In this compelling episode, host Vicky Eldridge is joined by Dr Priya Chadha, the Director of Acquisition Aesthetics and a seasoned plastic surgeon. As an advocate for achieving a healthy work-life balance, Dr Chadha shares her unconventional approach towards balancing professional commitments and personal life, particularly within the demanding aesthetics industry. She discusses the concept of 'equilibrium' over traditional notions of balance, offering a fresh perspective on managing life's varying demands as a business owner. Tune in as Dr Chadha unpacks the nuances of maintaining wellness while running a successful clinic, and provides invaluable advice for practitioners looking to navigate their careers without sacrificing their mental and physical health.
Vicky Eldridge: I'm joined by Dr Priya Chadha, she's the Director of Acquisition Aesthetics and plastic surgery. Dr Priya, thanks for joining us on the podcast.
Dr Priya Chadha: Great to see you today. Thanks for having me.
Vicky Eldridge: Now you're an advocate for work life balance, something that you've been speaking about at the Citics Business conference. What does this mean to you and why is it a topic that you are passionate about?
Dr Priya Chadha: So the first really honest thing is to say advocate of it is a broad term that I think should be better defined. I am a huge advocate of people finding their equilibrium. I am probably not the average person that you would define.
So, the irony is not lost on me as having an optimum work life balance for what their version is, but for my version, I definitely have it. And I'm a huge supporter, shall we say, of at least looking for or being in search of that equilibrium. I actually think that the concept of work life balance is a social misnomer, like many things. And because your work plays such an integral component, especially if you're in aesthetics and running your own business of your life, I think it's really difficult to separate the two. And I also think people shouldn't be penalised for not doing so.
Dr Priya Chadha: So it's a really. It's a really. Rather than answering your question about being an advocate for it, it's probably something which I've done in the talk as well, that I'd rather like to redefine and perhaps dispel what we might consider the old traditional work life balance.
Vicky Eldridge: I think that's really positive though, isn't it? Because often we hear people talking about things like work life balance as if it's this, you know, this thing that we need to strive for that most people really struggle to meet.
Dr Priya Chadha: And I think it's more realistic to come from a place of somebody who's running a business who's got other commitments outside of that and what does that actually look like for them? And what totally. What does that mean? And like you say it's different for everybody.
Vicky Eldridge: It is.
Dr Priya Chadha: And the other thing is, Vicky, it's different for everybody. So it's individual. But the other thing is that it varies during your life. So with different commitments, different constraints, you know, family, sickness, kids, work, work doing well, work, not doing well, business, business, you know, Covid, it will vary. And so you have to be massively malleable in regards to what you're striving to achieve in regards to the equilibrium and indeed work life balance, because that's not static.
Vicky Eldridge: Yeah. So, in terms of work life balance, have you got any advice for practitioners who might be struggling to balance their career with their family or their other commitments, like we've just spoken about?
Dr Priya Chadha: So again, I'm never answering any of your questions directly. There is advice in regards to balance, but before that you've got to define it.
Vicky Eldridge: Yes.
Dr Priya Chadha: And that's individual, like we said. So you have to define what your version is of that. And it's really easy to have that as a complete phrase. Right, define it. That doesn't work. If you ask yourself, what brings me joy, what do I enjoy doing, what do I get energy from?
I can do some of the most difficult gigs when I'm abroad or travelling or flying after a 24 hour call in hospital. And the tiredness that I feel doesn't compare to some of the work that I less enjoy. So, I can fly on a 12 hour flight and I can go and speak honestly for 13, 14, 15 hour days. And the amount of energy I gain from doing that is quite remarkable.
So define it first and establish what brings you joy. And then when you've established that, then there are many ways to what I like to call be efficient to achieve that balance or equilibrium. So, there are lots of ways with your time management, you know, all of those taglines that people give that you can be effective. But there are a few things that I have spoken about that I think are really essential. The first is you have to be comfortable with letting go.
Vicky Eldridge: Yeah.
Dr Priya Chadha: And as a control freak or somebody running their business, that's very difficult. And so that work basically means you have to become a brilliant leader and you have to empower teams.
Now, there are two problems with teams. One is finding the right person or people, that's extraordinarily difficult.
And the second then is being able to be a leader within that team, delegating and, you know, I always say deadlines, the deadlines aren't really for you, they're subliminally for you and what you need to achieve. But you have to empower your team to say, when does that deadline work for you? And then negotiate with them to ensure it can all be achieved. You're working together as a team, but really you're leading that team. So that's a real nuance that we've learned over the years, certainly, and one that needs to be established.
But there is nothing possible without teams. You're only one person and you're not scalable. The second is ruthless, and I say that with great passion. Ruthless time management and what comes with that is the ability to say no. It has to.
So I tell you, if something doesn't bring me joy, if I don't enjoy it, even though it might look like the greatest social media extravaganza or the greatest networking, I won't do it. I don't do it. So I haven't got the time to do it. I'm too ruthless with my time. My answer to you is thank you very much for the invitation, but no.
And so whether that time for me, what brings me joy is spent. You know, it might be working on the clinic, it might be working on the academy, it might be with my children. That is a choice that I make and therefore I'm ruthless with my time. So just implementing those two things, trust in teams and finding teams, is hard and ruthless time management are hugely effective.
Vicky Eldridge: I think that as I've got older, saying no, because in my 20s I said yes to every event in the aesthetics industry and my whole life revolved around going to events and it was fun and it was time consuming. But as I've got older, that ability to say no, it's been something really important for my own like mental well being and self care. But I think a lot of the time we can feel guilty, particularly as business owners or when you're self employed, that you must go to everything or do everything that's asked of you in order to be successful, but it's not actually the case.
Dr Priya Chadha: Yeah. And I don't feel guilt. If you can get over the, as the younger people call it, ‘FOMO’ and actually when you realise that there's not much fear to have of missing out if it doesn't benefit you, perhaps going to these events and socialising with your colleagues benefits you and gives you joy, that's okay. That's on your criteria of what you enjoy. And in certain scenarios I will do it depends on who's going.
But really, you have to be ruthless with understanding what is beneficial for you, for your business, what brings you joy, what gives you energy. That's a huge thing because truth is, we're all tired, we're all exhausted, whatever level it's on, you know, kids, families, menopause, whatever it might be, we're all utterly exhausted because we live in an instant gratification society. And so now there's no time to pause. But after you are resource with your time management and indeed decide what brings you energy, then you can start directing it in the right way.
Vicky Eldridge: And what about, you know, mental health in terms of. We hear so much now, don't we, about looking after our mental health and wellbeing plays a big part in that.
How do you do that for yourself? And how you talked about the importance of the team earlier.
Dr Priya Chadha: So whereas I gloss over the concept of work, life balance, mental health is one that I won't gloss over, both personally and otherwise. It all looks great on the outside, but we've all got a degree of battles that we're overcoming. Mine were most significant after the children. They were significant then and actually that's something that must be prioritised. That is probably a far more active thing to prioritise now. I tend to talk in ones and zeros because it's how I work. And for me, the benefit of my mental health, ironically, but won't come as a surprise to many, is that I'm far more efficient with my work, my family, my teams. So my mental health and protecting that is beneficial.
Of course it's beneficial for my longevity, my health, my chance of having a heart attack, massively. But again, what's your radar system of what's important to you? At this stage in my life, it's not the textbook answer, those things are important. But if you ask my driver, it's to have the children have a mother who's around long enough. But really I'm far more efficient when I look after it.
So my number one thing in it is being ruthless with my sleep. I am ruthless. I went to a boarding school, we were checked in at bed at 10. Those habits haven't died, you know, I'm absolutely ruthless with that. So I've got worse with it as I've got busier and of course kids.
But I try and be as militant as I can be. Everything looks better After a night's sleep makes such a big difference, doesn't it? And the older you get, the more that plays a part. I mean, I know we touched a little bit on menopause earlier, but there's a lot of talk about that now. And for maybe a lot of the patients that you're seeing now, and for a lot of us, ourselves in this space, we're seeing, you know, that play a part in our own lives.
And I've definitely noticed an impact on my sleep and how that affects me the next day. Being able to work.
Being able to work. And this is it. Your work feeds so heavily into your work. Life balance, your life balance that if you're not succeeding in that aspect of your life, it's such a massive proportion of what you do, then naturally the domino effect from that is quite significant.
Vicky Eldridge: Now, one of the events that you have chosen to be a part of is the Aesthetics Business Conference. You've spoken here before. What is it about this event, event that you enjoy and why do you like coming here to share your thoughts?
Dr Priya Chadha: So, look, this is a great event for many reasons. One of the top reasons is certainly Hampton, Fraser and Eddie. When you have a family that run a business and it's like a family run concept of the team that he runs, everything becomes much more intimate and enjoyable to be a part of. It's not so big that it's this massive corporate, somewhat cold transaction. There are people here that really care about what people are learning in aesthetics.
They design the programme with real precision. You know, they've asked me to speak on the balance of work and life in aesthetic medicine. Firstly, it's ironic that I'm talking about that. And secondly, you know, that's not a hard sell, that's not a course that we want to sell. That's not an aesthetic treatment that we're trying to promote.
That is, let me see how I can help you as learning delegates to strike a balance that is of benefit to you. That takes a high level of thinking and bringing them something that perhaps other large corporations won't do in larger conferences. So the intimate feel of the conference, the precision with which the programme is designed, and indeed, naturally, the networking that you're doing is on a level of family and that becomes a far more productive, although they might not see it that way, it's a far more productive way to do it. Connections can be built by doing that. And that's something that shouldn't be underestimated.
Vicky Eldridge: What advice would you have for any doctors who are coming into aesthetics? So they're just getting started in aesthetics because of course, when you start a business, quite often there isn't a work life balance. Your focus is on the business. But would you have any guidance from your own experience for anyone getting started now in aesthetics?
Dr Priya Chadha: I do. I've got the good and the bad and they are summarised by resilience and boundaries. Listen, you've got to be resilient. This is not easy. Nothing in life is easy. Running a marathon isn't easy. You've got to put in the hard work and the hours and I'll be honest with you, there's no place for you being soft. And I do take a different view to many and there are many things that people do that I sort of like, just get on with it. And that resilience has got to be built up anew. There's no two ways about it. I'm not fluffy, fluffy mummy, I'm get on with it, let's do it and let's see why we can't figure it out.
So resilience. And the second thing though that ties in with protecting your work life balance, protecting your time, is boundaries. You have to set and define your boundaries and it has to be no grey lines, it's black and it's white. Set the boundaries and stick to them and there's no negotiation around it. And once you've set them a few times, it will become habit and it will become automatic.
But continue to blur those boundaries and at worst you'll be taken advantage of and at best you'll be unproductive. So you've got to have those boundaries.
Vicky Eldridge: So resilience and boundaries, is there anything that you are looking forward to for the future of the aesthetics market or anything you're sort of seeing that might be happening?
Dr Priya Chadha: Lots, actually. So I think aesthetics personally took a slight dip. And when I was travelling, I went to 23 countries last year to speak, and when I was travelling it was almost like a bit of a plateau in regards to what was coming out, what was being learned and the innovation. But secretly what we never appreciate is actually there are scientists and researchers budding away in labs and they're doing some marvellous work and that's now beginning to explode. Your concept of devices meet non surgical injectables and the blending of those to optimise your treatments has come a huge way. Combination treatments, stacking treatments and the results. What that has meant is that there's been a shift in the consumer mindset before the consumer was coming in for a one off here and a one off there, a little bit of neuromodulator, quick skin booster.
Now we're managing to educate with the patient consultation such that it's a complete holistic approach with combination treatments. And what that's translating into for them is aesthetics is part of my well being. Aesthetics is part of my daily routine as dressing up, putting my makeup on and brushing my hair. It's going to become part maybe of the millennials now, but certainly in five, seven, ten years of their daily weekly routine. And I have no doubt about it.
Vicky Eldridge: Amazing. Thank you so much. It's been great to have you.
Dr Priya Chadha: Thanks for having me.
