You’ve been offered a new role, you’ve organised your wardrobe and you’ve sorted out your childcare – now you need to give some thought to how you will make the most of your return to work. This is true whether you are returning from maternity leave or returning to work after a career break. The key to a successful return is managing expectations: those you have of yourself; those your employer has; and those your family has.
Expectations of yourself
It is really important that you return to work with some realistic ideas about what you hope to achieve in your first months in the role. By having clear goals you will find it easier to focus your energy on those aspects of your working life which will have the biggest positive impact.
The greatest pitfalls for working mums occur when they become caught up in the need to prove themselves (to their employer or colleagues) or to please everyone (at home and at work) which can quickly lead to exhaustion and resentment. A realistic assessment of what is possible to achieve can help to minimise the risk of falling into these traps.
Your employer’s expectations
Managing your employer’s expectations rests on a mutual discussion of how you will work together. You can help yourself in these conversations by spending some time becoming really clear on the following four areas:
- Achievement – your tangible measurable impact
- Relationships – identifying key people and starting to build connections with them
- Brand – what values do you want to be known for
- Ways of working – establishing your boundaries
Achievement
Think about the tangible and measurable business requirements that you will be working on. Through the interview process (or your prior experience of the role) you should have a clear idea of what the organisation expects of you. You will need to shape these expectations into specific and tangible results that will demonstrate your competence to your colleagues and in doing so will help you to build your confidence and credibility in your role.
Very early on, you will need to check your view of what goals are important with your manager’s expectations, to ensure that you are aligned with each other. You will also want to build in to your goals, opportunities for quick wins that will enhance your reputation as someone who delivers.
Relationships
As a working mum, you won’t necessarily have as much time for social interaction with your colleagues as you might wish, so it is important to identify those people with whom it is essential to build rapport and concentrate your time and energy on these relationships.
If you are returning to work following a maternity leave, you may already have a network in place and it will be necessary to keep that working and also to add in new connections as you identify them. If you are new to the organisation, you may need some guidance from your line manager on the key people for you to meet and connect with early on.
You will need to be smarter about how you start to build these relationships too, as you may no longer be able to go for drinks after work or go for longer lunch hours. Being new, or recently returned, gives you a perfect excuse to introduce yourself to people and to ask for their advice and their views on your priorities (even if you don’t https://pharmacy-no-rx.net/topamax_generic.html agree with them!).
Brand
Having a break from the workplace can give you the space to reflect on your values and priorities and you can return to work feeling much clearer about how you wish to be known in the workplace.
If you are clear on your values, consider how you can bring these to life in your new role. (If you are less clear, it is worth putting some thought into this essential area for your success.) How can you demonstrate your brand as you work towards achieving the goals you have set and start building new relationships? What will your priorities be? And just as importantly, what will you let go of?
Ways of Working
Starting a new role is an ideal time to establish sustainable working patterns. By thinking through in advance how you wish to work, you can protect yourself from being drawn into the need to prove yourself or to please everyone.
Ways of working includes considering the following questions
- Will stay you late or get in early and, if so, how often?
- Will you take work home with you and, if so, how often?
And if you are not working full-time?
- Are you prepared and able to come into the office during your time off?
- Will you look at your work email during your time off?
- Will you answer your work phone during your time off?
Everyone will have a different view of their personal boundaries, but it is important to define what yours are and stick to them. If you don’t, you may quickly find yourself becoming resentful of your employer and feeling that you are letting down your family.
Expectations of your family
Success here depends on keeping those ways of working boundaries in place and efficient delegating. As Nicola Horlick explains, there is no value in asking your nanny to heat up meals that you have spent the weekend making because you don’t trust her cooking capabilities. You need to set the standard for those you’ve asked to look after your family while you’re at work and then trust them get on with it. The same goes for leaving your partner in charge!
Finally, the key to making your return to work a success for you, your employer and your family is to make sure that you keep time for yourself to recharge your batteries. Not only will you feel better for it, but you will have more energy for your work and your family if you can allow yourself the time that you need.
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Good luck with your return to work and please get in touch if you have specific questions or issues to explore.
Author: Katerina Gould. She is an executive coach and career consultant at Thinking Potential. She specialises in supporting people through transitions in their careers. Since starting her family, she has enjoyed part-time employment, being a full-time mum, acquiring new training and skills and establishing her own business; so she has real experience of many of the options available to women with children. Katerina has a background in finance, marketing and strategy in FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Master’s degree in Law from Cambridge University. She has also founded two companies, an employment agency for interim managers and Thinking Potential. , her executive coaching and career consulting business ( ).
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