You can listen to our interview in full on our iTunes podcast here or a direct download for all devices here.
Daisy is a busy mom of 2 and an expert in helping working parents achieve satisfaction and fulfillment in both their careers and their personal life, particularly those in high pressure,very demanding careers. She is a pioneer of publishing parenting articles on the Harvard Business Review and resides with her husband and children in the bustling New York City.
What's the best resource for working parents?
Daisy says,
"Every working parent has a great resource around them and that resource is other working parents. If you can go talk to other people within your company or institution and say “Listen. In a confidential way, I'm hoping to get 15 minutes of your advice. I’ve just become a parent or my child just started school. What specific recommendations or tools do you have for me? What works in the context of this organization? What works for your family? And what will I wish I had known when I think about this five years from now?”
I find that nine times out of 10, people are flattered to be asked. They're usually full of small tidbits and pieces of advice that they're happy to share with other people. It's a subject that people are happy to talk about. Your colleagues are also able to give you coaching that's really valuable in that it's culturally relevant. They know the organization. They know the people with whom you're working. They know the clients. They know the demand. They know the culture. They know the performance reviews. They know the expectations. They know your career trajectory. And so, all the pieces of advice they will give you should land squarely in the realm of helpful.
I always recommend that working parents who I advise reach out and do a little bit of this interviewing too. I advise that they start it as soon as they become a working parent and then keep going. It's important to continue the conversations, not just when you become a working parent, but along the journey - when your child starts school, when your child becomes a teenager, or when your child becomes more independent, et cetera - all these little pieces of advice along the way are what can make or break being a very challenged working parent to being one who has all kinds of techniques and tools at the ready that you know are going to work."
How to approach your coworkers, especially if you are shy...
Daisy says,
"
A lot of organizations now have working parents’ networks or have another employee affinity group during which or through which some of these conversations can very naturally happen.
For those that don't, try asking two or three people you know up for coffee. Very quickly too you can generate interest in the topic. If you have the inclination even start an employee group yourself which I’ve seen many people do successfully."
You can listen to our interview in full on our iTunes podcast here or a direct download for all devices here.
More on Daisy Dowling
Daisy has 20+ years of experience working with high pressure finance firms including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Blackstone to coach working parents on how to manage work and parenting balance.
HBR articles:
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