Recently, I saw the quote below (on working and motherhood) from Justine Lupe, and it made me pause to think about my own motherhood journey in a fast-paced professional services career. As a younger professional, I always worried about timing my first pregnancy perfectly around work deadlines… turns out that’s virtually impossible. I was out on maternity leave in Q4 as an accountant, and guess what? It was fine, more than fine, actually.
There’s a longstanding assumption in the consulting space that having kids is a career killer, given client demands. I would be lying if I said motherhood has seamlessly worked with my career aspirations everyday – no one would be naive enough to believe that, but there are lessons I have learned along the way that have been invaluable to my career growth and the value I bring to clients:
1 – Perspective and the ability to consistently reassess priorities.
2 – Question historical norms and solutions. No one is more creative than a parent trying to figure out how to be in two places at once.
3 – Trust your gut instinct.
4 – Don’t take yourself too seriously.
5 – It’s OK, and frankly normal, to make mistakes.
There is a narrative that it’s a death sentence of sorts to become a mother in this industry. … I’ve been lucky enough to see some of my best friends do some bonkers incredible work pregnant or as new moms, and it’s been hugely expansive.
