The Best Leaders Focus on More Than Just Their Professional Success

To create a balanced life, you need a framework and a plan. Here are six areas to reflect on to create more balance.

Everyone talks about the importance of balance in life. But what does that really mean? Too often, we pay lip service to the idea without a plan or a framework for how to create it. Without a plan, things won't change, and without a framework, we can't make a plan.

When working with my executive clients, we focus on the following areas. We assess each and evaluate how it's currently going and where we need to make changes to create a healthier balance. While we don't always need to focus on the lowest scores, we want to understand where we need to make changes to address critical risks and priorities.

1. Personal development

First and foremost, healthy and balanced executives prioritize their personal development and self-care. This includes practical matters like regular health checkups and investing time and energy into personal interests and hobbies. While I don't expect the leaders I work with to be competing in Ironman triathlons, though several do, I do want to make sure they have some regular routines that keep them physically and mentally fit.

2. Immediate and extended family

I've seen too many executives, both men and women, get so wrapped up in advancing their business that they neglect their families. Not just partners and children but also siblings and extended family. While all families have drama and can be difficult, families are key to our support network and social connections. Making time for family will keep you balanced, reduce stress, and increase overall life satisfaction. Being busy with work is not an excuse for neglecting these important connections.

3. Friends and other relationships

I often challenge executives to name five close friends whom they could share anything with and who are not family members or connected to their business. Most fail. Some can't even name one or two. This is a problem, because family and business connections are too intertwined in your decisions and success, which means you're less likely to share significant challenges for fear of upsetting them, and they are less likely to give you honest, and sometimes difficult, feedback. True friends are a key resource for working through big issues because they only have your best interests at heart. They can give you some tough love if needed.

4. Professional development

This is more than just making more money. It's about charting your career beyond your current business or job and setting big goals that are meaningful and impactful for you. Knowing your larger ambitions allows you to make better short-term decisions that will nudge you toward the bigger picture. This also involves setting your professional development goals and determining what you need to add to your executive toolbox. Without a long-term plan, you'll, at best, wander around aimlessly, at worst, paint yourself into a corner.

5. Financial matters

Most executives I work with are highly motivated by money and building wealth. Assuming they are also striving to improve their relational connections and mental and physical wellness and positively impact their communities, then I'm all for it. The challenge is that being in a solid financial situation is more than making a lot of personal income. It's about protecting yourself and your family with insurance, building a reasonable savings and retirement account, and investing in assets that will provide you with future resources and opportunities. Unfortunately, many executives focus solely on making more income and not on building wealth and security.

6. Community and legacy

At some point, making more money and building an even bigger business becomes unfulfilling. Once you've taken care of your needs and provided for your family, you need to start thinking bigger about the impact you want to make on your community. Getting involved in social matters that you care about and can have an impact on becomes your next playing field. Take a stand and use your leadership and resources to create a better world for the next generations, both yours and everyone else's.

A multifaceted and balanced life not only makes you a more capable and successful executive but also makes living it more fun and engaging. The best executives I work with find strategies for leveling up multiple areas with the same initiatives. For me, it's been getting outdoors and going on adventures with my kids. It checks the mental health box, the family box, and the personal development box.

You won't always have a perfect balance, and that's not the goal. Things will flow and change. The goal is to monitor, create intentions, and take actions to keep things from getting too out of whack. The best executives make this a regular habit rather than trying to save things when they are in crisis.