Business Management Skills

Just fifty or so years ago it was commonplace for the husband in a marriage to have a job and for the wife to take care of the children at home. While this arrangement may have worked well back then, life is very different these days and both members in the relationship usually have busy careers to consider when planning a family.

The idea alone of balancing career responsibilities with raising a child can be intimidating, but especially so if you’re running a business. As the boss, you have an additional amount of responsibility and you’re the one who makes all the major decisions. It may be tough to imagine how the business can get by without you around, so what’s going to happen when you’re required to take several months absence on maternity leave?

As the boss, your additional responsibilities will need to be addressed well in advance of your leave and you will need to find ways to manage your time most effectively. Time management, as most of us know, is crucial, because as a business leader you’ll now realise that you’ve two babies to watch over - your new baby and your business!

By formulating a plan on how you’ll efficiently manage your priorities, you can set up ideal strategies, goals and rules that will help you perform to the highest of standards at work, and when you’re at home, enjoy your time fully.

Ponder on what additional support you’re going to need both as a Managing Director and as a mother once your newborn has arrived and you have to go back to work. For instance, what contingency plans can you set up in case your baby becomes sick and a doctor imposes a short period of isolation? Or if you are lucky enough to have a live-in nanny, what would you do if (or when) she isn’t at her best, takes off on holiday or leaves? This is definitely something that they don’t teach anyone at ante-natal classes, and it often really pays to create detailed back-up plans before something actually happens!

Many senior managers and CEOs make use of professional coaching to help them plan a smooth transition leading up to, during and beyond maternity leave.

In senior positions coaching for women is now commonplace and it’s certainly a sound investment in your work life integration as well as your business! You may well be used to working with consultants in other areas of the business to help you run your operation efficiently, so why not consider online life coaching as well?

Communication with all stakeholders is paramount - colleagues, employees and most importantly customers. If you inform customers of your forthcoming absence and let them know how you intend to cover for this to ensure a seamless service to them, you will grow their loyalty. Now is certainly the time to nurture the relationships with your existing client base rather than developing new ones, as you will not be able to closely oversee the delicate process of rapport building new clients.

As a leader, you are probably well aware of the importance of delegation. However, if this has not been your forte, now is the time to build up your delegation muscle! As you get closer towards your maternity leave, increase the delegation and make sure that you are training your “number two” in as many areas as you can safely hand over.

In short, your four essential success criteria for planning a smooth transition to your maternity leave are:

1. Seek Support

2. Plan

3. Communicate

4. Delegate

Once you’ve done what you can to prepare for your absence, relax and enjoy your new “promotion” to motherhood!

Amanda Alexander is the Managing Director of Coaching Mums. She is a celebrated ICF accredited coach, who for over six years, has been helping thousands of working moms from around the World bring balance back into their lives, lose their guilt, find the time to explore their passions, and generally, to have a lot more fun! For fantastic articles and hot professional coaching tips, sign up to receive “Inspire”, our famous free newsletter today!