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“As a mother working in the law, who is exceptionally happy with my work-life situation, I want to give hope to people that it’s possible.”
Okeoma Moronu is a legal director with a background in corporate law, who has found a way to have real balance in her life. She has an engaging career and is also an involved, loving parent.
What We Cover:
- When we get in positions where there is an expectation ‘to get the work done’ then we can find ourselves with more flexibility
- Clear conversations about goals and metrics make it easier to decide how to meet the goals
- Okeoma knew she was going to want to have a family, so picked a place that had policies in support of women having children, then she asked for flex, exercised her option and stayed home on her days off
- The importance of holding your boundary around days off
- When interviewing with her potential boss, he asked, ‘what are your professional goals? Because I want you to selfishly pursue those, and if they align with what we need then everyone is going to be happy.” He then tried to craft a role that met those needs; this is the way to get your workforce really engaged.
- She faces stereotypes and expectations around what people see for her as a working mother, of her being overworked, tired and struggling. Because she’s not, the help that is being offered is often not the help that she needs. People are trying to be supportive but it can result in opportunities being taken away under the guise of supporting a working mother.
- Okeoma’s frustration with small talk that revolves around her children and their care, rather than more substantive networking opportunities
- The responsibility those who hold the levers of power have to empower the people they lead
- Her fear when she first started working from home that If she didn’t answer her phone immediately, that people would think she was at the grocery store instead of working, leading to her spending more time at her desk when she was working from home than at the office
- The importance of setting boundaries and allowing yourself to rest
- The importance of asking for what you want; there may be a simple solution but you need to ask
- A challenge we offered out to listeners to step back, see what’s working and where you’re struggling, and find a small thing you can ask for that will improve your situation
- Children need to be touched 9 times a day to feel loved, so as working mothers we can allow that to be ‘enough’ on the hard days.
Work With Me
We talked about setting boundaries and asking for what you want, which is one of the specific topics I coach on. If you want someone in your corner helping you fee confident enough to ask for more, check out my mentoring services and jump on a free call with me to discuss how I can help.