We had the good fortune of connecting with Sally Chan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sally, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
For as long as I can remember, the idea of work life balance felt more like a juggling act. In fact, I remember attending a women’s conference and a speaker shared that finding balance between your personal and professional life could be compared to the act of juggling several balls – some made of glass, others made of rubber, with each ball representing a priority in your life. The goal was to make sure you didn’t drop the one made of glass and essentially making it irreparable (ie your health, quality time with family, friends, etc.). While the concept made sense, I’ve since recognized that it presents a lot of unneeded pressure. During a separate meeting, a facilitator introduced a new approach. Could it be that finding work life balance was actually unrealistic and perhaps the better lens was the pursuit of harmony? What if we replaced the juggling act with a music mixer? Each column represents a life priority and we get to choose which knobs to dial down or increase to create harmony. I love this idea of adjusting the knobs to create our own tune to fit each season of life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I feel very fortunate that at the young age of 19, I was able to secure an internship with The Walt Disney Company working in their labor standards department. This was at a time when there was legislation on President Clinton’s desk asking companies to be more transparent about their supply chain to ensure protection of worker and human rights. At such an impressionable age and formative time in my professional development, I had front row seats to understanding how companies were choosing to work with government agencies and NGOs to tackle complex social issues from child labor, overtime hours, freedom of association, the impacts of tobacco on public health, etc.. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to wear many hats, often working as a start-up within large media and telecommunications companies (i.e. Disney, Warner Bros., AT&T, and Discovery), to right-size the company’s role within society and addressing both the positive and negative impacts the business had on communities around the world. I’m so excited to see that after 23+ years’ of working in this space, that we are spending less time defending the need for companies to exercise a more active role in society, but instead seeing it as an imperative for business growth, continuity, relevance, and responsibility. I often cite how just 10 years ago, I spent a year debating with our corporate communications team about the importance of our CEO having a blog to share the company’s stance on various societal issues. The discussion seems so moot now with POTUS and other world leaders having their own social handles – but I like to share this as a simple example of the accelerated pace of change in how we do business. I’m proud of the fact that even with the challenges that I’ve faced working in CSR – a function that was once seen as a “nice to have” or accessory to the primary business, that the work has only evolved and grown in importance. One of the lessons I learned early on is that regardless of the functional area you represent within a company, it is critical to maintain a posture of listening, understanding, and flexibility when working across teams, departments, sectors, and countries. I often believe that we place too much emphasis on our “strategic” plans and goals without creating space for revision, recalibration, and a thoughtful reflection/pause to ensure that they still makes sense. From a personal branding perspective, I would want the world to know that I am still a firm believer in a beautiful perspective that was shared by a respected b-school professor of mine, “There are many ways to make a difference in the world. As much as we talk about scaling here, the truth is that people are helped one person at a time. Everyone you touch in life will be impacted by your spirit and caring. It starts with your significant other, kids and extended family. But it grows to include your co-workers, neighbors, friends and network. Be kind to everyone you meet. Be the kind of boss you wish you had. Err on the side of smiling. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Stretch your empathy muscles. Understanding where people are coming from makes all the difference in every interaction. And always work hard to make ethical choices. That may sound trite, but it isn’t that easy as your career grows – so keep that in mind.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many amazing spots in Los Angeles and if I had a week to show my BFF the best time ever, this would be our itinerary:

Monday
Visit The Broad in Downtown LA
Brunch/Lunch at either Bestia (best pasta ever), Wurstküche for some amazing bratwurst + best fries and good beer, or Daikokuya for ramen + fried rice.
Dessert at Pie Hole for Earl Grey or Mexican Chocolate Pies or McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams at Grand Central Market
Tour the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Drinks at Bonavista Lounge or Perch LA for the view
Lakers/Clippers/Kings Game at Crypto arena or Dodgers Game at Dodger Stadium

Tuesday
Hike to Hollywood Sign
Griffith Observatory
Lunch at Republique
Shopping at The Grove/LA’s Farmers Market/Melrose
Catch a show at the Hollywood Bowl/Magic Castle
Drinks at Yamashiro for view

Wednesday
Langham Pasadena for Tea
Lunch at the Athenaeum at Caltech or Dim Sum at Lunasia Dim Sum House in Pasadena
Walk the Huntington Gardens
Sushi or Shabu Shabu Dinner at Osawa
Ice Cream from Salt & Straw

Thursday
Relax at Wi Spa in Koreatown
KBBQ at Park’s BBQ or Daedo Sikdang, Aghassi Gopchang
Karaoke

Friday
Walk the Santa Monica pier/Drive to Malibu
Eat at Paradise Cove
Enoy wine tasting at Cielo Farms

Saturday
Walk the Descanso Gardens
Have brunch at my younger brother’s AMAZING fried chicken restaurant, Honeybird in La Canada. Definitely order chicken and waffles, shrimp n grits, french toast, and a shrimp po’ boy! Add bacon cheese biscuits and add honey to everything.

Sunday
Church and Rest

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I always have to give a shoutout to my mom, mentor, and BFF for always modeling the perfect blend of work ethic, humility, integrity, and grace. I also want to recognize my Power Women’s Network, a collective born from a desire to work together and share the responsibility of empowering one another and creating spaces for others to feel seen, known, and loved. I look forward to seeing this group grow and expand to include others looking for authentic community.

Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/sallyleechan

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.