Mikaela Kiner: How to Be A ‘Happy Workaholic’

by | Sep 11, 2018 | Podcast

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“This kind of rhetoric about the hard worker who stays up all night or sleeps in the office or doesn’t get a lot of sleep is actually not what senior leaders do or advocate at all. I hope that people [now] recognize that we’re not at our best if we’re not taking good care of ourselves.”

Mikaela Kiner spent 15 years as an HR leader at Seattle heavy-hitters such as Microsoft, Starbuck, and Amazon before venturing out on her own to start uniquelyHR – providing flexible HR for fast growing companies –  in 2015.

As an HR professional, Mikaela has unique insight into the way companies support employees in integrating work and life. As an entrepreneur, she has practical tips for aligning your work with your personal priorities.

More about Mikaela:

Mikaela is a native Seattleite who spent fifteen years in HR leadership roles at Seattle based companies including Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, PopCap Games and Redfin. In 2015 she founded uniquelyHR, providing flexible HR for fast growing companies. Mikaela enjoys creative problem solving and is known for her empathy. She serves on the boards of Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) and WeCount. She’s passionate about Seattle, startups, DEI and women in tech. Mikaela is an ICF credentialed coach who enjoys working with executives and high potential women leaders.

 


 

Highlights

  • The surprising statistic about how much sleep senior leaders actually get
  • What Mikaela thinks will shift our ‘burnout culture’ to one in which companies provide work/life tools to help employees be their very best
  • Mikaela shares what happened on her team at Microsoft when they scored high on work-life balance measures (and it wasn’t good!)
  • The exact amount of paid time off taken by the most productive employees
  • Unlimited time off, working remotely, and other benefits that create a more productive and engaged workforce (and the very real challenges to managers that come with them)
  • What it means to be a ‘happy workaholic’
  • How Mikaela designed her business to be in alignment with her personal priorities – and the hard choices she had to make to do it
  • Mikaela’s ‘accidental morning routine’ – and how it changed the way she moves through her days
  • Mikaela gets real about popular self-care practices she’s ‘failed’ at (like meditation and journaling) – and how she found the things that help her feel grounded and centered
  • Mikaela defines my favorite new word – ‘pregret’ – and how you can use it to better manage your schedule
  • Mikaela’s favorite tools for taming her email inbox and managing appointments

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

SaneBox

x.ai (personal assistant AI tool)

The Sleep Revolution by Arianna Huffington (Amazon affiliate link)

WorkLife with Adam Grant (podcast)

Connect with Mikaela: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

Check out Lara’s free monthly online workshop series – designed to help you get out of your own way and make being healthy feel easy and intuitive instead of stressful and overwhelming.

Thank You for Listening!

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xo,