Leadership Insights
Photo provided by Shileena's Dance Academy.
Photography by Kick the Cow Photography (2022)
Even though it worked, I definitely don't recommend #1 to anyone.
Someone asked me once, how I manage to cope with all the stress of work and dealing with so many people’s challenges. Good question!
A key feature of leadership is how you relate to those around you – how you can encourage the best and work through the worst with the people and communities you serve.
Here are my answers;
I used to be in a violent relationship for eight years where I was in a constant state of hypervigilance. Walking on eggshells, as they say. I never knew what his mood would be like, and which number beer would tip him over the edge. That is stress. Work is not stress. Work is a privilege and a necessity. Work can be stressful, but it is nothing in comparison to family violence. It has meant my resilience threshold is pretty high.
I keep very strong boundaries between work and home and fiercely guard my personal space. I only answer my phone out of hours to a couple of people who mean more to me than just work. I turn my phone off at around 6pm. I don’t answer emails out of hours unless absolutely necessary. This means I have the strength – intellectual and emotional – to deal with all sorts of challenges, and a deep understanding of what actually matters.
These two factors enable me to show up completely for the people and community around me. Obviously I don’t recommend number one to anyone. But there are exercises and courses you can take to build your own emotional resilience. As a leader, you are a little bit like a weightlifter. You most certainly won’t be able to lift weights if the heaviest thing you’ve ever carried is a shopping bag.
Number two is something the French do exceptionally well. Under French law it is illegal to send emails after work and on weekends. There is a mandated 35 hour working week and overtime is virtually unheard of. People take actual proper holidays with NO work. In New Zealand and the UK, the ‘four-day working week’ trial is proving immensely successful, with participating companies reporting no decrease in productivity despite staff working fewer days.
In the arts, these boundaries are almost never enforced. The result is we socialise with our work colleagues, we never switch off, we spend our free time participating in arts events and activities. This cannot be healthy. In 2023, Ausdance QLD will work with key industry leaders and managers to encourage a different and more sustainable approach – we can only lead if self-care comes first!
About the author
Julie Englefield
Executive Director, Ausdance QLD
Julie has worked across the disciplines of music, theatre, visual and performing arts in general management, fundraising, sales and marketing for over 25 years.
Her experience in both the commercial (Steinway & Sons) and non-profit (arts and health sectors) provide her with unique insight into what is required for successful and sustainable partnerships. Julie has a solid background in non-profit governance, having also been part of the Singapore Government’s workgroup to develop a national Code of Governance for non-profits. In particular, Julie’s belief in and understanding of the Arts has enabled her to walk the fine line of building commercially robust organisations whilst retaining absolute integrity of artistic purpose.