I was out of town on business when our quarterly report came out. I couldn’t believe the numbers – our company had just had its best quarter ever. But even more amazing, I wasn’t there for most of it. The rest of the team did all the hard work while I was away, and it shows in the results. Now that I’m back home and can see how everything turned out, it’s even more gratifying to know that
Although it may not have been the ideal time to present my new business plan, I decided to go. I was confident that my story and bottom line would speak for themselves. However, when I walked into the room and saw all of my colleagues on one side of the table, and my husband’s family on the other side…
As I pulled up to the airport, I couldn’t help but feel anxious. My new boss was on her way to earth-side and I had no idea how she would react when she saw me. But what mattered most was that I deserved some proper time off after baking that muffin and getting to know myself in this new role.
Male CEOs are often quick to boast about their qualifications, but when it comes to taking parental leave, they’re often hesitant. When I reached out to several of my investors, asking them to connect me with CEOs who had taken parental leave and was introduced to several male CEOs who sheepishly told me they only took a week or two, I was surprised. While the overwhelming majority of businesses encourage employees to take a significant amount of time off after giving birth or adopting a child, there seems to be a gap in how much time male executives take off. A week or two may not seem like much, but it can make a significant difference in establishing good breastfeeding habits and bonding with your newborn.
Leaving a job for a few months without giving notice can seem daunting, but with the right mindset, it can actually be an amazing opportunity. Here are four tips to help make the leave work smoothly:
We were new to this level of planning, but this was an excellent opportunity to mature our process and give everyone a sense of purpose and direction in my absence.
In order to help everyone feel more purpose and direction during my absence, we decided to convene a meeting to plan our next level of growth. Our goal was to come up with a cohesive strategy that would ensure our team remained united and on track. After discussing various options, we ultimately chose to focus on creating new content and developing our social media presence. This was an exciting step forward that we all felt motivated by, and it gave us a better understanding of what kind of work contributed the most value within the company.
Tell people you will be taking more time off than you intend to
I decided to blog from my hospital room while nursing my newborn son. I’ll be taking calls, but you’re not going to be able to step away!
I was able to take the advice of my wise friend and investor, Jules Miller, and create a plan for 12 weeks. Including this time away will potentially be revealing and challenging in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. This experience could prove to be valuable in ways that I could not have imagined, so I am hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.
At 28 days old, my daughter and I were forced to flee our home due to a flood. Jules was incredibly understanding and accommodated my need to take some time away from our little one in order to recuperate. She was right – finding stability after such a chaotic experience was key in helping me strengthen my bond with my daughter. We may have had to move three times in three weeks, but at the end of it all, Jules helped me build something solid that we could always rely on.
