Jean-Charles & JCL Coaching

My philosophy can be summarized in 3+1 guiding principles:

👉Just Be - to dare to be authentic, present, and true to yourself. To stand firmly in who you are and let your authentic self shine in all aspects of life.

👉Just Love - to nurture relationships and let love and appreciation be the compass that keeps the puzzle pieces together. To appreciate both yourself and others as part of the whole.

👉Just Breathe - to create breathing space and recovery in a world that otherwise risks becoming overcrowded. To give yourself room to pause, regain energy, and face life's challenges with clarity.

👉👉Feel Free - is the result of the first three principles. When we dare to be ourselves, build relationships with love and appreciation, and take time to breathe, then the feeling of freedom arises. Freedom not through perfection, but by letting life's parts flow between and enrich each other. In this way, sustainability, harmony, and a sense that the puzzle of life is something alive - not a problem to solve, but an opportunity to live well.

When we live by these 3+1 principles, the puzzle of life ceases to be a problem to solve and instead becomes a living and ever-changing picture of a life well lived.

My intention in life and with JCL Coaching is to contribute to a world where people and organizations live and lead in balance, with authenticity and purpose. I want to give both individuals and companies the courage and tools to redefine what life puzzle and life balance mean - and to create sustainable strategies that strengthen both well-being and performance.

Through my research, my experience, and my passion for people, my intention is to be a catalyst for change - so that more people can find their flow, rediscover their energy, and live and lead in a way that is both human and sustainable. With the support of my research background I take questions about well-being, life balance, life puzzle, and leadership to the next level - for both individuals and organizations.

I believe that we all need:

👉Change our view on life balance - it's not just about work and family, but about seeing life as complex with many puzzle pieces.

👉Understand our balance needs - as a combination of integration and segmentation.

👉Develop strategies for harmony - beyond traditional time and place planning.

👉Integrate leadership - both as an individual and organization - to create, implement, and maintain strategies for a sustainable life puzzle.

I see both organizations and individuals as wholes and therefore transfer all my knowledge, understanding, and values to JCL Coaching. Here we empower individuals for better well-being in line with UN's goal 3 (health and well-being) and support organizations in sustainable development according to UN's goal 8 (decent work and economic growth).

To put this philosophy into practice, I work with Co-active coaching – a methodology where both reflection and action are at the core.

👉Co stands for relationship, connection, and access to your inner resources through reflection, awareness, and interaction.

👉Active is about action, forward-thinking, and the courage to make decisions that propel you forward in your development.

When these two come together, a whole emerges where who you are aligns with what you do. With the help of this methodology – in all my services – I help both individuals and organizations to discover who they are in their life process, what they love and appreciate, and how they can navigate through life's challenges.

The goal is always the same: for you to rediscover the flow in your life puzzle and feel free – even in a complex and rapidly changing world.

Did you know that around eighty percent of European employees see the balance between work and family as a crucial part of a meaningful life? Yet research shows that a lack of balance often leads to stress, ill health, and the risk for employers of losing valuable talent. This is why many organizations today offer flexibility in time and place – but the question remains: does it really lead to more balance?

Life is more complex than that. Many of us – myself included – have tried to live by the idea of a perfect life, where we balance responsibilities and tasks. But the truth is that there is no universal definition of the perfect life. Instead, we create our own lives, day by day, week by week.

As a researcher, coach, and educator, I see life as a puzzle of many pieces that constantly need to harmonize with each other. Sometimes the pieces fit together and we feel joy – sometimes they do not, and then we need to adjust, reshape, and find new ways to make the whole work.

Previous research shows that many people experience more life spheres than just work and family. In my own studies, I have identified four spheres:

❤ Family life – love and emotional support

👥 Social life – belonging and status

💼 Work life – salary, development, and meaning

🌿 Private life – recovery, energy, and strength

Together, these four spheres form what can be described as a life puzzle. But this puzzle is not only about the existence of these spheres, it is also about how we relate to time, place, relationships, emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and our energy in each of them. These are the seven invisible lines of the life puzzle:

⏰ Time – How you distribute your time sets the rhythm of your life.

📍 Place – Your environments shape your focus.

👥 Relationships – Differentiating between colleagues, friends, and family helps nurture the right ones.

💓 Emotions – Authenticity arises when you allow the same emotions across spheres, but balance also means knowing when to leave stress behind.

💭 Thoughts – Learning to switch focus or let inspiration flow freely.

✋ Behaviors – Acting consciously and sustainably.

🌱 Stress & Energy – Knowing where to release stress and where to recharge.

All these lines interact – sometimes they harmonize, sometimes they clash. And since life constantly changes, the balance we felt yesterday may already be different tomorrow. Individuals handle their life puzzle in two main ways:

⚪⚪ Integration – spheres blend and enrich one another.

⚪⚪ Segmentation – spheres are kept separate to protect resources and reduce conflicts.

In practice, we often use both – and balance is created in the interplay between these strategies.

My conclusions

For me, the life puzzle is not a struggle but an opportunity to live and lead with authenticity, love, and presence. It is an ongoing process that every individual, regardless of role, manages in everyday life.

Through my Work-Life Dashboard model, I illustrate how the four spheres, the seven aspects, and the balance between integration and segmentation together form the foundation of a sustainable life puzzle – for both individuals and organizations.

That is why JCL Coaching exists – to increase understanding, inspire change, and create the conditions for truly sustainable lives and work environments.

Few Scientific References

• Languilaire, J-C. E. (2009). Experiencing work/non-work - Theorising individuals' process of integrating and segmenting work, family, social and private. JIBS Dissertation Series No. 060. ISSN 1403-0470. ISBN 978-91-86345-03-7.

• Languilaire, J-C. E (2019). Entrepreneurial life-puzzle and wellbeing of women in entrepeneurship. Chapter 17 in book: The Wellbeing of Women in Entrepreneurship: A Global Perspective, by Maria-Teresa Lepeley, Katherina Kuschel, Nicholas Beutell, Nicky Pouw, Emiel L. Eijdenberg

• Languilaire, J-C. E., and Carey N. (2017). LGBT voices in work-life: a call for research and a research. Community, Work and Family, Vol. 20, Iss. 1, pp. 99-111. Doi: 10.1080/13668803.2016.1273198.

• Languilaire, J-C. E., Muhonen, T., Berthelsen, A., Håkansson, P., Lundsten, J., & Witmer, H. (2017). Missing Voices On Meaningful Relationships in Time and Space. Editorial to Special Issue. Community, Work and Family, Vol. 20, Iss. 1., pp. 1-3. Doi: 10.1080/13668803.2017.1273305.

• Languilaire, J-C. E. (2017). Work/non-work management in an integrative working environment based on IT in Las Heras, M., Chinchilla, N. & Grau, M. (2017). The Work-Family Balance in Light of Globalization and Technology. Chapter 2, pp. 38-58. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; Newcastle. ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-7337-6.

• Languilaire, J-C. E. (2017). Att få ihop livspusslet kan vara mer komplicerat än du tror. Organisation och samhälle, Vol. 1.