What are the best practices for balancing personal and professional growth as a people manager?

In my role as a strategist, setting clear expectations has been paramount. I've always believed that clarity in roles and responsibilities not only streamlines operations but also ensures that everyone is aligned with the broader vision. For instance, while leading a digital transformation project, I ensured that every team member was aware of their specific responsibilities, which not only optimized the workflow but also minimized potential overlaps and conflicts.

I firmly believe that maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential not only for individual well-being but also for sustaining long-term productivity and performance, especially for finance team, where deadlines and deliverables often create high-pressure environment. I advocate for flexible work arrangements where feasible, such as remote work options for people in Finance and Accounting, to accommodate the diverse needs and preferences of team members. By fostering a culture that prioritizes work-life balance, I aim to cultivate a more engaged, motivated, and resilient finance team capable of delivering exceptional results while also maintaining their well-being.

To balance personal and professional growth as a people manager, prioritize time management, set boundaries, delegate tasks, and invest in self-care. Continuously improve your leadership skills, seek mentorship, and engage in ongoing learning. Balancing these aspects ensures personal well-being while effectively managing and developing your team.

Communication of goal to each and every one must be very clear and feed back for the same is required. Believing in people and taking them in confidence before setting a goal with a strategy will be helpful.

I have believed in the simplicity of doing both the personal and the professional responsibilities with the same passion, setting priorities in each and while doing one detaching myself from the other- thus sending this scent to our teams too.

The average full-time employee spends at least a third of their weekday at work and another third asleep. They usually spend the remaining 8 hours on activities such as commuting, interacting with family, and other recreational activities. Finding the right balance between work and personal life activities is very crucial to the happiness and wellbeing of an individual. Without this, the strain begins to affect the employee in many ways, including strained work and personal relationships and poor work performance.

Setting expectations in team management isn't just about roles and goals. It involves understanding team dynamics, being adaptable, fostering a feedback culture, leveraging emotional intelligence, and aligning with organizational goals for effective management.

Balancing personal and professional growth as a people manager is crucial for sustained success and well-being. Prioritizing time management and committing to continuous learning are essential. Fostering a supportive environment and regularly reflecting to set goals can help maintain focus and direction. It's important to maintain work-life balance, build strong relationships, and embrace technology to stay efficient. Seeking feedback and adapting to it ensures continuous improvement. Integrating these practices leads to a fulfilling and successful career.

Balancing personal and professional growth as a people manager can be challenging, but it's essential for both your own development and the success of your team. Set Clear Boundaries: Define your working hours and stick to them as much as possible to prevent burnout. Avoid constantly checking emails and messages during your personal time. Delegate and Empower: Trust your team to handle their responsibilities. Delegate tasks and empower team members to make decisions. Avoid micromanaging, as it can be detrimental to your team's growth and your own well-being. Time Management: Use time management techniques like prioritizing tasks, creating to-do lists, and setting Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.

Set clear goals for both personal and professional growth and prioritize them. This will help you to stay focused and avoid getting overwhelmed.

Feedback has been a cornerstone of my professional growth. Regularly, I engage in feedback sessions with both my peers and team members. This two-way communication ensures that while I provide guidance to my team, I also remain open to areas of improvement in my leadership style. This iterative feedback process has been instrumental in fostering a culture of continuous learning.

Build relationships with colleagues, industry peers, and professionals outside your organization. Engage in collaborative projects, join professional associations, and attend networking events. This collaborate and network strategy will not only expand your professional network but also expose you to new perspectives and ideas.

Reverse mentorship is also a very powerful tool that can be leveraged. This requires you opening up to atleast one of your team members consistently, requesting for and accepting all feedback from the team member, committing to which one you intend to work on, signing that person on as your accountability coach and ensuring that you are disciplined enough to work on the aligned actions and going back for reviews. Leaders are not the only ones to always mentor and coach. You'd be surprised by how much you can learn from your reports and how much that grows you whiles building trust within the team

Feedback is like a mirror; it shows us where we can do better. By talking to different people, we can get a clearer picture of where we stand. It's always good to learn from others and improve.

360 feedback is a great way to gain perspectives. You need to be in the right place to accept this feedback, understanding that all feedback is incomplete, but a perspective.

Following up is crucial, it shows us where we can do better. By talking to different people, we can get a clearer picture of where we stand any areas of weakness which may need addressing. It's always good to learn from others and improve.Learning from others is always beneficial for development

feedback is most welcomed by those, who are learners at core and seek feedback not only from their professional circle but people from all walks of life.

I always thought about coaching as something that I would do once I reached a certain level, without realizing that I could have been benefiting from it right then and there. It doesn't need to be fancy - you don't need your company to hire an external coach for you. Start by identifying a few leaders that you admire and reach out to them directly - "Hey I really respect your work and I would love to learn from your experience, if you have time". Many times the response to this will be positive and even an hour per month is enough to fast track your career in a couple of years.

Establishing a friendly and constructive feedback culture aiming at making things better can be an incredible leverage for improvement, not only for the growth of the people manager, but for the whole team.

4 steps to delegate and empower as a people manager so as to be balanced professional & and personal✔: 1. Delegate with Purpose: Assign tasks based on team members' strengths, interests, and developmental needs. Ensure that the delegation aligns with their skill sets. 2.Build Trust: Trust is the foundation of successful delegation. Show confidence in your team's abilities and foster a culture of trust through open communication. 3.Provide Necessary Resources: Ensure your team has the tools, training, and support they need to succeed. Remove obstacles that hinder their progress. 4.Encourage Autonomy: Empower your team by giving them autonomy within their delegated responsibilities. Encourage them to take ownership and make decisions.

Empowerment is key to team growth. In one of my projects, I assigned a challenging task to a relatively new team member, providing them with the necessary resources and autonomy. This trust not only boosted their confidence but also led to fresh, innovative solutions. Delegating not only frees up my time for strategic thinking but also fosters a sense of ownership and pride in the team.

When a trusting relationship is built and the individual's career aspirations understood, delegating in alignment to that will be supremely beneficial to both. A perfect win-win. Even if 60 to 70% of delegation happens in alignment to the individual's career aspiration, we're good. All of us have to do remaining 30 to 40% boring work.

Letting others take charge sometimes is good. Everyone has their strengths. By giving them a chance, not only do they grow, but it also takes some load off you.

The amount of control and autonomy granted to the follower is the primary distinction between delegation and empowerment. When chosen which to utilise, leaders must take three criteria into account. These three factors are the know-how and abilities of the followers, the level of control and autonomy needed, and the level of control and autonomy the leader is ready to grant.

Knowing your team strength and personality very well is helping a lot for assigning project or tasks , who doing what, each one plays his role effectively as he is talented in this area,

Respecting the other person’s ideas and seeking to create an environment where the everyone can feel free to express their thoughts, ideas, and feelings and be who you really are without fear of being judged, is a great foundation for culture.

This is fundamental for feeling part of strong team and it sounds like something really simple, the leader that does this has a team tasting success and supports a feeling of confidence in self and each other.

Good delegation is a very effective way to grow people. I like to give my folks tasks or projects a bit outside their comfort zone, making sure to have enough guardrails in case they need them. This is especially the case with high-performers, who often thrive when given increasingly challenging tasks.

Grow and let grow: delegating and empowering team members is an ideal way to show them your trust in them, let them grow and become proud of their work and its results. If you make sure they get the appropriate visibility when delivering excellent results, even the better.

Personal growth has always been a priority. I regularly enroll in online courses and attend seminars to stay updated with the latest in digital business strategies. This continuous learning not only enhances my skill set but also brings fresh perspectives to the team, ensuring that our strategies remain cutting-edge.

Just like we save money for the future, investing in learning new things helps our future self. It's about growing our minds, skills, and understanding. Plus, it can be fun and rewarding!

Make sure you use your time wisely because it is incredibly valuable. Start a time journal to track how you spend your time if necessary. Make a list of everything you intend to achieve for one day, and then keep track of what you actually do. At the end of the day, compare your accomplishments against your goals.

Being accountable for yourself, your thoughts, and your actions is a very important part of being a positive contributing member any team (or relationship). But sometimes, we take things too far by assuming an unhealthy responsibility for others, and then using it as an excuse for not being accountable for ourselves and our own circumstances. One of the oldest books in existence states ‘Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct’.

Maybe 10 years ago there weren't a lot of books or courses for people managers, but today this is definitely not the case. I've read like 6 books this year alone on effective management and new ones get released on a regular basis. As our management style evolves and adapts to the latest developments, many fundamentals stay the same, but there are many new, cool insights that have been researched over the last years, which make it worthwhile to stay up to date as much as possible.

Nunca esquecer que somos pessoas antes de tudo, sempre buscar evoluir, buscar conhecimento, passar mais tempo com a família e amigos, a vida pessoal quando mantida saudável também colabora para uma vida profissional saudável.

I was reflecting and realized that I hadn't called some of my close friends in many months. Sure, I texted them from time to time, but that was pretty much it. Don't be like me, please. We need to take a step back and invest in our relationships outside work, especially with friends and family, just as much (if not more) energy as we dedicate to our professional lives - you will be a much more balanced individual overall. Remember that life - both personal and professional - is a marathon, not a sprint.

Self care is all the above and more and practising self-care doesn’t come naturally to most of us( including me😊) Real self-care is more than spending meaningful and enjoyable time outside of work , it’s about caring for your well-being at a very deep level. For me it’s centered around three main philosophies Self-acceptance/love ( of me and my life just the way it is) Self-compassion ( specially when things and me are not the best) Self- appreciation ( of who I have become ) And this is a learned skill and once we are able to provide ourselves a safe space , like a true friend , the inner balance and the quality of our “being” transforms.

Balancing the rigors of strategic management with personal well-being has been crucial. I've incorporated regular exercise and meditation into my routine, ensuring that I approach challenges with a clear, focused mind. This emphasis on self-care not only boosts my productivity but also sets a positive example for the team, emphasizing the importance of a balanced work-life approach.

Throughout my career, I've come to realize that prioritizing self-care is not just a best practice; it's a personal transformation waiting to happen. It's easy to become entangled in the demands of work, but I've personally experienced the incredible benefits of nurturing my physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being. By dedicating time to activities that bring joy and relaxation, I've witnessed a remarkable reduction in stress, a boost in creativity, and a heightened sense of overall well-being. I've learned that life is not about simply working to exist; it's about experiencing the richness of the present moment. So, my personal perspective is this: prioritize self-care as a non-negotiable part of your daily routine! Live & Enjoy!

Self-care helps to keep you healthy, resilient and balanced. It will - in a professional context - inevitably convey positive signals to the team which is a great side effect.

We all need a break. Taking care of our body and mind helps us stay happy and healthy. It's like recharging our batteries so we can work better.

Only ‘we’ can determine the requirements or the need, for our own self care. The old saying ‘you cannot give from an empty cup’ has no greater truth than in an environment where others rely on us to be in control, level headed, calm, responsive, considerate, empathetic, leading and energetic. Without investing in your self, your health, you mind, your body and in time-out from the noise around you, you risk ‘burn out’ and when that moment comes, the realisation occurs that it is already too late. Health (in all aspects of the word) should be a guiding focus.

Managing expectations is not easy and I too feel the need to contribute more than expected. However this leads to burnout, and reading your suggestions sparks my curiosity as it sounds simple. It is all about self preservation to maintain endurance and that's when we contribute the most effectively.

Recognition plays a vital role in team motivation. After the successful completion of a major project, I organized a team appreciation event, highlighting individual contributions. This not only boosted morale but also reinforced the importance of every team member's role in achieving our collective goals.

Try a simple gesture like taking out your team for dinner after a big release, or if that's not possible, offer them a voucher they can use together with their loved ones. It works wonders, trust me.

I’ve heard that people don’t leave jobs; they leave leaders. I’ve also heard that a source of dissatisfaction which leads to attrition the lack of appreciation of a staff’s contributions. Ultimately, leadership is about inspiring and developing those under your charge - taking time to practise positive reinforcement and celebrating wins (however small) goes a long way in motivating staff and building a dedicated workforce, who in turn will stick around to help you hone your leadership skills further.

I agree that you must take time to recognize lessons learned. Understand individual differences. Not everyone covets praise. For some, the best recognition is the prime assignment.

Everyone loves to be recognized for their hard work. It's like saying, "Hey, you did a great job!" It makes people happy and motivated to do even better.

The ability to adapt and be flexible, has really helped me to create the balance I need as a people manager. Recognising the uniqueness of the the people I work with has promoted diversity and inclusion and this has enabled us achieve some significant milestones and has improved my professional and personal growth as a leader.

To make sure we balance personal and professional, it is a great idea to make sure we can organize the professional side as efficiently as possible. To do so, we need to pick three important tasks that need to be done that day, and only after they are completed that we can start the less important tasks. It is similar to a glass jar. If we fill it with sand, there is no more room to put our three pebbles in, but if we start by putting our three pebbles (representing our three important tasks), then if we pour sand, it will fill the empty spaces between the pebbles.

I would rather like to recommend that one has to focus on the quality of his experiences rather than the quantity. Whether it's spending time with family or working on a project, strive for meaningful and impactful interactions. Subsequently, assess whether you are moving towards your goals and adjust your strategies accordingly.

A brainstorming session is not just about work; it's also about the people. Making sure everyone feels respected and involved is key. It's also good to remember that everyone has something valuable to add, so making space for all voices helps in getting the best ideas.

It's important to encourage a healthy work-life balance among your team members. By doing so, you set a positive example and foster a culture that values the well-being of all team members. Be the first one to encourage your team to turn off work communication apps and emails after work hours. Within reason, be lenient when it comes to leaves, and make it clear that there is nothing wrong with taking a break, as work will always be there.