower women to use spaces however they want. For example, it was suggested that we put a computer in the CHOP staff lactation rooms, and my first reaction was, “can’t we let our moms have a few minutes in peace without having to worry about doing work and pumping at the same time?” But when I took a moment to reflect, I realized I was making that decision for them, and that wasn’t appropriate. As designers, we need to create space with flexibility, and we need to be better listeners to what the needs are. Additionally, we need to poke a little at it, the answers don’t just come out, sometimes people aren’t sure what they want or what options exist. It’s like the Henry Ford quote, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” While we need to ask and listen, it’s also up to us – both women and men – to come up with big, bold ideas.
MB: How do you gather information about what employees, particularly women, would like to see? What types of data do you look for when designing a space where people will spend so much of their time?
NMH:We are actually in the process of constructing a new office building right now (as you know!). One of the things we did was to bring in an industry expert who’s at the cutting edge of workspace research. We opened the door to employees by saying, how can we make your life better? Then through brainstorming and shadowing we were able to get lots of feedback. We really just kept pushing people to think about their day and not take any movement or current obstacle for granted. When we wrote the observations down, we had a lot of “A-Ha” moments. We also wanted to focus on creating healthy work spaces. One interesting thing that came out as frustration that tied back to gender differences was in relation to the experience of sitting at your desk. Many women wear heels of varying sizes, but when you’re sitting at the desk, your keyboard tray is in the way and you are not in the right ergonomic position. Often, you end up taking your shoes off – putting you in a bit of a vulnerable position. Men’s shoes are all fairly similar, therefore their body is always in the same position. We were able to find a design solution that would really help with equality – height adjustable desks! This allows everyone the ability to quickly make comfort and ergonomic choices for themselves. Another area where gender differences come into play, is when we talk about fitness in the workplace. Many office buildings are offering fitness centers, but we wanted to think about how these can be optimized for everyone – do people really want to be working out at work, getting sweaty and messy around their colleagues? We heard that women are more sensitive to this than men – so before we offer something like that, we really want to understand what women would want to feel comfortable with an on-site fitness center. It can be a lot more complicated for women – hair, makeup, accessories – it’s not a quick and easy thing to get ready for work after exercising! What women wanted were simple design features like a place to put their brush or make-up that wasn’t wet (because typically the only counter space is next to a sink in an office building fitness center). This design feature benefits everyone – however it’s noteworthy that it only came up when carefully listening to women.
MB: What does human-centered workplace design look like to you?
NMH: I believe that human-centered workplace is about how we feel in the environment. The best analogy I can come up with is at CHOP, we have children that are going through infusion therapy. Imagine a child who is 3 or 4, but their chairs they’re sitting in for this therapy are made for adults. They’re in a space that was designed for them and their wellbeing, but they feel uncomfortable because the specific chair is oversized and overwhelming. This has an effect on them emotionally. It can make them feel small and weak at a time that they need to be at their strongest. As that concept relates to women in the workplace, much of the furniture available was not designed with women’s frames in mind – especially petite women. There are women that are dwarfed by the size of their chairs. Imagine how that makes them feel! I definitely believe there is a psychological impact that details like this have, and I’d like to see the averages that are used in determining furniture design be re-assessed with a more female workforce in mind.
MB: Do you think workplace design can play a role in gender equality?
NMH: If you’re using the words workplace design to mean a more holistic approach or solution through both physical design and amenities, then yes, 100% it can play a role. To be honest though, I haven’t seen the big, bold ideas that would lead to increased gender equity, but I do believe that they could aid in leveling the playing field. There’s a lot of talk about the idea of daycare centers in workplaces, but too often it’s positioned as a women’s issue as opposed to a human issue. Having a daycare in one’s office, while in many ways convenient, automatically makes that parent the default primary parent, which doesn’t contribute to an equitable division of childcare. So when it comes to solutions for making workplaces more family friendly, we have to think carefully about unintended consequences.
MB: Is there anything you think women should be thinking about when it comes to their workspace, that could encourage gaining more equity?
I like an example in the book Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman: What Men Know About Success that Women Need to Learnby Gail Evans. She tells a hypothetical story; if there is a man and a woman who are equal (i.e. same years of experience, same position, same title, same salary, etc.) and there were two offices for them that were the same, other than one having a column in the corner (making it appear smaller), who would take which office? Evans suggests that the women take the smaller office, because they don’t think it matters – the symbolism of the “larger” office isn’t as important to them, and they know it won’t affect how well they will do the job. But when the rest of the office is asked, they perceive the person having the larger office as superior to the one in the smaller office. I actually saw a similar situation play out here at CHOP – a woman was promoted to manager, over the man who was filling in as an interim manager. When it came time for her to move into the larger manager office he was utilizing, she said, “I’m just going to stay in my office, it’s no big deal.” But I encouraged her to sit in the corner office that she deserved and had worked hard for. This particular department saw space as a proxy for prestige and to me, this is an example of how space relates to power and equity. I think it’s something that should be recognized more by women in these types of environments. Personally, I think we need to separate space allocation from prestige and self-worth, but that’s another blog!
Thank you to Natalie for her input, and for all of the work she does to create healthy, comfortable, connected workspaces for us at CHOP. I’d like to hear from all of you – what ideas do you have for making our physical workspaces more equitable and female-friendly?
I began thinking about this post a few weeks ago, on a typical Sunday evening. My husband Lou and I had been traveling and we’d just returned home. I intended to use the evening to get the kitchen ready for our remodel that was about to begin, pack up everything that needed to be moved, complete the rest of my New Years cards and get ready for the week ahead. As I began this work, he became frustrated; “Madeline, you have an endless supply of bandwidth, and you have to remember that I do not.” Lou has, by any definition, had an enormous amount of professional success – he’s balanced research, publishing and patient care as the Chief of General Pediatrics at CHOP, all while raising seven children. However, he knows how much downtime he needs to recharge and it is not always in synch with my desire to take on more. I believe the key to his success has much to do with knowing this, giving himself the necessary downtime to recharge, and pushing back when someone (usually me!) is depleting his bandwidth. It got me thinking.
We’ve all heard people talk about how busy they are, how stressed they are or how they can’t seem to find balance. Often, being busy is glamorized and if you’re not burning the candle at both ends, you’re somehow less successful. While I certainly promote taking on additional projects to stretch yourself and saying yes to things you may not quite feel prepared for, I also believe that in order to be successful you must know your own bandwidth.
For example, I know that by Friday evening, mine is spent. I like to go home, relax on the couch and make sure I go to bed as early as possible. If I have an event on a Friday night, I have to work extra hard to mentally prepare myself, though I try to avoid scheduling things for myself during this time. There have been many moments in my career when I thought, “I cannot possibly take on another thing.” However, I was always thinking in terms of adding and not subtracting anything from my plate. I started to focus more on what I can take off my to-do list, or which responsibility I can delegate when I want to take on something new. Productivity and functionality has a limit – you simply cannot take on more without looking for what you can remove. To me, this is central to knowing yourself and to building emotional intelligence.
Many people may argue that the leaders in their organization don’t respect the bandwidth of their employees. A large percentage of my work with those I directly manage is all about this topic. I help them prioritize, identify what can be delegated and how much they can handle while still thriving. This is key – everyone’s effectiveness decreases as a certain point. I know that when I ask one of my employees to take something additional on, I need to sit with them and make sure they know how to “rearrange” what’s on their plate. Opening up this conversation is important – leaders should be sure to ask their employees how they recharge or prioritize tasks. It’s important that we all acknowledge that a lower bandwidth does NOT equal lower performance, less ambition or less accomplishment.
If this is something you’ve been thinking about as well, I’d love to hear from you – how do you modulate your bandwidth? I believe this conversation should be central to helping everyone, but especially women, find balance and success without it being at the expense of their own effectiveness, sanity and personal life.
