Style
Let’s face it, pre-children you probably thought about your style more in terms of how you looked and what you wore to work.
But did you realise that as a career mum, an understanding of your ‘work style’ can help you successfully negotiate a work/life balance that works for everyone…you, your family and your employer?
What is your style?
Your work style is your ‘personal brand’, and although, style is often considered something you are born with, there are many useful tips to help you modify your style.
As a career mum, the four main aspects of your style that impact on your work/life balance are:
- your status in your company
- your confidence
- your stock of brownie points
- your relationship with your boss
Managing your style is about ensuring that your contribution and productivity are exemplary, that you consistently deliver high quality performance and you make yourself as indispensable as possible.
It’s about using the time before you start your family to accumulate as many ‘chits’ or brownie points as possible and to purposefully seek out and develop a strong relationship with your boss.
Be part of the solution… not the problem
You need to be strategic in managing your style – being a successful working mother requires managing relationships, forethought and planning long before your baby arrives.
Give your boss plenty of warning before you begin your family, think of ways you can make part-time employment work for both your employer and your family, and above all, be creative, realistic, flexible and open to new ideas.
Because that way, you’re presenting your boss with a solution, rather than adding another problem.
And suddenly, it’s a win/win situation for everyone involved.
Want to enjoy both motherhood and your career without feeling guilty?
Find out more about how Not Guilty can help you change from exhausted, guilt-ridden headless-chicken to happy career woman, wife and mother…at least some of the time!