What Motherhood Taught Me About Leadership
“What greater aspiration and challenge are there for a mother than the hope of raising a great son or daughter?”
—Rose Kennedy
Being a mother (and parent) is the greatest, hardest and most important leadership role on the planet. No one is ever really 100% prepared for motherhood. You can read hundreds of books and talk to all the mothers you know, but until you experience it for yourself, you’ll never fully know what it’s like. Becoming a mother gives you new experiences and teaches you things that are unique to the crazy journey that is motherhood.
If I hadn’t given birth to my amazing daughter Abby, I would have missed out on knowing what pure and complete love is – and I never would have learned so many valuable lessons that make me a better mother, and a better leader too!
So many of the traits and skills we learn as mothers and practice every day can translate into powerful leadership lessons, and help us improve ourselves as leaders.
Here are 5 of the most important leadership lessons I’ve learned since I became a mum:
One size doesn’t fit all
Just as each child is unique in what their strengths are, what motivates them and what approaches they respond best to, so are the people in our teams.
Taking the time to get to know those you work with not only helps you get the best out of them, but it also improves your relationships, leading to better and more open communication.
Don’t let life pass you by
Living in the moment is something I still struggle with occasionally, but a lot of us do. It can be easy to get caught up in a deadline and let other areas of your life slip, but when you have a child you really learn to stop and appreciate even the smallest moments – because they just grow up way too fast, and you can’t get those precious moments back!
Finding that right balance between life and work leads to not only happier leaders but happier teams as well. And even if you aren’t a mother, you still need to make sure you have a life!
Kindness, Courage and Compassion are always important
Once you’ve got your new little person in your arms, you often find yourself becoming more compassionate to those around you. As your child grows, you learn just how much they can affect your life (lack of sleep, sharing a tummy bug from school or daycare, the list goes on!), and you can empathise instead of becoming frustrated when someone on your team isn’t doing their best. Of course, this doesn’t mean you let poor performance slide! It just means that you’re more understanding, and teams respond well to a leader who is kind and cares about them. In turn, motherhood has taught me not only about kindness and compassion but also about being courageous. I want to be the best mother and leader for her and for those around me to lead by example, stand tall and be brave. It takes courage to be a mother and leader.
Flexibility is key
Motherhood shows you that despite your best plans, you’ll often have to roll with the punches instead. Children will surprise you in incredible ways, but sometimes things happen that mean you need to quickly adapt to avoid disaster.
Great leaders understand that they can’t control everything, and are flexible to ensure they adapt to whatever gets thrown at them so that they still get the best results.
Finding the balance between independence and course correction
You’ve probably heard, or even said yourself, that kids need to make their own mistakes in order to learn – as long as the mistakes aren’t harmful or putting them in danger, of course! Motherhood is constantly trying to set your kids up with the tools to succeed, while still letting them explore what it’s like to fail and have things go wrong because life isn’t always fair or easy.
Being a leader is very similar; you want your team to have initiative and think independently, while passionately going after their goals, but you have to know when to step in and change their direction too. It’s not about letting go of all control but finding the right balance between them to become an effective leader.
Who knows if I’d be where I am today if I hadn’t become a mother? Having children gives you courage and a fierceness you never thought you’d feel, but you want to make sure you’re giving your child everything you can to help them succeed and be happy while trying to make the world a better place for them too.
The journey of motherhood never ends, and neither should your journey as a leader; like parenting, it can be extremely difficult, but also one of the most incredibly rewarding experiences of your life.
I’d love for you to share any leadership lessons with me that you’ve learned during your motherhood journey, so be sure to comment or send me a message!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Stay Kind. Stay Courageous. Sonia x
About Sonia
Sonia McDonald is the CEO and founder of LeadershipHQ and McDonald Inc. Sonia is a in demand keynote speaker, leadership coach and advisor, author and facilitator.
She believes we should lead with kindness and courage, from the heart, doing rather than telling and is known for her mantra ‘just lead’. She leads by example in all these areas and through her one on one practical coaching, leadership training for teams and organisations encourages others to do the same. Sonia has helped hundreds of people on their leadership journey to become the best version of themselves and in turn, inspire and bring out the best in others. Also she and her team have worked and partnered with a number of businesses and companies for over a decade build great leadership teams and cultures.
For more than 25 years, Sonia has been on the front lines of Human Resources, Leadership and People and Culture. She has held leadership positions worldwide and through experience, research and study come to realise what it takes to be a truly great leader.
Sonia has an ability to speak bravely and authentically about her own development as a leader, personal and career challenges in a way which resonates with her audience. She is recognised as a LinkedIn influencer and has become an in-demand keynote speaker, starts important conversations.
She is an award-winning published author of Leadership Attitude and Just Rock It! and writes regularly for publications such as The Australian, HRD Magazine, Smart Healthy Women and Women’s Business Media. Sonia has become recognised for her commentary around the topic of leadership, championing the up and coming leaders of tomorrow, advocating for women in business as well as building leaders in small business.
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Sonia McDonald
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Sonia McDonald believes we should lead with kindness, from the heart, doing rather than telling and is known for her mantra ‘Just lead’. She leads by example in all these areas and through her one on one practical coaching, leadership training for teams and organisations encourages others to do the same. Sonia has helped hundreds of people on their leadership journey to become the best version of themselves and in turn inspire and bring out the best in others.
