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Never did my parents say there’s never
been a woman who’s done either, nice
dream but focus somewhere else. I came
to the conclusion by the end of the sixth
grade that I probably wasn’t going to
be the quarterback of the New York
Jets. But the point was that my parents
let me figure that out on my own. They
let me try and they let me explore. As a
result, I don’t have a lot of fear.”
Today, in addition to her
responsibilities leading Worldwide
Business Development and Innovation
for Pfizer, Kristin is also a mother.
She has a daughter and a son, who
are only in elementary school. Just
as her parents did for her, Kristin will
encourage her children to pursue
whatever path they desire. As a wife and
mother committed to quality time with
her family and as a senior executive with
a passion for driving business results for
Pfizer, Kristin has had to be clear about
her personal definition of work-life
integration. As Kristin says, “Everyone
defines work-life balance differently.
I’m sure many people wouldn’t define
it the way I do.”
Exceptional women leaders share this
approach, believing there are many
ways to integrate work and life that
are highly gratifying. The challenge is
figuring out what works for you and
being comfortable that your definition
may not be the norm among your
friends or may be different from how
your parents raised you. For example,
your friends may spend more time than
you do playing with and looking after
their children. One busy executive
reflected that when she was a child
her stay-at-home mother took her to
Taking Charge
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feed the ducks on weekdays and did
the school run. These are activities
senior executives don’t get to do on
a regular basis. But, the good news is
they don’t feel bitter or riddled with
guilt and regret. They are confident
and comfortable with their decisions
and have found a way to integrate the
various aspects of their lives that works
for them. They often focus on quality
time with their families, try to limit
work on weekends, make sure to take
their holidays and outsource house
chores so that when they are home,
they can fully devote their attention to
their loved ones.
Yet, some women we spoke to had
reached a point in their careers and
personal lives where they realized it
was time to take a step back from such
a hectic work schedule. One woman
describes her current situation and
reflects: “I leave my child at daycare
at 8:00 AM. I get to work a bit before
9:00 AM. I leave work at 6:00 PM. By
the time I’ve picked up my child and
we get home, it’s 7:00 PM and he goes
to bed at 8:00 PM. So, basically I see
him for an hour a day, and probably
not his best hour because he’s grouchy
and tired. Then I eat and sort out his
bottles. I pop my laptop open and work
from probably 9:00 PM until 11:00
PM. My husband is there but I have
to keep working so I’m not talking to
him. I think, ‘am I going to regret this?
Is this life?’ It’s not very sustainable. I
don’t want to do that for the next ten
years.” What’s more, one executive
mentioned how it’s easy to get drawn
into prioritizing work over family: “I do
not get pay raises and reviews from my
husband and kids,” she said.
Claudia Prado, a Partner at Trench,
Rossie Watanabe Advogados, associated
with Baker & McKenzie, advocates
giving both aspects of your life
attention: “It is important to find a
way of loving both things – work and
family - at the same level. If you love
your career too much, you will leave
the family at the end of the list. And the
other way around also applies. So, find
a way, early on, of loving work and your
personal life at the same level and never
really put one over the other in terms of
priority. They have to come together.”
As our top women executives
recommend, it is important to revisit
your definition of work-life integration
regularly, as priorities change.
Remember the decisions you make
need not be permanent. Catherine
Langreney, Country CEO for Lafarge
in Tanzania advises it’s important to reassess
your situation and priorities: “I
always explained to my boss, my career
is a three lane highway. There are times
when I will want to be in the slow lane,
times when I want to go in the middle
lane and times when I want to go in
the fast lane. It is me who needs to
make this decision. I am the only one
who can manage having a family and
a career. My mentor said, ‘just make
sure you put your turning signal on a
long time in advance. It’s important to
communicate which lane you want to
be in.’ Having to slow down for a few
years does not mean I need to exit. I
just make sure to give my team a heads
up of what I want to do and how much
I can take on. My message to them is:
don’t take me out because I am in the
slow lane.”