Can you have it all?

Managing a prominent career and family is a balancing act that we need to approach with tact.

Some members of the community asked recently to hear the perspectives of other women like you on how you make the difficult choices when it comes to balancing your career ambitions with your responsibilities as a wife and mother.

I thought my take might offer you some insights.

There are three schools of thought on the way you could approach this. Which one is the path that speaks the most to you? Each is quite special but all converge to the same conclusion, which is you can have it all. The biggest question is: can you have it all at the same time? Or can you have it all, but at different times of your life?

This reminds me of my friend, Kris, who had an exciting career and got to the helm of her career as an executive director before she had her first child.

Kris was already in her mid-30s. And that's when she decided to have her child. She took a break in her career to lead herself through her life of a first-time mom.

When she got back into the job market, Kris took a big step back in her career to be in roles that gave her space to be with her baby, but she climbed back quickly because no one can ever take your experience away.

Some women have their children as early as they can; and after that, they start focusing on exciting career ambitions; of course with some challenges to find the right entry point into the job market when they are ready.

The biggest question here, as in the situation of Kris is when does the child become old enough to resume on the job market?

Other women take calculated breaks throughout but accelerate their growth whenever they have the opportunity, putting work in front again, and alternating throughout their life.

You have to give up one for the other. If you are a mother, you have to tone down or possibly suppress your career ambitions.

People in this school of thought have given up on ambition and an exciting career. They intentionally don't give their best and as result, get fewer promotions at work or say no to opportunities that come their way.

My mother is law did this. She has regrets today and since, advises women not to do as she did.

The last part of this sentence is important because if you don’t pay attention to that, you risk burnout and dying young!

In this approach to life and career, you must leverage the right people at home at work, and in your personal life to support you in reaching your goals as a parent and as a career professional.

There is a say that behind every great man there is a great woman. In this school of thought, behind every great woman, there is a great nanny and a village.

Having people who you can count on, and especially a nanny at home who you've trained so well that it feels like you have cloned yourself at home and you can be focused when you are at work. I'll share more this week on how you do this.

At the same time, it requires extreme time management skills so that you are present for your family when you're you are at home.