Feature Article: Spin Your Web by Julie A. Fleming
When you think of work/life balance, what do you envision? Commonly discussed concepts have trained us to imagine a see-saw. Add time and energy in one area of life, take it away from the other, always in search of that perfect middle point of balance.
What if the representation of work/life balance were a web rather than a see-saw? The web better illustrates the full dimensions of life and the interconnectedness of each area, as opposed to limiting the aspects to just work and life. What’s more, instead of creating a zero-sum problem (more here necessarily means less there), the web analogy allows for the possibility of stretching—more here, in other words, may mean less there or it may mean a different effect.
Stewart Friedman, author of Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life, has proposed a framework of "balance" that fits neatly into this web analogy. He urges leaders to seek "four-way wins," meaning high performance in the four domains of life that he defines: work, home, community, and self (mind, body, and spirit). Like the sectors of a web, these domains overlap one another, leaving hazy boundaries between domains rather than clear demarcation.
Your "self," for example, must be present in each domain that exists in your life. Community and home may overlap if, for example, community service or activity is part of your family life. Work may overlap with community as well, if you are active in pro bono work or you perform other community-related service as a part of your professional life. The degree of overlap and the specific relationship among the domains is intensely personal, as is the size of each domain. Because of the interrelationships of the domains, however, any change in one domain will likely have spillover effects in the other domains. Put more emphasis on one area of the web, and you’re see changes in the other areas as well.
What’s more, the interrelationships among the domains mean that each domain yields experiences and resources that benefit other domains. Perhaps you’ll engage in a meditation practice that will also help you to remain focused during a high-stress negotiation. Or you might apply the knowledge you gain while teaching your child to play a musical instrument or teaching your teenager how to drive to help you motivate other members of your trial team. You could even use negotiation techniques acquired through years of practice in your marriage to resolve a long-standing argument about how to spend family vacations. (Though you’d better do that carefully, and without appearing to be "the lawyer" in your personal relationship. Some boundaries should be rather clear.) Your experiences in each domain offer resources, and as you discover ways to marshal all of your resources, you will come closer to being a whole person, able to act authentically in any situation.
Eliminating the "zero sum" approach to work/life balance creates opportunities for win-win solutions. Achieving four-way wins creates "total leadership," which in turn creates sustainable change that increases success and satisfaction in each domain. Friedman recommends creating experiments to test incremental change that typically has a direct impact on one domain and an indirect impact on the others.
For example, Jennifer, a sole practitioner, decided to experiment with delegating and developing those to whom she was delegating work. After evaluating how her practice operated, she decided to hire a law school student to serve as an intern, and she delegated routine drafting (simple complaints, discovery requests, etc.) to the student. Jennifer realized an immediate benefit because she was no longer starting each document from scratch. Instead, she had a draft document that sometimes incorporated ideas that she would not have considered, creating a win in the work domain. She introduced the student to her practice and to some colleagues, and she served as his mentor, creating a win in the domain of community. Jennifer also reconnected with her enjoyment of teaching (a win in the spiritual domain) and even found that she gained enough time to incorporate a weekly pottery class, representing a win in the personal domain. Jennifer created a four-way win simply by delegating work to an intern and putting time in to assist in his professional development.
To improve your own work/life balance, take a look at the web that forms your life. Perhaps Friedman’s domains speak to you, or perhaps you’d prefer to define other domains based on additional roles and aspects of life. However you create these definitions, look for synergies. What can you change in one area that will have a positive impact in other areas? Friedman recommends adopting only a small number of experiments at any given time—no more than three. He suggests keeping careful notes about the results of each experiment, to facilitate a rational decision about its impact and whether to continue it. When you experiment in this way, you’ll be constantly adjusting and adapting to changes in the demands on your time and changes in the opportunities you identify.
In a 1930 letter to his son, Albert Einstein wrote, "Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance you have to keep moving." Although he wasn’t writing about work/life balance, his observation holds merit for busy lawyers. Because your demands almost certainly change from one time to another, balance will mean adapting and adjusting to circumstances in a fluid way. What better way to keep moving than to build in limited experiments that hold the possibility of benefit in all aspects of your life? Experiment on how best to spin your web. You may be surprised to discover that work/life balance isn’t as unattainable as you may have thought.
Julie A. Fleming, J.D., A.C.C. provides attorney development coaching and consulting to law firm associates and partners, focusing on topics such as leadership, client, and professional development; career strategy; and work/life integration. A certified leadership coach (Georgetown University), Julie publishes the weekly email newsletter Leadership Matters for Lawyers and posts often on the Life at the Bar Blog. Learn more at www.LifeAtTheBar.com or by contacting Julie by telephone at 800.758.6214 or by email to jfb@lifeatthebar.com.
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Cartoon: Courtoons
by David Mills
Courtoons are the creation of David Mills, an Ohio appellate lawyer who works with litigants and law firms involved in civil and criminal cases in federal courts across the country. Visit David's law firm website at www.MillsFederalAppeals.com
Video of the Month: L'Existence
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Suzan Charlton is a professional cartoonist who is rumored to practice insurance coverage law as a hobby for a major Washington D.C. law firm. Her cartoons cover a wide range of law-related topics, from law school grades to law firm romance.
Song of the Month: Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Lawyers
by Bob Noone & the Well Hung Jury
Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Lawyers
Don't let them drive Volvos and write them old briefs,
Get'em a guitar and save them that grief . . .
Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Lawyers,
Cause they work 8 days a week, just to hear themselves speak,
On topics that nobody knows.
Verse 1
Lawyers like little silk hankies - stuffed in pin stripped pockets,
Short-winded judges that lounge in their long flowing robes, Each
morning finds him with hands cupped round the next fix of caffiene, and
you can't find him at night, 'cause the night belongs to Michelob . . .
Chorus
Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Lawyers
Don't let them drive Volvos and write them old briefs,
Buy'em a banjo and save them that grief . . .
Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Lawyers,
Cause they work 8 days a week, just to hear themselves speak,
On topics that nobody knows.
Verse 2
Lawyers use initials when the rest of us all seem to have first names,
They go to their "autos" while most just go to their cars.
"Prior" and "Subsequent" is just a fancy way they say "before" and "after"
And if you can't understand him, it's probably because . . .
He just passed the bar . . .
Chorus
Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Lawyers
Don't let them drive Volvos and write them old briefs,
Find 'em a four-wheeler, save them that grief . . .
Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Lawyers,
They work 8 days a week, just to hear themselves speak,
On topics that nobody knows.
they work 8 days a week, just to hear themselves speak,
. . . and WHO GIVES A DAMN?
(Disclaimer - No lawyers were injured in the making of this parody.)
Just one of the hilarious songs on
Cartoon: Law and Disorder
by Paul Brennan
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Cartoon: Jonny Hawkins Collection
by Jonny Hawkins
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