More on life/work balance

"There is life and then there is work. " Don Draper, Mad Men


I believe in this statement just about more than any other.

I started my first job when I was 16.  I was a cashier at Bambergers. I made $1.95 an hour.

The money from this 15 hour a week job paid for gas in my Pinto, cigarettes, jeans, other clothes and of course, my social life.

$27 a week after taxes.

And I made it work.

After college and not knowing what to do with my degree in Behavioral Sciences (Psych/Soc),
I went to work as a teller. I made $110 a week.

And I still paid my student loan payment every month.

A year later I made the big move.

I went to work in NYC.  2 blocks from Wall Street.

I made $11,000 a year.

Like most of my generation, the years after college were about career.

Climbing the corporate ladder.

Looking for that next promotion or job to make more money.

One of my friends joked he put my work phone number in pencil because I was always jumping around from job to job.  I would get bored and it was time to move on again.

You never think in your 20's there is anything more important than establishing yourself in a career.

After Jenn was born, my thinking started to change.  I wanted more time with her and lost some of my go-getter attitude.

I will honestly admit,  I was a better mother because I worked. (This is not criticizing stay at home Mom's.  Just for me I was a better Mom when I had limited time with Jenn so she became my focus in the off hours.)

Juggling work/life balance was a challenge.

There was a summer right before Jenn started school and I was laid off. 

I found (for me) I was disorganized.  I did better with the structure of a schedule.  I would forget to do laundry until Bob asked for a clean shirt for work.  I would not give dinner a thought until Bob walked in from work.

But it was lovely to have the time to spend sitting under a sprinkler with Jenn. Not having set bed times.  Allowing Jenn to have a grilled cheese or ice cream for breakfast. 

It was a few months of freedom and I really didn't quite know how to handle it.

When I was working, I planned meals for the week and would cook them all on Sunday.  Laundry and ironing were done on the weekends to make the week run smoother.  Clothes were laid out for each day.  Dinner's were nuked in order to save time.

The years fly by and you still get up and go to work each day.

You envy the Mom's who are not rushing to make it to school to see your child's exhibit in the Science Fair (even though you know the project inside and out from the hours of preparation that went into it).

Work was so much a part of me. It was part of how I identified myself.

You never think the day will come when you will say "I am done climbing".

Once my work/life balance way of thinking became life/work balance so much changed.

As a manager, I did not want anyone of my team to pass up any family events. Awards ceremonies, sports events, proms and anything else that was important in their life.

I promote my life/work balance philosophy regularly with my team.

And do you know what  I get in return?

The most amazing group of people I have every worked with!

They are loyal, dedicated, do things before I even ask and best of all they "get" me.

They will ask "have you had your coffee yet?' or I will get am IM that says"need to talk to you about a loan....after you finish your coffee."

They know the Donna who has a serious tone on our morning conference calls.

They put up with the Donna who asks questions such as "if you could play one song over and over again what would it be?" (BTW my answer was "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by Mama Cass of the Mama's and the Papa's)

I try to break up the routine just a little.  It also helps my team to learn more about each other.

I can't think of one thing I would ask them to do that any one of them would say no to.  Without my direction, they strategize and plan and make me look good in the process.

Why? Because I care about them, their families and their lives outside of work.

The return on my investment in them has been enormous.

I have only had a few bosses that really showed they cared about me while trying to also talk the corporate talk. And they walked the walk too.

I hope when Team Pizzo looks back years from now they think or say "I had this great boss once".

Meanwhile, it is early Sunday evening and I am starting to think about the week ahead.

What can I do to excite them about our work challenges?

What can I do to push the team to meet the company goals?

What can I do to make them want to show up day after day?

Maybe it is just to say "thank you" "I appreciate you" and you "WOW'd me today".

And when the day is over make sure they feel a sense of accomplishment as they head home to their families.

With all the twists and turns in my career, I think I finally know what I want to do when I grown up.

I want to be a good, motivating manager. 

I think I finally found out what I do best.

See you next week!

PS #1 Happy Valentines Day !!!

PS #2  Another good thing is knowing someday what my next career will be.  That great American \novel is still in progress.  You will all be notified when the book signing will happen.

PS #3 In my quest to pay it forward, once again this week Jenn, my pal Mary and I found a way to help someone out without fanfare.  It sure made me feel great.  I love this 2020 goal of helping out when I can.  I wish I had embraced thus mindset earlier.

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