1×02: Fulfillment (At Work and As Dads)

Maintaining happiness both at work and at home is an issue that may arise for dads, especially at the beginning. On one hand, we want to feel happy and fulfilled at work; we want to feel that we are using our knowledge, experience, and creativity in order to help the organization we're part of move forward - and of course we want to be compensated well for doing so. On the other hand, we want to be happy at home, with our kids and with our way of parenting. While most of us consider ourselves 'works in progress,' there are some things what we should be aware of while striving for happiness and balance, both at home and at work. This is why we brought on to our show an executive coach, Peter Gandolfo, to try to get some inspiration. Coaching as it's seen today can take several different forms. "The two that I focus on most are adults in transition," says Peter, "and those can be transitions that they are choosing to make because they want something to be different than it is today, but sometimes it's also a transition that happened to them, let's say a relationship ended and it wasn't their choosing, or they became 'redundant' at work and they now need to figure out what are the next steps. The other path that you can take with coaching is what people would often call Leadership Coaching, and this usually comes from a position of strength, and that you or your organization see that you have a lot of value to add, but you want to focus on building skills that will allow you go even further so you can work towards a goal that you've set out for your future." On the podcast, Peter gave advice on how to approach a major change that you might want to make in your life, using the example of men who quit their jobs to become stay-at-home dads. "The part that is the most helpful," Gandolfo says, "is reflecting on what are your goals for the future and how does making the decision at this stage of your life support those goals." What should we do in order to feel fulfillment at work "When we are frustrated at work it's very easy for us to fall under the trap that everything is in the power and control of someone else or something else," Peter says. "What I'd like to do with my clients is acknowledging while a lot of that may be true, this is a system and you are one piece of this system and you can't control how others will respond but you can change the inputs into the system. So identifying what part is in your control can help change the level of engagement at work." Questions or comments? please write to us About Peter Gandolfo Peter Gandolfo is an executive coach with certifications from the Hudson Institute in Santa Barbara, California and ICF (ACC). His coaching combines 20+ years of experience in marketing, management, and consulting with his love for helping others succeed. In addition to individual coaching, Peter facilitates team workshops on building a coaching culture, leveraging strengths through change, unpacking for innovation and more. Peter also leads Creating Your Future, a weekend-long retreat for gay men, designed to help you connect with what’s most important to you now so that you can begin making the changes necessary to realize your dreams. Read more about Peter and his work on his website   Episode Credits: Co-Hosts: Yan Dekel, Alex Maghen Guest: Peter Gandolfo, Executive Coach Music: Hercules & Love Affair, "Leonora" buy here Articles referred to in this episode: Are Bert & Ernie a couple? We finally have an answer… (Queerty, David Reddish) "I’m A Gay Dad And I Want My Son To Know Bert And Ernie Of ‘Sesame Street’ As A Couple" (Jamie McGonnigal, HuffPost)