How to balance work, life? Ask Kalpana Morparia

By: Forbes India

As far as Kalpana Morparia, CEO of JP Morgan is concerned, it's work as usual. She believes in preparing for every meeting and answering all emails.

There are two questions people ask me and I have very prosaic replies. One is, "what is it to be a woman?" Well, where I am today, it makes no difference whether I'm a man or a woman. The other is, "how do you manage work life balance?" My answer is always 'my work is my life'. So there is no question of balance.

People tell me I'm very generous with my time, so maybe I'm not a very effective time manager. I tend to meet more people than I ought to. I'm not an early riser and I barely make it into the office in time. I'm usually about half an hour late, that's why I prefer working late.

When I first came to JP Morgan, I used to spend 90% of my time internally. I knew I wasn't meeting clients enough. But I had very competent colleagues meeting them. I would just focus on the internal things that I needed to understand more and wherever I had a view, to try and influence change. As time went by and my comfort levels increased, I started spending more time externally whether it was meeting clients, regulators, government, and the media.

Regulators I always meet up because it is important to communicate with them, know what their concerns are and we may have our own requests.

Media interactions are something I have always been comfortable with. Unlike a lot of CEOs who feel we don't really have time, I think it's really critical. When you put your point of view across, it helps the larger brand name of the firm.

I feel that unless my team sees real value add in taking me out to meet clients or if a client specifically wants a commitment from me, my team is perfectly capable of handling things. Now, probably 60% of my time is spent internally. I'm also spending time with our HR function, more than what I had done earlier. It is important for me to build a strong brand with potential employees. So I spend a fair amount of time on campus strategy. The other day I went to IIM Lucknow for an event they had invited me to.

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