CEO at 6 Months Pregnant: How I’m Rethinking Leadership

A month or so in the past, I used to be requested to tackle the position of CEO at SMG, a world retail media specialist with places of work within the U.Okay. and the U.S. Considerably unusually, I used to be six months pregnant on the time.The reactions have been fascinating: congratulations, adopted by congratulations once more. There’s usually an accompanying smile that’s a mixture of shock and curiosity, together with a way that this mixture of occasions, or actually this timing, isn’t one thing persons are used to seeing.It’s common as a result of it’s unworkable. It’s uncommon as a result of, structurally and culturally, we’ve made it so. I’ve been with SMG for a very long time, by way of totally different chapters and roles, from industrial and shopper management to operations and technique. I’ve been a part of this firm because it has grown from a challenger into a longtime retail media specialist. I’ve taken maternity go away right here earlier than, and I’ve returned, as has our chief folks officer, who’s presently eight months pregnant, too. I’ve seen loads of folks progress into greater roles earlier than, throughout, or after parental go away. This isn’t handled as an exception, however as a part of how we’ve constructed our tradition at SMG. It doesn’t make headlines internally as a result of it’s simply how issues work right here.That type of long-term considering round expertise, and notably feminine expertise, continues to be far too uncommon. Throughout a lot of the promoting trade, there stays a deeply embedded warning relating to development and parenthood. It’s hardly ever express (in my expertise, these days are, fortunately, principally gone), but it surely surfaces subtly in the way in which conversations get delayed, obligations softened, and selections deferred. The logic appears to be that people who find themselves quickly much less accessible may additionally be completely much less bold. That assumption, nevertheless, is simply that: an assumption.The expertise we danger dropping in these moments is commonly precisely the expertise companies say they need extra of—strategic, dedicated, skilled, resilient. I’ve seen many instances, from watching folks in my workforce, that being pregnant doesn’t diminish management potential. In some ways, it cements it.Nonetheless, I acknowledge how unusual it’s to see pregnant leaders in seen positions. Extra typically, it’s one thing quietly managed or totally hidden. If you don’t see it, it’s simple to internalize the concept that these two identities—CEO and mom, or mother-to-be—are someway incompatible. There’s a notion that also exists: In case you’re one, you may’t totally be the opposite.That notion is a part of a broader story we proceed to inform ourselves about what management appears like. For many years, the picture of a CEO has been formed by a reasonably inflexible set of expectations: fixed availability, full-time visibility, relentless drive, complete independence. The basic archetype is somebody who’s all the time on the transfer, all the time in management, typically male, and infrequently encumbered by seen caregiving obligations. It’s a model of management constructed round stamina and individualism, and for a very long time, it went largely unchallenged.The world, nevertheless, has modified. What companies want from management at present may be very totally different from what they wanted 20 years in the past. The tempo of change, the complexity of the working surroundings, the rising deal with tradition, inclusion, sustainability, and adaptableness—all of those demand one thing broader and extra human. Management at present wants vary, empathy, readability, and the flexibility to construct sturdy groups that may lead collectively. The concept that anyone individual ought to embody a whole group is not only outdated, it’s short-sighted and counterproductive.The model of the CEO position I’m entering into is totally different, each by necessity and by selection. It’s shared, for one factor. I’m taking up this place throughout a time of transition, supported by sturdy leaders throughout the enterprise who deliver totally different views, types, and specialisms. It’s extra centered than all-consuming, and constructed on belief, not presence. It’s additionally designed to proceed working nicely after I step away quickly—which, to me, is an indication of energy in an organization’s management, not weak point.That doesn’t imply it’s simple. It takes acutely aware effort to unpick long-held beliefs about how issues “ought to” be finished, together with some that I’ve held myself. It additionally takes methods which can be genuinely versatile, not simply on paper. It requires a office tradition that values what folks contribute and the affect they’ve above all else. At SMG, we don’t all the time get it completely proper, however we do attempt to design roles with an consciousness that our workforce have essential lives exterior of labor. That issues greater than ever in an trade that continually pushes for extra, sooner, greater.The methods exterior of labor—those that are supposed to assist working mother and father—nonetheless don’t. Within the U.S., childcare is now the most important expense for a lot of households, typically exceeding the price of housing. On the similar time, the U.S. stays the one high-income nation with out a nationwide paid parental go away coverage. There’s no structural incentive for companies to create space for care. So if management roles really feel inaccessible, it’s not as a result of girls lack confidence, ambition, or functionality. It’s as a result of the infrastructure too typically lacks the mandatory growth or funding.In that context, appointments like mine may really feel symbolic. However they shouldn’t be. They need to be regular. They need to comply with open conversations, long-term profession planning, and a recognition that management potential doesn’t vanish when somebody turns into pregnant. I don’t know if I’d have predicted this second—entering into an even bigger job whereas getting ready to step out of the enterprise for one thing private. What I do know is that the timing doesn’t undermine the position, simply because the position doesn’t outline the chief.There’s nonetheless progress to be made, each within the promoting trade and throughout society. The extra we see leaders who mirror the total actuality of contemporary life, the nearer we get to constructing firms and cultures that mirror the long run we would like.