As a financial planner with an economic lens, I recognize human capital as a valuable asset requiring careful management of our scarcest resources: time, energy and money. Our human capital, the culmination of our cultivated skills and talents, unlocks income opportunities that fuel our financial growth. These opportunities are heavily influenced by the structures and strategies within our work environment. It's a domino effect, where each element impacts the next.
We often find ourselves volleying these scarce resources between home and work, with work generally holding the stronger hand. This persistent struggle to achieve balance extends across various fields, including financial services. Seeking solutions to this complex issue led me discovering through therapy the transformative power of the Wheel of Life and developing the Future-Ready Organization Wheel. Both tools hold the individual and employer accountable for co-creating an economically- and emotionally-rich lives.
Here's how these tools work in concert to help you navigate the human capital domino effect with confidence.
The Wheel of Life: Your Personalized Roadmap to Balance
The Wheel of Life serves as a powerful visual aid to assess your level of satisfaction in eight key areas of your life, including health, relationships, career, finances and more. By placing a dot on the wheel to represent your ranking and connecting them, you create a snapshot of your current life balance.
You define what "balanced" truly means for you, pinpointing areas requiring attention and setting achievable goals for improvement. The Wheel encourages a collaboration approach, welcoming others to engage in your wellness journey. As you continue to live and evolve, your assessment will too.
Once you have completed your Life Wheel, take some time to reflect on your results. What contributed to your success in the areas rated high? How can you keep the momentum while you address areas rated low?
Here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Give yourself permission to focus on yourself in a healthy way;
- Congratulate yourself on high-ranked areas and optimistically engage low-ranked areas;
- Capture one or two goals for each low-rated area and rank them in order of priority. Decide on the steps to achieve the first two to three goals. Return to the list when you’ve completed a goal;
- Learn to say no to people and opportunities that are misaligned; and
- Confirm your support system to include trained professionals and advisors.
As you continue to live and evolve, your assessment will too.
The Future-Ready Organization Wheel: Optimizing Human Capital Investment
Recognizing the potent impact of career success on mental and financial well-being, which fuels other aspects of the Wheel of Life, I developed the Future-Ready Organization Wheel. Drawing inspiration from McKinsey & Company's 2021 report, "Organizing for the future: Nine keys to becoming a future-ready company," this framework assesses nine critical areas:
- Leadership: Clear-sighted, courageous and trustworthy;
- Culture: Agile, innovative, inclusive and values-driven;
- Strategy: Clear, focused, forward-looking and adaptable;
- Capabilities: Effective, efficient and scalable;
- People: Motivated, well-trained and intentionally developed;
- Technology: Cutting-edge, efficient and adaptable;
- Partnerships: Collaborative, synergistic and mutually beneficial;
- Governance: Sound, accountable and transparent; and
- Measurement: Data-driven, insightful and actionable.
This tool empowers employers and employees to assess their respective investments of time, energy and money.
From an employee perspective, here are some considerations:
- Do your values and use of human capital utilization align with your organization's strategic goals?
- Is your organization equipped to navigate the ever-evolving business landscape with agility and resilience?
- Do current practices and resources effectively support your organization's future aspirations?
Optimally, the Future-Ready Organization Wheel is implemented across all levels, allowing for collaborative alignment assessment, gap identification, and solutions to hold high-ranked areas steady while improving low-ranked areas. The objective is to implement engagement methods and systems that collaboratively drive success and balance.
Leveraging Human Capital: The Synergy Between Personal and Organizational Growth
Firms that truly recognize their employees as their most valuable asset recognize the compelling connection between the "Career" and “Finances” areas on "The Wheel of Life” at an individual level and the "People" and “Partnerships” aspect of the organizational framework.
When employees are empowered to share their personal aspirations and priorities from the Wheel of Life exercise, firms have clear insight into investing in their employees’ overall well-being and development. This alignment, in turn, fosters a more engaged and motivated workforce, ultimately translating into improved performance and organizational success. Creating a safe, inclusive and equitable environment fosters a sense of belonging and purpose, further strengthening the partnership between the individual and the company.
The journey towards balance at home and work is a continuous process, requiring ongoing reflection, adaptation, and collaboration. Through the combined power of personal and organizational awareness, we can create a future where human capital flourishes, driving positive change and a prosperous legacy for households and businesses.
By embracing the Wheel of Life and the Future-Ready Organization Wheel, we can cultivate a thriving environment where personal and professional growth go hand-in-hand, setting ourselves and our organizations on a trajectory towards a secure and fulfilling future.
Lazetta Rainey Braxton the founder/CEO of Lazetta & Associates and co-CEO at 2050 Wealth Partners.