Inside Self-Care And Work-Life Balance At Our Agency
I started Centric Squared to create flexibility for myself in 2017 as a new mom. Now, we have a team of 12+ marketing professionals, working remotely and globally. My commitment to personal work-life balance extends to my team.
We recently gave each team member a stipend to spend on the self-care activity of their choice. Then, we got together virtually and spent some time talking about self-care and how we can better support work-life balance as a team.
Here are some highlights from the event. I’m sharing this in hopes that it resonates with others and particularly to help other leaders see that you can make this a priority even if you’re not perfect at it yourself.
1) Self-Care
We asked the team: What does self-care mean to you? Here are some of the responses:
“Taking time to relax and recharge, ensuring I’m not overwhelmed by daily tasks.”
“Taking a little time for myself everyday to do what I enjoy.”
“Making sure I have what I need physically and mentally to fulfill the many roles I have in life.”
During the event, we learned how each of us practice self-care, and there were a range of responses:
- Spending time outdoors (#touchinggrass made us laugh)
- Exercise and fitness routines
- Massages, facials, pampering
- Reconnecting with friends
- Treating ourselves to things we enjoy (fancy coffee, nice meal)
Self-care looks different for everyone and is very much a personal choice. We talked a little about the different phases of life we’re in and how needs evolve, especially those with younger kids where “self-care” can look more like “survival-care.” But everyone agreed that self-care is about filling up your own cup and doing things that recharge you, and that it’s essential to bringing your best self to work (and to life in general).
2) Work-Life Balance
We also asked the team: what does work-life balance mean to you? Here are some of the responses:
“It signifies having time—time to be with my family, to pursue my hobbies, and to rest.”
“Work-life balance means setting boundaries so I can enjoy both my job and personal life.”
“For me, work-life balance is the peace of mind that I’m not dropping balls in my life, either as a mom or an employee.”
The reality is that team members don’t always feel like they achieve “work-life balance.” Sometimes, it’s accepting that you can’t do it all. We talked about ways to set boundaries and encouraged team members to carve out the time they need in our shared calendar. We reiterated that knowing what other’s boundaries are can help us to respect and support them.
3) Flexibility & Teamwork
As a mom of 3, flexibility is something I need personally, and it’s something I expect others to need as well. That’s why in our workplace we have work organized with clear deadlines and expectations, and a “few meetings” culture. But as the agency grows, I’ve realized it’s really the culture of teamwork that gives us the strength and resilience needed to be flexible. Working with others that are reliable, self-sufficient, and good at what they do is important for delivering results for our clients. But what’s important to our agency’s culture is strong communication and empathy, because those are the fundamental building blocks of teamwork.
Life happens to everyone. And to thrive as an agency, we need a team that’s as quick to call out when they need help as they are willing to lend a hand.
So it’s no surprise that when we asked the team: “Is there anything you think Centric Squared is doing well when it comes to self-care and work-life balance?”, teamwork and flexibility got called out:
“I think the team is great at supporting one another when things in our personal lives happen. Whether that’s providing words of support/encouragement, or stepping in that day to help get work done. It’s a team in the true sense of the word. As an independent contractor that’s rather unique in my experience.”
“Knowing that I have reliable colleagues who can step in when needed allows me to handle unexpected personal matters without the anxiety of falling behind on work. This support system fosters a healthy work culture.”
“I really appreciate the practices our company has now. I can dedicate my weekends to myself and my family, and even on weekdays, I’m not restricted to a fixed schedule. This flexibility greatly helps me manage my time for work and time with myself and/or my son.”
4) Leadership Lessons
One thing I’ll admit to as someone in a leadership role is that I don’t always do a great job at prioritizing self-care and achieving work-life balance. I drop balls, too. Sometimes I’m five minutes late to meetings even though I hate doing that to the team. Other times, I have work situations crop up and cut story-time short with the kids. However, I think it’s still something I can be in-tune with and prioritize even if I’m not always great at it. Plus, I’ve *heard* that it gets a little easier when your kids are more self-sufficient and out of diapers, so I’m not giving up.
We’re always our own biggest critic, so it was really nice to hear that sometimes I get it right. One team member shared with me that in her early days on the team my unshakeable date with swimming laps each week left an impression. She remembers me being in meetings and saying things like “alright, let’s wrap this up I have to go swim now.” It reminded me how important it is to share with the team my own boundaries and needs as someone in a leadership role. Because this wasn’t just a pragmatic way to wrap up a meeting. And it wasn’t just an essential component of my mental health during late-stage pregnancies. It also served as a bar and let the team know that it’s OK to have a personal life and make time for what’s important.
I hope this resonates with others in team settings and leadership roles – it certainly reminded me to lead by example and be open about what I need with my team. And it reminded me to openly encourage the team to set and communicate the boundaries they need too. But mostly, it reminded me of the many ways in which a supportive team can be the highest ROI investment of all. It makes a real difference to people’s lives when they feel supported and empowered.
Fostering a strong team culture can always be prioritized and celebrated.
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