I remember when I began working for myself; all sense of boundaries to protect other roles and responsibilities becoming consumed by the number one priority (see getting busy!) went out the window. It was hard to stay in control of who was managing my time, my calendar and my ability to say no. It was also a big contributing factor to my setting up of the Dads In Business project as I was sure it couldn’t just be me who was trying to hold at bay the sense of overwhelm impacting my decisions and my days.
So how can busy men and busy working Dads managing these shifting boundaries and expectations when they also manage teams across multiple time zones?!
Meet Brian Ballantyne.
Brian Ballantyne is a training manager at Amazon is a leading voice for diversity & equality in the workplace and advocate at Men For Inclusion and author of the no holds barred confessions of a working father. He was kind enough to join us for a chat about managing teams across time zones and how he handles conversations with his manager whose breakfast it is in Seattle whilst he’s had a packed out day and is ready to start switching off and about how his team in India need the best of him even if he is in a different space to be dealing with them to his best at that time of day.
He is a true gent and a fantastic manager and leader of teams in a huge company who really gets what it means to be an empathetic leader in the workplace.
The car is the office.
During lockdown in the UK in March 2020 as the pandemic hit across Europe and the world, like many I found my home and work had become the same place. There was little to no seperation from roles, situations and the feeling in my environment. Home was work and work was home. This has a long lasting impact on myself but also for those whose employers have made normal the situation to work from home.
Yes, work from home may well work in terms of logistics and operations, but how well is home working for those actually on the tools?
In our chat, Brian explains how he finds himself at times taking Zoom meetings in his car just to find that change in setting. Where do you create this seperation and space needed to operate to the best of your ability in the roles you have to play?
And remember…
You’re not alone! If you share the opinion that I did that it’s just me and I need to man up then consider the research we carried out asking how Dads are coping with the pressures and shift in working environments.
See more over on our Dads In Business YouTube channel for more support and conversation with other Dads In Business and leaders from across the business and personal development space.
