Striking a perfect work-life balance in 2020
The New Year is nearly upon us. And while making resolutions is not necessarily part of everyone’s annual rituals, self-care should be a priority no matter where you are in your career. This is especially so considering the way the working landscape continues to evolve. Work-life balance will increasingly become an almost non-negotiable aspect for many when it comes to their career. This, while at the same time becoming something that is more and more difficult to achieve as the need for round-the-clock availability continues to grow. As this trend continues, it is now more vital than ever to strive for that balance. By laying out clear boundaries and effective management of both work and leisure time, you can move closer to striking the right work-life balance as you head into a new decade. Swarm intelligence
Futurist and author Alexandra Levit believes that the future of business, for full-timers and for interim executives alike, is the rise of the so-called ‘swarm team’: “It’s a short-term team that is assembled for the express purpose of solving a particular business problem,” Levit says. While full-time teams may soon become less commonplace, swarming seems like a viable way of assembling experts for a specific and focused task. She sees these teams becoming more commonplace, describing one that she was a part of: “I've never worked with any of these people before — and probably won't again.” Interim managers, too, form a critical part of this equation. So what specific skills do interim managers require? Answer this question, and you may have ensured your relevance for the workplace of tomorrow.
1. Experience is important, but showcase the results too
When hiring contractors, temp staff or specialists, the company’s top priority is for this person to create immediate impact. As such, your experience in business recovery and helping other companies emerge out of a crisis is going to matter a whole lot more than everything else. Arm yourself with referrals from companies that you have worked with before. Share success stories from the past and have hard statistics to back them up.
“Focus on the impact and accomplishment as opposed to roles and responsibilities,” advises Mabel Tang, Head of Acquisition, Asia Pacific at Moët Hennessy. “If you were the Director of Sales, your title already tells people what your responsibilities were. Don’t waste time describing what it is again [in the CV]. As businesses evolve, they start to look for people who drive changes. So if you have experience in business transformation or creating things from scratch, highlight it. Even if it’s a small project team, it’s an accomplishment.” Companies operating during an economic downturn, in particular, cannot afford to have employees ‘learn as they go’. So cut to the chase and let your accomplishments do the work.
2. The ability to challenge the status quo
For businesses to recover, they can no longer rely on strategies that were tested and proven only in the pre-pandemic world. Instead, sweeping changes must be implemented, with old strategies committed to the bin and new ones adopted. As such, companies will look for interim managers that are unafraid to challenge the status quo and embrace change as part of their nature.
“The best interim managers are also the ones who are used to continuous improvements. In fact, for this group of specialists, change is the only constant,” Zhou explains. “Agility, too, is critical, because a lot of times there isn’t a set way to solve a problem, and everyone has an idea for the best approach. Compromises have to be made, and you really have to be flexible to be able to do that.”