By Jake Weyer of FenderBender.com
Creating a symbiotic relationship between work and the rest of a life can be a challenge, to say the least, especially in a small repair facility that is dependent on the owner’s regular involvement.
When there’s money to be made, backing away from the daily grind can feel impossible—and some operators are perfectly happy (or perfectly resigned) to that kind of lifestyle. There is no universal definition of work-life-balance; it could be described as finding a way to accomplish your goals both at work and at home while maintaining an overall sense of happiness. WorkLifeBalance.com, a company that offers training and support programs on the subject, describes work-life balance as “achievement and enjoyment every day, both on and off the job.”
No matter how you describe work-life balance, one thing is clear: If you can’t find a balance between work and life that works for you, the stress of that situation can lead to slumping business performance, conflicts at home and numerous other issues.
That’s why management consultant Peter Barron Stark has worked with Fix Auto, ABRA Auto Body & Glass and other collision repair companies on this very issue. Stark, president of Peter Barron Stark Companies, has spent two decades helping organizations build stronger work cultures.
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Filed under: Articles, In the News, Peter's Blog on December 7th, 2011 No Comments »
From the December 2011 Quest for Leadership Excellence Newsletter (sign up)
Are you a leader or are you the boss, supervisor, manager, director, general manager, vice president or president of a group of people?
What’s the difference?
Supervisors, managers, directors, vice presidents and CEOs all have a title and a place on the organizational chart that gives them permission to tell a group of people what needs to be done. A leader may or may not have a title, but they always have a relationship where people make a conscious decision to follow them.
When did you realize you are a leader and not just a boss? For me, it happened in 1985. Between 1981 and 1990, I co-owned Photomation West, a commercial printing company. We had 17 employees and specialized in printing high quality brochures and fliers. I was 27-years-old and because I had no technical expertise in printing, everyone on the operational side of the business had very little respect for me. To be blunt, no one listened to me and seldom did people do what I asked them to do…even though I was the owner. If I wanted something done, I had to go ask my business partner – Paul Cartwright, who, to this day, remains one of my great friends – to go tell the people in operations what I needed them to do. You might be asking, “What value did Peter bring to the business?” I was an expert in sales, marketing, developing and bringing new clients into our company.
Continue reading “How I Went from Being a Boss to a Leader” »
Filed under: Leadership, Peter's Blog, Quest Newsletter on December 6th, 2011 3 Comments »
“He’s so driven and absolutely clueless as to how he comes across.”
“She is overly sensitive and takes everything so personally.”
“He might be able to solve the problem, but by the time he comes up with a solution, we’ll be out of business.”
In our consulting business, we routinely hear comments like those above, typically followed by: “He (or she) just doesn’t fit here. This person is not a good match for our culture.”
Often, when probing further, it becomes apparent that the team member being described is a square peg in a round whole when it comes to this organization. He or she just doesn’t think or act the same way as the majority of the rest of the team, which makes him or her stand out as being different.
Often this person is perceived to be a roadblock in terms of effectively contributing to the success of the team and organization. In other words, this person’s way of thinking, or approach to work, is radically different than that of the majority of the other team members.
Although the different approach may be challenging for some team members, it is important to remember that in building a highly effective team, different is good.
Continue reading “Managing a Team of Different Personalities” »
Filed under: Communication, Peter's Blog on December 5th, 2011 3 Comments »
