A New Way for Mothers

Why should motherhood be seen as the end of a career when it can be a new chapter of professional and personal growth?

1. Motherhood Can Realign Your Career with Your Values

Motherhood offers women the chance to reset and reshape their careers around their true values. Often, women feel pressure in traditional workplaces to suppress traits like kindness or collaboration, viewing them as weaknesses in competitive environments. However, motherhood causes a significant shift, urging women to reassess their priorities and focus on what truly matters in life.

Louise Webster reflects on her experience of feeling like a "ventriloquist’s dummy" in her pre-motherhood career, driven by values she didn’t align with. After becoming a mother, she discovered the joy of working on what resonates with her values. This clarity, paired with her caregiving instincts, significantly influenced how she rebuilt her professional life.

Taking this new perspective into action, she launched "beyondtheschoolrun," a business centered on supporting mothers in their professional journeys. By focusing on something meaningful to her, she created a fulfilling career balanced with parenting responsibilities. This insight highlights that aligning work with personal values can lead to more satisfying and authentic professional experiences.

Examples

• Louise left her high-pressure PR job to work on a mission that resonated with her values.
• Her business supports other mothers seeking meaningful work.
• Realignment with her true interests made her career more enjoyable and naturally flowing.

2. Motherhood Teaches Skills That Translate to the Workplace

Becoming a mother equips women with a new set of skills that are equally valuable in the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds. Mothers juggle priorities, adapt to changing circumstances, and handle responsibilities with persistence and precision.

Society often assumes mothers become detached from professional competencies, but the reverse is true. Lessons in time management, community building, and strategic planning are honed during caregiving. These skills, critical to business success, are often overlooked. Webster recounts how these capabilities emerged from her experience of raising her child, giving her a newfound confidence to manage her professional life.

Moreover, the discipline and creativity required in parenting can shape mothers into resilient leaders. Mothers learn to be strategic with their energies, handling situations pragmatically, whether it’s managing tantrums or navigating workplace crises. It’s time society sees and values mothers’ enhanced capabilities.

Examples

• Mothers master time optimization by handling caregiving and errands.
• Managing a household budget teaches strategic financial planning.
• Building networks through parenting showcases community leadership.

3. Rediscovering Talents Through a Child’s Perspective

Children’s curiosity and fearless approach to the world can awaken dormant abilities in their mothers. Adults, burdened by societal judgments, often shy away from exploring new talents they feel unqualified for. But watching children learn without fear of failure provides a refreshing perspective.

Webster overcame longstanding insecurities, like believing she couldn't write. Even with early failures and rejections, she persisted and eventually became a published writer. This showcases how children can inspire mothers to take risks and push beyond limiting beliefs.

This process of rediscovery doesn’t just apply to professional skills; it’s also about embracing new hobbies and roles with confidence. Allowing yourself the freedom to explore possibilities, just like a child, can reveal hidden strengths and fulfill desires you didn’t know you had.

Examples

• Louise tackled her fear of public speaking, inspired by her child’s openness.
• Rediscovering her love of writing led to her contributions in major publications.
• Observing children’s learning processes gave her permission to try and fail.

4. Build a Parent Network to Strengthen Connections

Parenthood can often feel isolating, but leveraging your child’s relationships can open doors to a robust social and professional network. Webster learned this firsthand when she transitioned out of her urban social life. By engaging with other parents her child befriended, she found a supportive community.

These connections can ease the challenges of balancing work and family life. Shared playdates can free up hours for professional tasks or self-care. This community-based approach benefits not just the individual parent but everyone involved, creating a collective structure of support for families.

Additionally, such networks are valuable professionally. They connect mothers to like-minded people from diverse fields, allowing career opportunities to surface in unexpected ways. Reclaiming and broadening your social circle through parent networking turns potential isolation into collaboration.

Examples

• Louise built friendships with other parents through her child’s interactions.
• Her parent network provided time for professional development during shared childcare.
• Networking with parents broadened her business opportunities.

5. Separate Yet Harmonize Professional and Personal Life

Switching between work and family roles can be tricky, but clear boundaries and organized routines can bring balance. Many working mothers feel torn, struggling to remain fully present in either role. Setting physical and mental spaces for work and care allows both to flourish without conflict.

Creating a dedicated home workspace signals a clear boundary to the rest of the family. Additionally, structuring the day into blocks—allocating specific times for work and parenting—helps maintain focus and balance. Webster’s approach includes aligning her work hours with her child’s school schedule, ensuring a rhythm that supports harmony.

This segmentation ultimately benefits both spheres of life, as it ensures energy and time are optimally distributed. Planning work weeks with fixed starting activities also creates momentum, preventing a scattershot approach to responsibilities.

Examples

• Louise relies on a routine aligned with her child’s calendar.
• A dedicated home workspace reduces distractions during work hours.
• Balanced blocks of time prevent stress between parenting and professional duties.

6. Collaborative Partnerships Strengthen Families

Equality and open communication in caregiving responsibilities improve dynamics at home and work. Despite best intentions, traditional family roles often resurface, disproportionately burdening mothers. Webster notes that addressing disparities with conscious role sharing enriches relationships and personal growth.

Enabling fathers to take on more responsibility helps them bond with children while providing mothers with much-needed flexibility. This collaboration ensures a more equitable distribution of parenting and career opportunities. Moreover, solo tasks for each parent, like storytime or outdoor play, create fulfilling attachments.

When both parents embrace their roles fully, children also benefit. Studies show that active involvement from both parents positively impacts a child’s emotional and social development. It’s an effort worth taking for the emotional health of the family.

Examples

• Fathers taking on bedtime routines balance household responsibilities.
• Equal caregiving allocation provides mothers with time for work or rest.
• Shared involvement enriches children’s developmental experiences.

Takeaways

1. Reflect on your values and align your career goals with what truly matters to you for a more fulfilling professional journey.
2. Build a network of supportive parents and communities to ease challenges and find collaborative opportunities.
3. Create distinct boundaries for work and family roles by setting routines and dedicated spaces, maintaining harmony between both aspects of life.