THE Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the reigning Super Bowl champions. There were many who contributed to the team’s victory, including head coach Bruce Arians. While much could be discussed about how Arians both led and managed the team to victory, it’s a comment he made in an interview that caught my attention:
“For our coaches, I tell them, if you miss a recital or a football game or a basketball game, I’ll fire you. You can always come back and work. Those kids are not going to be there forever. They’re going to grow up and be gone.”
Arians grew up in the era of head coaches expecting assistant coaches to always be at work. Because many assistant coaches wanted to see at least an occasional event their child was playing or performing in, there were probably many workarounds or cover-ups. Or coaches just missed everything. Why should they have to choose?
It reminds me a bit of the trust managers must have in their people in all circumstances. We’ve learned a lot this year about what employees can do without being in the office with the supervisor hovering. Most people I’ve spoken with have been awed by how productive their staffs have been during the pandemic. A year ago, we would have predicted a lot of work would just not get done, or not be completed effectively, if employees were not in the office. Boy, have we learned differently.
But I don’t think that’s what Arians is saying. He realizes kids grow up and leave us. You will never get a do-over for the missed events. He thinks a healthy work-life balance is important. And I concur.
When I was interviewing for my first dean position two decades ago, I was asked in an open forum if I was a workaholic. I responded that, while I wasn’t sure what this person’s definition of a workaholic was, I didn’t think I was one.
I commented that I had three elementary-age children and I thought it was important for them to know their mother. Some days, I would probably work 14–16 hours, but I would leave the office by 5:30 p.m. most days. I might take work home with me to complete after the kids’ bedtime, but I would try to be present for my family as much as I could. I said I would exceed the expectations set for me.
My first boss during that job supported my work-life balance, which allowed me to be successful. My children played a variety of sports and were in theater and choir. Did I get to attend every event they were in? No, but I made most of them, and have no regrets.
Arians indicated that he had to miss events important to his family and he didn’t want his assistant coaches to do so. He felt so strongly about it that he said he would fire people if they did.
While I would love to work with Arians, that’s not going to happen. So the next best thing I can do is to adopt his expectation that people who work with me not miss important events in their family members’ lives. I want to create a culture that understands the people side of the business, not just the rules side. And if there are rules that prevent our organization from allowing employees to come first, we need to change our rules.
What about you? Are you still rigidly holding on to the “you cannot miss work for any reason” model? Or has this past year made you realize that leaving work a bit early on occasion is good for your employees and, therefore, good for the organization? As Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin, said, “Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your business.”
Lynne Richardson is the dean of the College of Business at the University of Mary Washington.
May 17, 2021 at 08:00AM
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RICHARDSON: Coach Bruce Arians' expectations on work-life balance - Fredericksburg.com
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