Mike Giampa, a partner in a consulting deals practice, joins Niiamah Ashong on the Outlier's Edge Podcast to talk about leading a whole life while doing high-pressure work. He shares how he takes care of himself first so he can show up fully when work demands it, and why that balance is a model for the people coming up behind him. What emerged is his drive to keep creating new challenges for himself, from new career paths after making partner to learning to cook.
Episode at a glance
- Guest: Mike Giampa, Partner in a consulting deals practice
- Host: Niiamah Ashong, coach to outlier leaders
- Show: Outlier’s Edge Podcast, released October 11, 2022
- Format: conversation, 30 minutes
- Topics: Leading a whole life, Connection with clients and teams, Modeling balance for others, New paths after making partner, Betting on himself, Play, practice and new challenges
What Mike brought to the conversation
Mike Giampa always loved math and started his career as a retirement actuary at the intersection of math and business, then moved fairly quickly into mergers and acquisitions deals in the HR space. He earned his MBA, changed firms about eight years ago, and made partner about four years ago. What he loves most about his work is the connection with his clients and his team, and he says clients who feel that connection see him as a partner rather than a service provider. Outside work he puts real focus on his family of four kids and his wife of almost 15 years, and on his own needs, from basketball and lifting weights to playing video games with his cousin.
What emerged
The central idea is the order Mike Giampa chooses: like putting on his own oxygen mask first, he takes care of himself, and because he does, he can show up fully when work runs late. Niiamah Ashong noticed him change his language from 'when I can do that' to 'because I can do that.' Mike Giampa sees modeling that balance as critical to the success of the firm, since a leader who models a life where work takes over gives people a reason to stay a little while rather than aspire to the next level. Niiamah calls Mike's need for new challenges an outlier mentality, and Mike describes making partner as the start of a whole new set of paths rather than an ending.
Questions this episode answers
How can a leader keep work from taking over their life?
Mike Giampa says work will keep taking more and more from anyone who keeps saying yes, so leaders have to create those boundaries for themselves. He takes care of himself first, with basketball, lifting weights and video games with his cousin, so that when work needs long hours he can show up for it.
Why does a senior leader's lifestyle matter to their team?
Mike Giampa says a firm needs its senior associates and managers to aspire to be directors and partners. If leaders model a life where they work way too hard and everything else suffers, most people will do it for a little while but won't stick around for another 10 years.
What happens after you reach the top level at a firm?
Mike Giampa found that making partner opened a whole new career path, where a partner might be asked to move to another country, start a new practice or take on leadership roles. He raised his hand, made the right connections and got those opportunities, and he is excited about how his career will evolve over the next five to 15 years.
How do you take a leap of faith in your career?
When Mike Giampa changed firms after nine years, he took a leap of faith, putting the relationships and reputation he had built behind him and starting over. He says he keeps betting on himself, with the confidence that he can excel at whatever challenge he takes on, and that with the right mentality that bet gets rewarded.
How can a leader get good at something they've never been good at?
Mike Giampa once named cooking as something he didn't excel at, until he asked why not and started with simple recipes and pre-packaged ingredients. He says that like anything in life, it's about practice, working hard and sticking with it, and he now makes dishes like risotto.
In their words
If there's no balance, if you're not kind of happy holistically, then it's just gonna, honestly, it's gonna wear you out and wear you down and burn you out.
Mike Giampa
You got to keep betting on yourself. You got to be willing to keep betting on yourself.
Mike Giampa
If it starts with play, I'm in.
Mike Giampa
Key moments
01:03 – How Niiamah sees Mike
04:11 – From actuary to deals partner
05:12 – Connecting with clients and team
07:46 – Creating a balanced life
08:49 – Putting on his own oxygen mask first
11:21 – Modeling a life worth aspiring to
14:56 – New paths after making partner
18:32 – Betting on himself
22:09 – If it starts with play
23:10 – Learning to cook as a challenge
About Niiamah Ashong
Niiamah Ashong is a coach to outlier leaders, host of the Outlier’s Edge Podcast, and founder of the Trailblazer Collective. He coaches leaders who are creating something only they can make: a company, a body of work or a movement. Make a difference with your difference.
Work with Niiamah: 1:1 with Niiamah | World of Difference
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