Mixing Personal and Professional

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told not to mix personal with professional. But that is exactly what we ask our volunteers and board members to do all of the time. How many of your top supporters ask their co-workers and business associates to partner with you?

Sometimes we get too caught up in segmenting and compartmentalizing our lives. If we have some good personal connections that make sense to help something you are doing take advantage of them. It is healthy for us to talk with each other about what is really happening in our lives personally and professionally, that’s is often what builds trust the very best.

Keep in mind that a healthy work and life balance is still vital. Just because you have friends that you work with doesn’t mean you should consistently overwork. Also, make sure that you continue to treat everyone with the same professional courtesy you always have used. You have to understand your personal and professional line for yourself and often you will know if you’ve crossed it.

Work is what you do more than anything else in your day so it’s important to find ways to be yourself while you’re on the job. What is your personal and professional line? How do you keep these areas of your life in check?