Women in Business and Work Life Balance
Many women (and men) struggle to find the balance between work/business and family /personal commitments. Many women go into business on their own to be able to be flexible around their children and home life. However success in business usually means a lot of stress, juggling and trying to fulfil too many roles – striving for the perfect everything. There is often a lot of guilt packed in around unreal expectations and a sense of failure when the Wonder Woman teeters on falling apart. Or becoming so good at being perfect that everything else good about you disappears. Self-esteem and confidence can be affected and – so how do we have it all and survive and thrive?
Women in Business and Work Life Balance
On this edition of Business Connections Live we talk to Michelle Turner-Davidson who runs the Healthy Wealthy People Group which incorporates her Network Marketing Business in Partnership with Forever (11 years) and 4Networking where she is a Regional Leader for 38 groups across from Oxford to Norfolk, and Scotland.
1) Perfection is a myth – you can’t have it all
2) What is success anyway? It’s important to define what success means to you in business / life
3) Become self-aware, know your strengths, know the strengths of others around you – acknowledge and accept rather than compromising
4) Collaboration not competition
5) Children are the entrepreneurs of the future
6) Be YOU – Networking and building your tribe of like-minded people
When you stop believing in perfection and concentrate on the things you can do then life gets better – you become more authentic to you and business gets better –
Women in business need to be clear on what success means to them rather than get trapped in the conventions of success or women in business – or women in a man’s world. Self-awareness allows for better choices to be made. Work out what you have to do rather than the things that you think you should do.
By understanding your own strengths in a non-judgemental way then you can understand other people around you and where they are helping or hindering you. It also helps you to understand your relationships with your children, family and friends so that you can understand, manage your own and others expectations around the practical aspects of being successful and fulfilling your various roles in life reducing stress and conflict, both internally and with others.
A lot of women feel threatened by other women, or insecure – we are not in competition we all have different skills and different lives and stories. Learning to collaborate is a far stronger position than competition.
For those of us juggling with families – bring children to work / into the working environment – allow their entrepreneurial spirit to thrive. They are the businesses of the future. Show them what the real world of work and business is. This can make a significant difference to them and to lessen the stress –
The more authentic, open and honest you become the more you attract the right people, opportunities, business and life!
Michelle Turner-Davidson http://www.laterthanyouthink.co.uk/
Michelle is also an Empowerment Pioneer (100 women chosen by Psychologies magazine to reach 1m by 2020). Michelle is divorced and has 2 children who are with her 50% of the time aged 10 and 15.
Women in Business and Work Life Balance
Business Connections Live Programme 57
This is the Business Connections Live Business Channel On YouTube Business Connections Live Programme 57. Broadcast 15th October 2014
