I recently joined three female executives to talk about resetting the standard in work and well-being. Because when Melissa Dawn-Simkins shared the theme of her 7th annual She-Suite Summit, I saw an opportunity to encourage hundreds of women who are over-stressed and over-worked.
The panel was awesome.
Jeanne Sparrow is an incredibly dynamic woman, a 7-time Emmy-winning television host and award-winning radio personality! She’s fire! Francis Hondal is the President of Loyalty & Engagement at Mastercard, and inspired me to think and plan differently for the future. And TJ Harvay is AVP, Global Human Health & Vaccines at Merck, one of the most operationally disciplined leaders I’ve met.
Two key themes emerged.
1. INTENTIONALITY – The importance of getting disciplined, which makes time for the important things.
- Your schedule is the one thing that never lies about your priorities. Do you feel you never have enough time to get that one thing done? Check it out on your mobile device: Go to Settings / Screen Time to check out how much time you’re really spending on social media. If you’re surprised by what you see, or suddenly discover an available 30 minutes in the day, make a commitment to allocate that time more intentionally!
- Words are immensely powerful. So write down your intentions; there’s something that solidifies when you put pen to paper. And then, take it to the next level – share your intention with someone else, who has now heard those words spoken, and can hold you accountable! Writing down or voicing your intention enables you to take that next step towards commitment.
2. THE LONG GAME – How purpose drives our longer-term career plans.
- Francis shared about how she’s planned for retirement, starting with clear goals and a defined timeline. This woman is #winning! I hadn’t thought that far or that deliberately, but she’s absolutely right – our future state requires years of planning and intentional action.
- I shared about my #professionalhalftime. Still a ways from retirement, I thought about the things I don’t want to wait till retirement to do… like write a book! We talked about the benefits of a short-term hiatus (~3mo) and a longer term break (~1yr). How refreshing, and what an opportunity to reflect on the first half, then plan with more intention for the second half!
- What is purpose? One of the attendees, Nancy, asked the big question– “What is purpose? Is it what I do everyday or is it the reason for my life?” I think the answer is: both. Purpose is our North Star. It’s where we aim in the small, every day moments, and it’s where we set our sights when making the bigger decisions.
I’d love to hear your reflections on Intention and The Long Game. And, how do you reset the standard in work and well-being?
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