Executive mother-to-be – How to handle the big news at work

The decision to grow your family is a happy news. But you need to handle it the right way in the office.

One of the biggest problems for women executives is finding the right work-life balance – we already discussed it. Starting a family while you are at the top is hard – not because of your own doubts, but mainly because of people around you. The biggest problem that pregnant executives report is dealing with prejudice in the office. How should you handle the reactions of higher management, fellow executives and your team? Here are some guidelines:

1. Make a plan – Make sure you know what you want to do during and after the pregnancy. If your work requires a lot of travel, meetings and on field visits, decide what part of them you could actually do effectively in the following months. Decide when and for how long are you going to be on a maternity leave. Make a list – you will need to re-evaluate it every couple of months.

2. Talk with the management – Let the management know your business plans – discuss what is going to change, for how long and how do you plan to make the transition back to work. Make sure you have set your points straight and think of it as just another business meeting. Some women think their management will limit them if they share too much with them. Actually, it is reassuring for management to see that you have integrated work and personal life. You have proved yourself already, remain the person you were, be authentic as people will not expect more from you at this time and will not judge you for being pregnant.

3. Talk with the team – People who are under your direct management need visibility. They want to know if something is going to change or not in their daily work activities the following months. This is the right time to empower a team member, not only it will give you more space to work but it will increase the level of engagement of your team. Disclosing all that information ahead of time would will create a trusted environment and will serve your team, your career and your organization.

4. Plan disclosure with clients – You are working directly with a lot of clients. They would appreciate to be prepared and to know who will support them during this transition. Our recommendations: a two to four weeks notice can be a good timing – you can introduce them to their interim contact. Make sure they meet and have enough time to set good communication before you leave.

With all that being said, don’t forget to take care of yourself – if you want to take a day off, do it.