Success as a leader is a combination of professional performance and personal satisfaction and fulfillment. Our lives and the lives of the people we lead need to have a successful blending of both our professional and personal lives. 

As we add new members to our teams, it is important to clarify that this blending of professional and personal lives is one of the measures of success for all team members. In a coaching conversation with Hugh, he shared with me that a new member would be joining the team. His objective was to create a smooth onboarding experience for the new member and keep the momentum going during a year with high expectations. 

In our coaching session, Hugh and I were discussing a way to revamp his current meeting style before the new team member joined. Their current meeting style was focused on the structure and technical parts of the work, but had no check-in questions or discussions around things outside of work. We discussed how adding a personal aspect to meetings would allow the new team member to learn the culture and personalities of the team. 

To revamp their current meeting structure, I suggested that we review the Seven Fs Insight Tool from Good Leadership. The tool outlines a structured exercise designed to assess satisfaction levels across seven key areas of life: Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness, Friends, Fun, and Future. These are the questions asked in the exercise:

• Faith – How satisfied are you with your spiritual life?
• Family – How satisfied are you with your loved ones, who share a common sense of home?
• Finances – How satisfied are you with how your money funds your priorities?
• Fitness – How satisfied are you with the health of your body?
• Friends – How satisfied are you with the people you share your joys and disappointments?
• Fun – How satisfied are you with the part of your life that is playful and joyful?
• Future – How satisfied are you with the hope you have for yourself and others? 

We worked through the exercise in our next coaching session and I suggested that he start the next team meeting with this tool, and begin by sharing his own insights to set the stage for a deeper level of trust and openness within the team. 

Hugh then began his next team meeting by sharing his insights on the Seven Fs tool, and then encouraged each team member to share their own reflections and insights. What emerged was a tapestry of personal experiences, aspirations, and challenges of lives outside of work, painting a more nuanced picture of each individual beyond their professional roles. They realized that they were not just colleagues working towards a common goal but individuals with unique journeys and aspirations. 

As the team learned with this experience, blending professional and personal lives was the key to fulfilling the team’s goals. By embracing this approach, the team was able to hit their goals for the year.