TAKEAWAYS
Earning a promotion. Meeting key performance indicators. Exceeding revenue targets. Increasing efficiency through streamlining workflows. These are just some examples of tangible outcomes that one usually associates with success at work. However, behind all the numbers and achievements, there is another aspect to success that is hardly talked about – the human aspect. Broadly speaking, this refers to the personal side of things such as the personal satisfaction gained, and personal development experienced, on the road to success.
It is this human side of success that particularly strikes a chord with Mr Sarjit Singh, FCA (Singapore), Leader of Deloitte Learning Solutions Southeast Asia. “We measure almost everything in the workplace. But, along the way, I realised something important is missing. In accounting, we are trained to reconcile numbers, but nobody ever teaches us how to reconcile life.”
“How do you reconcile ambition with health? Success with happiness? Career growth with family ties?” he reflects.
Work-life balance is a phrase that is commonly heard. In spite of its ubiquity, Mr Singh has never fully subscribed to it. To him, the term seemingly depicts work and life as two opposing forces competing against each other. He prefers to see things more holistically in that work and life should not be mutually exclusive. Work is actually a component of life, and the ultimate goal should be meaningful work which will offer personal growth, dignity, value-added contributions, everlasting friendships and invaluable learning opportunities.
“At the end of our careers, no one will say, ‘I wish I had attended one more meeting’,” he quips. “Work is part of life but it should never become our entire identity.”
Peak periods can be very demanding and exhausting. They can even adversely disrupt personal lives. It goes without saying that resilience is an all-important attribute that one needs to possess when the going gets tough. Having said that, resilience is not merely about having the adaptability and determination to see things through. Resilience is also about recovery. Peak periods are like marathons, and marathon runners do not sprint from start to finish. Thus, one needs to be able to find ways to restore energy levels during peak periods in order to effectively navigate the challenging times and reduce the impact on our personal lives.
Besides peak periods, a career is also a marathon; so, too, is life itself. To run the entire race, sustainability is key. This requires steady pacing throughout the journey and setting targets along the way to progressively advance towards the finishing line. Hence, certain things, success included, cannot be rushed.
Stories about the human side of success can be remarkably motivational and unforgettable. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Mr Singh was right smack in the middle of one during the fateful 2008 global financial crisis.
At that time, he was with American International Group (AIG) overseeing multiple entities including AIG Private Bank. As news of the financial crisis broke, fear spread like wildfire and public confidence in AIG plunged. In a single day, about 2,000 panic-stricken AIG policyholders queued up to prematurely surrender their life insurance policies. Suddenly, everything changed at the AIG office and everyone had to come together to serve customers during one of the most uncertain moments in AIG’s history.
In the wake of the crisis, Mr Singh was appointed a designated officer of the company under the Monetary Authority of Singapore regulations to ensure policyholders were protected, and no monies left Singapore improperly. For five days, Mr Singh did not go home. Together with fellow colleagues, they concentrated on laser-focused objectives, namely, to protect policyholders, restore confidence and clear the queues responsibly. Over the course of the week, they attended to about 9,000 policyholders.
Recalling the episode, Mr Singh reveals the impact it had on him. “The experience truly changed me profoundly because, at times like these, you realised that leadership was not about titles. It was about responsibility, stewardship, humanity and calmness under pressure. It taught me resilience, beyond any textbook or boardroom presentation I could ever have learned from,” he discloses.
It is inevitable that different people will have varying perspectives on the notion of success. In particular, from his interactions with today’s young professionals, Mr Singh feels that they are more intentional about topics such as boundaries, mental well-being and purpose of life.
“One thing I find interesting is that they will ask me very mature questions, like, what gives me meaning in life, what kind of life I want to build, what is sustainable, and the like,” he shares. This shows that young professionals are also mindful of the human side of things despite their relative lack of life experiences. More significantly, they remind us that performance and well-being should actually coexist and not compete with each other.
Notwithstanding the above, young professionals will do well to keep in mind the aforementioned marathon analogy that certain things, like personal growth, establishing a career and building confidence, take time. Also, they should recognise that at the end of the day, everyone is different but we all have to define success in our own unique way.
Success is not just about making a living, it encompasses building a meaningful life.
As time passes, people may forget the numbers we delivered as accountants but, if they remember the humanity and kindness we brought into their lives, we can lay claim to having made progress on the human side of success.
