Striking a Balance with Successful Sagicor Ladies
Published:Friday | March 8, 2019 | 12:00 AMRocheda Bartley/Gleaner Writer
With International Women’s Day in full swing, one can’t help but celebrate all the queens for their admirable accomplishments and unwavering efforts. Balance for better! Yes, that’s the goal. Do you know what it takes for these doyennes to strike a fair balance between their personal and professional lives? Here’s how these Sagicor ladies juggle the two.
“I do my best to prioritise and be as organised as possible to get the most out of the day. I lean on family members and friends to assist me where they can in managing both my home and business lives. When I prioritise, I’m able to determine what’s of utmost importance, what must get done, and what can be delayed or not done at all. Unfortunately, at times, I do postpone activities for myself and put either business or family in front of it.”
– Vice-President, Payment, Sagicor Bank, Sabrina Cooper: married with two children.
“Balance, for me, is optimising my work life – that’s the hours that you get to perform at the highest level possible. But at the same time, I find that I have to ensure my mind, body and spirit, are very in sync and in a good place. Once this is the case, everything else will fall into place. I believe there is always a [way] for you to draw on family and friends to help you in whatever areas you need. And always put yourself first, and, of course, prioritise.”
– Manager of Treasury, Sagicor Bank, Keri-Leigh Manning: married without children.
“I try to structure my life into buckets. So I have my work, personal time, and family buckets. My work life is really about being very clear on what my objectives are and trying to make sure that I organise myself properly to achieve just that. I’ve brought up my son to understand the importance of working towards fulfilments, and he’s seen the satisfaction one gets from putting a lot of effort in something and seeing the results. That’s a philosophy we have set up for our entire family life. I have my personal and family objectives, too. We’ve set up our entire family life around achieving specific goals and enjoying ourselves while we’re doing it. That’s very important.”
– Assistant Vice-President, Credit Risk, Sagicor Bank, Tanya Allgrove: married with one child.
“Creating a balance for me is all about achieving personal spiritual stability, spending time with my family, having fun, and destressing as necessary. I love to just relax and watch movies on Saturdays. That’s ‘me time,’ which comes in-between spending time with my daughter and my better half and striking that balance at work. When I’m at the office, it’s strictly work time. But the moment I leave, that’s family time. That does not mean when I’m in family time, work doesn’t step in sometimes, but I try to balance that mix.”
– Head of Operations, Sagicor Bank, Annette Osborne: in a committed relationship with one child.
“This is my ideology: ‘With balance comes success, and from success comes structure and standards.’ For me, it’s the tremendous support of friends and family that helps me stay on track because we were not made to walk this path to victory alone. I have learnt to lean on those I love when I need to; I have to be interdependent to excel.”
– Branch Manager, Liguanea and Manor Park branches, Sagicor Bank, Tricia Moulton: unmarried with two kids.
“Balance is really a thin line. But I make sure that when I come to work, I give everything, and when I’m home, I do the same. There are certain days when I go home early, unless there is something unusual happening at work, because my kids are used to seeing me coming home early on those days and know that I’m going to help with homework and make dinner. Then, on weekends, it’s a family time for me. So we’re always doing stuff together, like worship. I try to bond with my children, individually and as a group. And I take time for me, too, and get a massage or something because stress can wear you down.”
– Branch Manager, Dominica Drive branch, Sagicor, Marvia Brown: married with four children.