As we wrap up 2015, managing everything that needs to get done both at work and at home can be overwhelming. A topic that is always relevant is finding balance and harmony in all that you do.

Michelle Vielledent from Edwards Lifesciences joins our show again to discuss the types of practical approaches she finds helpful in adding more value in her life so that she can manage  time and stress more effectively to drive positive and meaningful outcomes.JPEG-1400-Pixel-HCMx-Logo

The timing of this topic was also so applicable to what our team is focused on at Brandon Hall Group – this is actually the theme in our upcoming HCM Excellence 2016 Conference in January. Our keynote and breakout sessions weave in discussions around high-performance resilience, driving excellence, and being ready for the future workforce.

We all struggle with finding time to get everything done – when I’m feeling overwhelmed, my husband, Mike Cooke, often tells me, “We all have one thing in common and that is we all have the same amount of time, but how you manage your time and priorities, and what you find meaningful and what you accomplish is what separates us.”

I continue to search for strategies to help with being more organized through tools like Wunderlist that keeps me afloat on my tasks that I can share with my team at work or at home with my kids and husband. It’s also so important to take care of your health – find time to take a short walk every day if you can’t afford 30 minutes or more to go to the gym. Eating right is also critical to feeling good.  Be organized – take time throughout the week to prepare your meals so that you have quick, healthy and easy-to-eat snacks – so you don’t over indulge on junk.  Your health is so important and if you are not feeling well, other areas suffer.  As human beings we find fulfillment through achieving, but when it comes to work, at what cost? Make sure you continuously assess and reflect on what you can do to drive more meaning in all that you do and that you don’t focus on areas that are not as important to you.

We will be conducting more research on wellness programs next year.  We also added an Awards Category for Best Wellness Program.  We look forward to seeing what companies are doing do support this area.  Michelle talks about some great examples they are doing at Edwards Lifesciences. To learn further about practical ways to weave in more purpose –particularly in your learning programs and how to push resilience to have sustainable high performance in your organization — listen to our radio show. You can download it anytime at the HCMx Radio site.

Rachel Cooke, Chief Operating Officer, Brandon Hall Group

@RachelCCooke

Recorded December 16, 2015.

 

 

Rachel Cooke

Chief Operating Officer Rachel Cooke Rachel is responsible for business operations including overseeing client services, research events and project management. Prior to joining Brandon Hall Group, Rachel was the Chief Operating Officer Co-founder of AC Growth. Rachel has over 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, business development, and sales performance management. Prior to AC Growth, she held several senior management roles and was on the leadership team at Bersin & Associates, a pioneer analyst firm in e-learning and now industry leading HR and talent Research Company. In her Senior Director role, Rachel developed the strategy and led the commercial execution of the solution provider vertical, and grew the vertical into the company’s largest market segment. In her role as Director of Sales, Rachel developed and led a team of senior account executives focused on acquiring global strategic accounts. Rachel was solely responsible for developing key business relationships with over ninety companies including industry icons, such as: Adidas, Hewlett-Packard, Toyota, Oracle, Starbucks, Avnet, Boeing, Kaiser Permanente, Safeway Inc., Wells Fargo, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Clorox and Affiliated Computer Services. Rachel began her career in the banking, media and hospitality industries. In these industries, Rachel held several key senior management and executive sales positions. Rachel received a BA in social science and interdisciplinary studies with honors from Florida Atlantic University. Rachel continued her postgraduate education by completing a series of executive management education courses from American Management Association.