What Leaders Forget About Balance

As leaders, we are always aware that we have finite resources and infinite milestones** we can set. Sometimes, milestones are dictated by the business; other times, we set them in hopes of getting ahead of the business. We know inherently that our job is to achieve a balance between finite resources and infinite milestones.

It isn't uncommon for me to hear leaders and managers - especially junior ones - say things like "Once we achieve equilibrium," or "When we get caught up, we can..." or "We've just got to get this all balanced out..." As if balance is a state that can be achieved and changes things once there.

That isn't the case. More on that in a moment. The statements above amount to a false promise to the people and teams they are being spoken to. That undermines trust - which is the most valuable currency a leader has.

Balance isn't static - it's dynamic. Finite resources expand as new folks fill empty spots on the org chart. They contract as people leave to pursue their own goals. Milestones shift as unknowns become known, customer expectations shift, and innovations are discovered. 

Robin Wall Kimmerer captured it perfectly with a line of poetry in her book "Braiding Sweetgrass" saying, "Balance is not a passive resting place; it takes work, taking out and putting in."

That's part of the job of being a leader. Communicating to your team that balance will not be a place of rest but a condition we live in.

Do you have a go-to aphorism for ensuring your folks understand that balance is dynamic? Or perhaps you've had the good fortune to work with a skilled leader that had one they used. Comment or repost and share it with us.

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