{"id":3304,"date":"2015-05-08T10:06:35","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T15:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kbicblog.com\/blog\/construction-recruiter\/?p=3304"},"modified":"2022-12-27T08:40:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T14:40:17","slug":"8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Reasons Moms Make Better CEOs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The greatest lesson parenting can teach business leaders is that it\u2019s not just about you.<\/p>\n

As Mother\u2019s Day approaches, it\u2019s a good time to take a closer look at a question on the minds of many working women: Can we have it all \u2014 great careers, great marriages, great kids, great friends? I fully understand the question but not why we keep asking it. Look around. While it\u2019s not an absolute prerequisite to being successful, all of these very prominent female CEOs \u2013 Mary Barra at General Motors GM<\/a><\/span> 0.77%<\/span> <\/span>, Indra Nooyi at Pepsi PEP<\/a><\/span> 1.44%<\/span> <\/span>, Ellen Kullman at DuPont DD<\/a><\/span> 1.91%<\/span> <\/span>, Meg Whitman at Hewlett-Packard HP<\/a><\/span> 0.74%<\/span> <\/span> and Irene Rosenfeld Mondelez MDLZ<\/a><\/span> 1.33%<\/span> <\/span> \u2013 are married and have kids.<\/p>\n

So this Mother\u2019s Day, instead of making our young women crazy trying to decide if they can possibly have C-suite jobs and kids, let\u2019s celebrate what the evidence \u2013 and certainly my own experience \u2013 suggests: Being a mom (or a dad for that matter) doesn\u2019t have to hurt your chances of getting ahead. In fact, it can help.<\/p>\n

Here are 8 lessons I learned as a mom that have made me a better colleague and boss.<\/p>\n

Everything is a negotiation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being a mom taught me how to be a better negotiator \u2014 with anyone and about anything. I use these skills daily \u2013 on everything from securing favorable contract terms for my company to getting my 11-year-old daughter to wear a dress to church for Easter (it happened this year \u2013 but only because she got to pair it with her favorite hot pink Dr. Marten boots).<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to know all the answers \u2013 questions are powerful<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being barraged by endless questions taught me the power of curiosity and to use questioning and probing as a management technique. When you change markets and roles as often as I have, it\u2019s a given that you won\u2019t have all the answers. Early on in my career, that made me feel insecure. But after more than a decade facing a barrage of questions about my IT needs from my tech-savvy Danish husband (I barely know the difference between software and hardware) or inquiries from my then 16-year-old stepson about hip-hop music (do you really think I could enlighten him about people who sing for Death Row Records?), I\u2019ve grown comfortable not knowing all the answers. I can now lead teams and add value even when I have limited direct experience or knowledge of the subject at hand. How? By being clear about what I know and what I don\u2019t know and by probing deeply. You\u2019d be amazed how often you can uncover powerful insights and potential issues just by asking intelligent questions.<\/p>\n

Different isn\u2019t bad \u2013 it\u2019s bette<\/strong>r<\/p>\n

Motherhood also taught me that different is good. Before I had kids, I often created teams of \u201cmini-MEs.\u201d Now I know that it\u2019s far better to pick people that don\u2019t necessarily see things exactly as I do and have complementary \u2013 not identical \u2013 skills and temperaments. Looking at the world through other\u2019s eyes, like I do through the eyes of my children, helps me come up with new ideas, better solutions and better results.<\/p>\n

Coaching, nurturing and role-modeling get you further than lecturing<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best leaders (and best moms) know that it isn\u2019t just about telling people what to do. It\u2019s a lot more about coaching, nurturing, guiding and role-modeling. And then, toughest of all sometimes, it\u2019s about letting them go do their thing without you. At home, one of the simplest but most difficult tests I faced last Fall was letting my then 9-year-old daughter walk the dog by herself. For years, I\u2019d told her all about stranger danger. I\u2019d role-played with her on what to do if someone approached her. I went into detail about how not to fall for the \u201ccute puppy\u201d or \u201churt parent\u201d routine. But trust me when she went bounding out the door, down the street and out of sight with our little white ball of fluff of a dog, my heart was in my throat.<\/p>\n

At work, it\u2019s more likely that I\u2019m grooming one of my people to become my successor. There, I basically do the same things. I don\u2019t just tell them what to do; I show them. I take them to meetings with me. I help with their content development \u2013 not by doing it but by suggesting edits or asking questions. I help them practice their delivery. I do all this and then I send them in for their first solo presentation to the CEO or the Board. It\u2019s nerve racking, because I want them to succeed, but I do it anyway because it\u2019s the only way they can really learn and prove that they are ready to fly without me.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t sweat the small stuff<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being a mom taught me it\u2019s not physically possible to worry about or prevent every single thing that could go wrong (believe me, I have tried!). So, now I try to remain laser-focused on what really matters and to let the rest go. At home, the rule is \u201cno permanent damage.\u201d (So for my daughter, blue hair is okay\u2026body piercings, not so much.) With my direct reports, it\u2019s about focusing on outcomes, not outputs. As long as their approach is efficient, effective and in keeping with company policies and values, I\u2019ve given up trying to get everybody to \u201cdo it my way.\u201d Instead, I look at what they achieve much more than how they achieve it.<\/p>\n

IQ without EQ isn\u2019t enough<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having kids taught me that \u201cEQ\u201d (emotional intelligence) is as important as \u201cIQ.\u201d I was always smart, but I was so driven I wasn\u2019t always connecting with my people. Now I am undoubtedly more empathetic to others. And their knowing that I\u2019m personally invested in them helps not only build better understanding but also trust and team spirit.<\/p>\n

Relationships matter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tied to that, having kids taught me that long-term success depends on building relationships, not just hitting your numbers. I used to be too busy \u201cgetting it done\u201d to really invest in others. Now I know you must do both. Relationships aren\u2019t optional; they\u2019re critical.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just about you<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last but certainly not least, being a mom taught me about how important it is for all leaders to not only strive for professional success but personal fulfillment as well. Early on, it\u2019s so easy to get caught up in your career at the expense of everything else. And I think some years fully focused on work are good. But at the end of the day, the reason I think moms make better CEOs is that they realize that as compulsive as they are about their work (and believe me leading CEOs are all compulsive, in the best sense of the word) they also know that there is more to life than being CEO. Let me share one example from my six years (2006-2012) working with Irene Rosenfeld at Kraft Foods.<\/p>\n

During those years, I grew to respect Irene tremendously. I found her super smart, highly capable and utterly committed. But even beyond that, her decision to split Kraft Foods into two separate public companies demonstrated that she could put company interests ahead of her own. It\u2019s more common now, but back in 2011 when Irene announced the split, it was almost unheard of. Back then, not every CEO would\u2019ve willingly \u201cshrunk\u201d their company (and by the prevailing \u201cbigger is better\u201d standard of the time, their professional stature) even if it was the right thing to do. But I think that because of who she is as a person and the fact that being the CEO of Kraft Foods wasn\u2019t the only thing in her life (she has a husband, two daughters and many important commitments beyond her \u201cday job\u201d), it was possible for her to step back and ask herself: what\u2019s the right thing to do here \u2013 not for me, but for the company?<\/p>\n

This ability to give it your all but also put your ego aside is perhaps the most valuable thing motherhood teaches us. It\u2019s also the greatest lesson business leaders can learn because in the end, leaders must understand that it\u2019s not about us, it\u2019s about them.<\/p>\n

Moms know this. Think about the power of that in the C-suite.<\/p>\n

Source: http:\/\/fortune.com\/2015\/05\/07\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The greatest lesson parenting can teach business leaders is that it\u2019s not just about you. As Mother\u2019s Day approaches, it\u2019s a good time to take a closer look at a question on the minds of many working women: Can we have it all \u2014 great careers, great marriages, great kids, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[202,142,865],"class_list":["post-3304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","hentry","category-blog","tag-ceos","tag-leadership","tag-moms-in-the-workplace","post_format-post-format-image","column","twocol"],"yoast_head":"\n8 reasons moms make better CEOs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Moms know this. Think about the power of that in the C-suite. This ability to give it your all but also put your ego aside is perhaps the most valuable...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kaye\/Bassman international\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kaye\\\/Bassman international\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f098fa972499895f61727b72e6f2e2d8\"},\"headline\":\"8 Reasons Moms Make Better CEOs\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-08T15:06:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-27T14:40:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1427,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/files\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/women-ceo.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"CEOs\",\"leadership\",\"moms in the workplace\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/\",\"name\":\"8 reasons moms make better CEOs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/files\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/women-ceo.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-08T15:06:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-27T14:40:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f098fa972499895f61727b72e6f2e2d8\"},\"description\":\"Moms know this. Think about the power of that in the C-suite. This ability to give it your all but also put your ego aside is perhaps the most valuable...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/files\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/women-ceo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/files\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/women-ceo.jpg\",\"width\":840,\"height\":485},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/blog\\\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"8 Reasons Moms Make Better CEOs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/\",\"name\":\"Construction & Real Estate Recruiting\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f098fa972499895f61727b72e6f2e2d8\",\"name\":\"Kaye\\\/Bassman international\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/witten\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kbicblog.com\\\/construction-recruiter\\\/author\\\/witten\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"8 reasons moms make better CEOs","description":"Moms know this. Think about the power of that in the C-suite. This ability to give it your all but also put your ego aside is perhaps the most valuable...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kaye\/Bassman international","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/"},"author":{"name":"Kaye\/Bassman international","@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/#\/schema\/person\/f098fa972499895f61727b72e6f2e2d8"},"headline":"8 Reasons Moms Make Better CEOs","datePublished":"2015-05-08T15:06:35+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-27T14:40:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/"},"wordCount":1427,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/files\/2015\/05\/women-ceo.jpg","keywords":["CEOs","leadership","moms in the workplace"],"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/","url":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/","name":"8 reasons moms make better CEOs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/files\/2015\/05\/women-ceo.jpg","datePublished":"2015-05-08T15:06:35+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-27T14:40:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/#\/schema\/person\/f098fa972499895f61727b72e6f2e2d8"},"description":"Moms know this. Think about the power of that in the C-suite. This ability to give it your all but also put your ego aside is perhaps the most valuable...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/files\/2015\/05\/women-ceo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/files\/2015\/05\/women-ceo.jpg","width":840,"height":485},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/8-reasons-moms-make-better-ceos\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"8 Reasons Moms Make Better CEOs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/","name":"Construction & Real Estate Recruiting","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/#\/schema\/person\/f098fa972499895f61727b72e6f2e2d8","name":"Kaye\/Bassman international","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/witten"],"url":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/author\/witten\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3304\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}