It's Time to Embrace Work-Life Integration

Last fall, I wrote about Salesforce’s new executive development program, Leading Ohana (Ohana means family in Hawaiian). At the time, I had just finished the second session and the program had caused me to rethink and reevaluate my approach to my life — both inside and outside of work. Having now just come back from the latest session, I’m again finding myself thinking about this concept of a life inside and a life outside of work.

Leading Ohana — a year-long transformational experience focused on the personal development of our leaders — helps Salesforce executives identify, explore, and magnify their deepest core values. Then the program helps us learn how to translate those values into authentic, impactful leadership.

Offering programs that cultivate this kind of leadership is how Salesforce will continue to be the world’s most innovative company. We built this company by creating products that are always a few steps ahead of everyone else. Those products don’t build themselves, though. They are built by people. And those people need leaders who can boldly and bravely lead for a new era of work; one that embraces work-life integration.

What is work-life integration?

For many of us, we have built our careers through the ability to expertly manage multiple personas inside and outside of the office. Juggling the time that we inhabit these different personas isn’t helping to create balance, though. The lack of authenticity in each role only results in more stress. So, if we really want to be impactful in this new integrated work world, we need to show up differently.

Authenticity is a big word. (By nature you can’t fake your way through it!) You have to be open to the growing pains involved with sharing who you really are, having a deep understanding of your personal purpose (and sharing it), taking time to really get to know the people you work with, admitting you don’t have all of the answers (or any of the answers, as the case may be!), and listening more while talking less.

At this point, you may be thinking “Uuuugh!”, because that’s where I was when I first started this program! This is one vulnerable hot-bed after another! To date, vulnerability has had no place at work – it shows weakness. But, vulnerability is not weakness, and having a protective wall around your authentic self is not strength. Our teams and companies need more from us. We need to embrace this new challenge.

Being vulnerable and showing up authentically takes courage. But, the payoff is big. A leader without courage is simply not a leader.

Want to learn more about our #SalesforceOhana culture? Check out the Salesforce Culture website.

*Pictured: Sarah Patterson (left) and Guillaume Roques (right), two fellow fabulous Leading Ohana-ers.

Jody Kohner is the Senior Vice President of the Employee Marketing & Engagement team at Salesforce. The span of her work ranges from managing the employer brand reputation and recruitment marketing initiatives through onboarding new hires and all sorts of awesome programs designed to make employees love their jobs. Connect with her on Twitter at @JodyKohner.