Mom and manager, how to be great at both!
By Anne Loughrey, Director, Best Buy
I work at Best Buy and I am busy at work.
I am the mother of 3 and that means I am busy at home.
I am also a wife, daughter, sister and friend and that means I am busy for all the time in between work and home.
The biggest variable we have to manage in this world of being busy and overbooked is TIME. Here are my five tips to better manage your time so you can be that incredible mom and manager and everything else in between.
1. Delegate
Most women think we can do it all ourselves and there is a lot of pressure to be the “perfect woman”. The best advice I can give to working women who are short on time is to DELEGATE. Bring others along with you on the journey!
Delegation applies both at home and the workplace. At home, your partner can help you change diapers, grocery shop and clean the house. If you have school-aged children, make sure they get a piece of the action, delegating tasks and chores that are commensurate with their age and ability. At work, make sure the members of your team are as engaged as you are. Delegation at work doesn’t only apply if you are the boss. I know women who are masterful at bringing issues to their peers as well as delegating up, to their boss.
The biggest mistake I see busy women make is that they try to do it all themselves. They look around and get upset with family or team members because no one else appears to be as busy as they are. It’s simple. ASK for help. If you think you shouldn’t have to ask for help, it’s time to let that one go. That emotional baggage isn’t doing you, or anyone else, any favors.
2. Stop Micro-Managing
Now that you have more time – because you’re delegating – the next certain thought is that the people you have delegated TO won’t do it as well as you! Of course they won’t – they are not you!
In some cases, you may have to “relax your standards” a bit. It’s important to acknowledge that you appreciate the help and then offer a tip or two on how you do the task. But, be careful here. This is a slippery slope!
For example, I delegated the task of laundry to my oldest daughter and she didn’t do it as well as I do. Of course she didn’t, she is 16 years old. But instead of taking the task back, I offer suggestions to help improve her skills. One of the benefits of delegating is helping to improve the skill set of those around you. Her laundry skills still aren’t as good as mine, but when she goes off to college in a few years, at least she will have a general sense of how to do laundry.
3. Hold on to what you really love
Don’t delegate everything; hold on to the things you really like to do. As for me, I love to garden. It’s peaceful, outdoors and I can see the results of my efforts. It would be the last thing I would delegate to anybody because even though it is a chore, it gives me pleasure.
At work, I love to scope out the beginning of a project, when it’s new and fresh and I can be idealistic about where it can lead us. I don’t delegate scoping to the project managers if I can help it, because I am good at that part, I love it and it gives me energy.
So as you assess what to delegate and what to keep, pay special attention to the parts of your job that give you extra pleasure and find a way to hold on to those things.
4. Be clear with boundaries: Know when to say NO!
I am a pleaser by nature. When someone asks for help I allow a “comfortable silence” of about 10 seconds before my hand goes up and I volunteer to help.
Sometimes, this is a great attitude to have. But when you look at your list of things to do and suddenly you have 10 extra things on the list, you might want to reflect on your ability to say NO.
The last several years I have volunteered as a parent chaperone for field trips at my younger daughter’s elementary school. It stressed me out and I didn’t enjoy it. I felt so responsible for the kids that I didn’t enjoy the time and they didn’t enjoy me. So I stopped saying YES to that. Instead, I choose jobs that I really enjoy, like planning the holiday party.
The same is true at work. There are always extra duties that need to be passed around to the team. My goal is to say a very loud YES to those items that give me energy but to respectfully decline those items that I don’t get energy from. For example, I LOVE to be the Master of Ceremonies for the Supply Chain All Hands meeting. Not only do I say “Yes” to that, I seek out those opportunities because I thoroughly enjoy it!
5. It doesn’t have to be perfect, learn when “good enough” is good enough.
I am not a perfectionist by nature so this one comes easily to me. I have some friends who spend hours and hours making the perfect Halloween costume. If that is the thing that gives them energy, then that is a good use of time. If not, learn when enough is good enough.
At our house, I have a box of Halloween gear and every year we add to it. My kids would never ask me to sew, they know me well and my lack of sewing is the subject of much family banter. They know to look in the Halloween box and if what they want isn’t there, they have to go out and try to find it. It’s all about expectations!
The same is true at work. Learn to identify those jobs that must be perfect and make sure your work is flawless. But not everything has to be perfect or not everything has to be made perfect by YOU.
Finally, stay aware of your energy level and your impact to those around you. If you are feeling dragged down, pay attention to what is causing the dip and experiment with ways to get your energy back. If the experiment works, then keep it up. If it doesn’t, try something else. Being a mom and a manager is a long term assignment. The one thing that is certain is that the job changes along the way. Be prepared to change along with it and enjoy the ride!
on:
The Helper: (over)Step
