3 mindset shifts for moms who want prosperous careers
-Monique Russell
Imagine that he has been in the work environment for 12 years. You started at the entry level and became vice president. You want the senior vice president role, but despite knocking your performance reviews out of the park, you’re constantly told you’re not ready. You can’t identify where to move because in this environment someone would have to leave their position to grow.
Does this sound familiar?
This was the scenario of a mother in leadership, who did not know what to do, and could not figure out her next move. As a result, his options were to choose to remain established or to choose to leave.
A woman in leadership knows when she is ready to move on to the next level. Often, he knows that his successful move must be accompanied by next-level skills, but he may not be aware of the necessary skills or beliefs. Here are three beliefs that moms in leadership who want to continue to maximize their full potential need.
Mindset Shift #1: Motherhood is not about biology, it’s about identity.
Take on all roles intentionally, and embody the mother in the leadership identity that empowers you. Have conversations with others who have experience in what you are trying to achieve to evaluate your options from a variety of perspectives. Identify the transferable skills of being a mother and a woman in leadership to implement a plan for personal and professional development.
These skills include:
- Effective communication
- Representation
- Project management
- Emotional Intelligence
- Leading Up and Down
Mindset Shift #2: Being a mom in leadership isn’t a disability, it’s a superpower.
Developing lifelong learning by listening to related podcasts and joining development communities. When joining communities, evaluate whether the group can help you develop the skills you want to grow. Only certain communities are right for you and your needs. Use a decision-making filter to determine how community environments can help you grow. If these features are missing, search for another one until you find the right one. Too often, women refuse community support because they don’t fit in well. Try again.
Develop and nurture your support system. Nurturing connections is often an afterthought, but as a mom in leadership, this intentional act is critical to your success. Take the time to do 15% of your week to proactively reach out to someone, make a presentation, share words of encouragement, or say hello. It’s easy to take the people closest to you for granted, like family, friends, and life partners, because you know they’ll have your back no matter what. However, these people should be on your list of nourishment and gratitude.
Develop a quality sleep regimen. No matter how organized and prepared you are, if you don’t get good quality sleep in the long run, you will struggle. Fatigue will cause you to miss appointments, and you will feel stressed and overwhelmed. That’s not a good look for a mother in charge. Start with a good quality mattress and pillow. Let go of worries and anxieties before going to sleep. Grab a notebook and write your worries out of your head onto paper so they don’t disrupt the flow of your sleep. You can also write down the questions you seek answers to, because when your body is resting, your subconscious mind will help you solve the problem while you sleep. You might wake up the next day with a clear idea and a solution to an existing problem.
Develop a good quality skin care system. The skin is the largest organ in your body. Often our body system communicates to us when it is experiencing disruptions, alerting us to fix it. For example, whenever one of my sons eats food with dairy, he gets a rash on his body and has digestive problems. Pay attention to how your body communicates with you through your skin. Keep this organ healthy with water, fresh fruits and vegetables, protein shakes and supplements.
Develop and optimize productivity. Since you make so many decisions every day, identifying ways to reduce decision fatigue while improving time management and productivity is part of a winning formula. The way you optimize your life is unique to you. It doesn’t have to be a complex set of steps. You can simply start using your tools to their full potential. I remember when I discovered that a snooze button in the Gmail interface allowed me to snooze emails for a later time. I was over the moon about this new feature! I could clean out my inbox and trust technology when I would be more likely to return email. Optimizing your life can include outsourcing tasks, communicating goals with others, and reducing clutter.
Mindset Shift #3: The hardest pencil is better than the sharpest mind.
Develop routines for structure and consistency. Years ago, my dentist decided to stop calling to remind patients about dentist appointments. This was before there was technology to automate alerts. His administrative staff would spend most of the day calling clients to remind them of their appointments. When this stopped, he saw a dramatic rise in no-shows because people forgot. This caused more chaos, so they started reminding people again. No matter how demanding you think your mind is, systems, structure, and routines are essential for you and your family. This could be having a meal together every day or every week, making appointments for car maintenance, shopping, trips or the like. As someone who travels the world for work and play, I have to have a routine for when I travel, where I stay, how I stay healthy in other environments, and how I make decisions when I travel. I would appreciate a discussion on the importance of securing mentors and embarking on coaching to strengthen your self-awareness. This allows you to be a mother of honesty and build self-esteem by honoring yourself and being a person of your word.
Monique Russell is a global communications consultant who teaches leadership and teams how to improve and retain talent through strategic leadership development. He takes Monique Clear communication solutions – An international training, coaching and consulting company that focuses on communicating with confidence from within. She is also the author of the Ultimate Speaker’s Guide and the book Intentional Motherhood: Who Said it Would Be Easy and the host of the Bridge to U podcast.
