My Pivot Point Led to Better Work-Life Balance

By Christine Lam, Country Business Manager, Global Consumer Bank, Hong Kong, Citi March 04, 2014 11:32 AM

To celebrate International Women's Day, Christine Lam, Country Business Manager for Citi, shares her pivot point.

"30 years, and counting." This is typically how I introduce my career at Citi. It has been an eventful, exciting journey and there have been many career defining moments along the way.

I started out a single mother of a young son and traveled incessantly for work. I was spending time with my child one Sunday morning when I saw him washing his hands in the bathroom, without having to rely on the step-up stool. My son was tall enough to wash his hands without help, and I had missed all that growing up!

In that one instant, I felt more guilt and heartache than words could describe. I was distraught the rest of the day, and went over in my head multiple times the difficult conversation I would have with my boss the next day. This was my pivot point - a resolute desire to achieve better work life balance and spend more time being a mom. I resolved to make up for lost motherhood, which, for me, meant a significant cut back in business travel.

There was in fact far less drama on Monday. My boss listened, expressed empathy and understanding, and we worked out a plan for me to cover one of the markets, effectively halving my travel. In the end, the business did not suffer. We more than achieved the targets, and the business left a lasting legacy in the market.

When I look back on this episode from decades back, I realize how one could over-engineer the down side risk to career conversations, and underestimate the support from managers for the right work life balance. Make no mistake, a career at Citi is demanding, but there is more than one way to achieve professional goals.

At a practical level, striking a balance requires making a conscious choice. I have long learned to embrace all of the give and take that comes with the choice to live well at work and at home. And this is a good state of mind to be in.

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wilson - 04/16/14 12:12 PM

copy from citiway :

Keep a healthy perspective about life and work.
Give honest and open feedback.
Look for and take advantage of opportunities to learn and teach.
Acknowledge our interdependence.
Listen patiently to others.

wilsonl

Theresa - 03/06/14 09:45 PM

This a great story and I give her a gold star for seeing what was right in front of her. Christine you are a great Mom, you were trying to make a good life for both you. As your son get older he will look back and remember that you work really hard as a single Mom and he will be so proud of you. Know that you have changed your work schedule know you have the time for your son. Don t be hard on yourself you should be proud that you can give him the love and the support. I think that you are a awesome Mother. Hold you head up high and when you get home from work every day hung your son and let him know that you love him.

Karen - 03/06/14 06:32 PM

This article is very awakening specially for mothers with very young children like me. There are very few companies that give value to work-life-balance and this is the reason why having the Citi Work Strategy is very beneficial. It cuts through the traditional mind-set that work should only be in the four corners of your cube and encourage working mom’s to expand their career while being able to manage their family. Kudos to Citi’s effort in making women especially mother’s to have this privilege.

Thank you Christina for sharing a part of your life-career story. This inspires me to think of ways and strategy to be more productive both at work and at home.

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