The first interview of 2025 is here!
We continue our fascinating journey to explore the strategies of inspiring global leaders who masterfully balance professional excellence with personal happiness.
I hope these conversations will continue to spark inspiration for you to prioritize your well-being and fulfillment, all while achieving remarkable success in your career.
Do it, plan it or kill it.
The first interview of 2025 features Yannis Korgialos, SVP Insurance at Odevo. He is a visionary leader who masters the art of flexibility, seamlessly balancing personal fulfillment with professional excellence. His ability to adapt and thrive in both realms offers valuable lessons for achieving harmony in this fast-paced world.
In his own words:
“On the professional side, I am a 20-year executive in the financial services industry. I’ve worked on all sides of financial services, from banking, to consulting, to insurance, and I have to say that I found my home in insurance for the last 11 years, where I really focused on growing insurtech businesses, focusing on the customer, developing innovative different products and doing things differently. Hard to admit but I love insurance—I see it as a very useful force for good.
On a personal level, I live in England, I am originally Greek and I have two little boys that keep me on my toes and make me re-evaluate my life every day and think about how I can do things better.”
Let’s dive straight into the interview and discover what has shaped Yannis’ unique perspectives and journey.
How do you personally define work-life balance, and why do you think it’s important?
The way I understand it is that it’s different for every person, and it makes work and life work, basically. The way that I think about it is that work and life outside work are not completely separate. You don’t just switch off your head from one and go to the other, because you carry your thoughts or problems from one to the other.
What is important for me is being able to be present in both work and life. What I do is that during my 10-11 hours of work, I seek to be there and not let my head and brain wander to what I could be doing if I were not working.
And when I am done and sitting with my family, or I am on holiday or doing something else, I do my best to be present there.
Being present is the way I see it working for myself.
This was a piece of advice that one of my main mentors told me 10 years ago when we were talking about New Year’s resolutions. He was in his 50s, more experienced, and he said, “I want to be more present in everything I do, from meetings to seeing my kids to exercising, to walking, etc.”
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in maintaining work-life balance, and how did you manage to overcome it?
Not being able to be present because of all the competing priorities and requests from work and life. What I do is that I plan my work and my life in quite a detailed level.
For example, when I work and I have five different requests coming in, I diarize them—depending on the priority—for the next 48 hours or next week when I am going to look into these topics. I don’t let my mind be taken away from it, deal with it for five minutes, close it, and then come back. I focus on what I am doing, and then I diarize it quickly.
However, I’ve seen that if I don’t do it immediately, my mind still goes away. So, I am quite diligent and write it down straight away.
Actually, one of my boys is a bit stressed as he has a lot of responsibilities, and he is only eight years old. I told him to just write it down, mention when you will do it, and then take it off once you’ve done it so this way it doesn’t stay in your mind and you keep questioning about it, and I see it is already working.
Diarizing things is my way to deal with it. Write it in your notebook, put it in your calendar—it’s magic, it always works. I take my notebook with me everywhere I go.
What misconceptions about work-life balance have you encountered in your journey?
People are quite strict about it. For example, you have to not work when you are on holiday, or you should not pick up your phone after a certain time, or you cannot stop a meeting to go make breakfast for your child.
All these do not work for me. I tend to let things happen and not let them take over.
There is no one rule, there are no strict lines. Things tend to merge into each other. Also, don’t punish yourself if sometimes you tend to not be 100% present in a meeting because something happened with your kid. It’s fine; you shouldn’t be so tough on yourself.
Everyone is different, and don’t expect people to be like you.
How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time effectively? And could you share some personal strategies or tools that help you stay organized and focused?
Do it, plan it or kill it. Whenever there is something coming in, again, if it’s super important, I’ll probably do it straight away or in the next three hours, and if it’s something that can be done later, I plan it.
I assess and confirm first when it needs to be done.
Not everything has to be done now. People get very hung up about it—when someone asks for something, they tend to jump and do it.
A lesson that I learned from another mentor many years ago—I used to be a people pleaser, and I used to always say yes—I got feedback, and it was quite tough at that time. I had to learn to say “no”. I don’t have to please everyone, I don’t need to be their friend, and I don’t have to do everything.
So, I tend to say “no” very often nowadays. And it really helps in prioritizing, both professionally and personally.
How do you encourage and support work-life balance within your team?
First of all, I talk about it and tell people that they should prioritize themselves. They should set their boundaries, tell me their boundaries, and stick to them.
I ensure they do. For example, I have a colleague who is very open about his need to exercise at least half an hour every day. He needs this break to perform, so I ask him if he went, if he exercised.
I try to remember what is important for the people in my team and follow-up.
Another thing is that I tend to work around the clock because my life is a bit chaotic. I wake up early to take care of my kids, so I might reply to an email at 4 AM. I tell people, and I also have it written at the bottom of my email, that they don’t have to feel the pressure to reply to me outside of their working hours.
I also tell people when I am taking breaks, when I am balancing myself, so that they know I also do it and don’t feel bad when they do it.
People tend to see examples, how people are, and they tend to copy what they like or might feel pressure.
[…] if I find time for myself, I am much more efficient and productive at work.
How do you set boundaries between work and personal time, especially in a remote or hybrid work environment?
My boundaries are quite flexible; I don’t like hard boundaries for me.
What I try to do, though, is block time for the most important things.
My days are not a rigid 9 to 6—I work, 6 to 10 I am with my kids, 10 to 11 I see my wife and I sleep. No, it is flexible.
I come to work, and very often I need to have a break to exercise. Then I have to pick up my kids, and then I have to go back to work.
I tend to plan and respect the plan. That’s how I set the boundaries.
If somebody tries to break my boundaries, I don’t get too difficult about it. I first try to understand why it is important for them. I try to not let the boundaries dominate me or make me become too rigid.
Time and understanding what’s important for me have helped me develop the flexibility. You realize there are many important things, and everything can be done. There is time for everything, and you decide when the right time is for each thing.
How do you ensure you make time for family, friends, and personal interests despite your professional responsibilities?
I try to be diligent and force myself to make time for my health, my well-being, and my family.
For example, I try to exercise 1h per day. Some days it is not easy to achieve, especially with 2 kids, so some days I wake up at 6 AM in the morning, sacrifice a bit of my sleep, go to sleep a bit earlier, wake up a bit earlier, and go to exercise when everybody is sleeping.
Or, for example, if I need to bake a cake for school, I’ll do it while the kids are watching TV.
I try to blend things around my life and priorities.
How important is physical health (e.g., exercise, diet, sleep, rest) to your work-life balance, and how do you incorporate it into your routine?
Physical health is key for me to maintain a balance in my daily schedule and, most importantly, helps me focus, de-stress, and find clear time to think. I do two things. First, I set a fitness goal and I work towards it. That keeps me motivated and disciplined to stick with exercise. Second, I try to prioritize this in my day, either before the work day starts or by blocking time during the day. Ancient Greeks had a saying that resonates with me: Nous ygiis en somati ygii; translates as: a healthy mind comes with a healthy body.
How do you manage and prioritize “me time” in your schedule, and what activities do you enjoy during this personal time?
I try to be disciplined, tell my colleagues and family that this is a priority for me, and I stick to it. I find high-intensity physical exercise and going to the theatre as my go-to things.
As your career progresses and life circumstances change, how do you adapt your work-life balance strategies?
As my career has grown, I have seen that I am better at prioritizing what is key for myself. I used to worry more about not hitting work goals earlier on, but I now have seen that if I find time for myself, I am much more efficient and productive at work.
Can you share a personal success story where improving your work-life balance led to better performance or greater satisfaction in your work?
I have frequent examples where if I skip my exercise on a given day, my work and focus tend to suffer. I have had the best and most efficient business meetings after competing at a sports event, even when physically tired.
What advice would you give to someone struggling to find balance between their work and personal life? What is the first step to start?
Make time for yourself; find something that you can focus on and be consistent. And then tell people around you that this is important for you. They will respect you for that.
What is one thought you’d like to share with other leaders to inspire them to improve the work-life balance within their teams?
Balanced people make better colleagues and more fulfilled individuals. Work is a key part of our life; being able to give it your all requires you to have all to give.
Yannis’ story and perspectives were truly uplifting—hopefully, you found them just as inspiring!
There’s plenty more to come, so keep watching for new interviews and resources designed to support your growth, both personally and professionally.