As I've moved past 30 and am coming up on getting married, I've been thinking (and stressing) over how to be successful professionally and personally. It seems impossible at times that there could be space to fit more in to a day, especially something so important as having children. I've been trying to listen to anyone who seems to have at least somewhat figured this out and from speaking with them it has lowered my anxiety and even started to convince me that both are possible.
One of the women I've been particularly fascinated with is Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer at Facebook and mother of two. In addition to all of that, she's very dedicated and pours lots of energy into ensuring we live in a society with as many female leaders as male. Today I was watching her TedTalk from 2010: Why we have too few women leaders.
She has three tenants for women in the workplace.
- Sit at the table – Believe we have a right to be in the position that we are. Reach for opportunities more often and leave the self-doubt behind. Understand and believe in our own success.
- Make your partner a real partner – Equal responsibilities for parenting and housework. Re-framing running the home (whether full or part time) as the most important job for either gender.
- Don't leave before you leave – For many women, as soon as they start thinking about having children they start slowing down and not taking new opportunities. Sheryl's recommendation is to keep your foot on the gas right up until you leave. You can start thinking about those decisions about what is next once you're at home with your child.
All three of these resonated with my thoughts, especially number three. I've been having trouble wrapping my head around keeping my foot on the gas. Getting stuck in thinking that I need to slow down professionally to speed up personally or vice versa. Sheryl's wisdom gives me confidence though to keep going, to not get too far ahead of myself and to ensure that I don't leave anything on the table.
Being a Force for Good 