How to Maintain Your CEO Role, Empower your Team, and Have Peace of Mind While Away from the Office  

Running a company will always have its balance of rewards and challenges. For instance, as CEO, you can make your own schedule — but then again, you are never really “off” or in downtime mode. The buck always stops with you; most client relationships are yours (at least in the first few years); and ideas and thoughts race through your mind daily and nightly, even if you try to shut them off.

And for many work isn’t everything; there is always a personal life to nurture, so how does one add a new job designation (mom) to the existing CEO/Founder title with ease, poise and confidence? More importantly, how to do that without fear of losing business, and keeping both worlds running as smoothly as possible?

Having embarked on that dual journey since late last year, here are a few pointers I can offer for all female founders/CEO’s who have hesitations about how to “balance the juggle” and have confidence they can be successful at both. It’s not easy, but it’s possible!

Prepare your clients to see not just you, but the team behind you, so that they are confident when you are out of the office. 

The great thing about pregnancy is you have a solid nine months to plan your leave and adjust workflow. Taking a proactive approach to this plan from the beginning alleviates a lot of stress for both you and your team. So:

• • • Make your own roadmap first, and then start planning delegations accordingly; take this time to really understand each team member’s strengths and weaknesses.
    • Start open dialogues about your leave early enough to listen regarding any concerns from your direct reports.
    • Important: be open to the possibility of adjusting your plan if someone expresses interest or shows aptitude for a particular role.
    •  Then begin including the team in client meetings and calls if you haven’t already. This is helpful so that you allow each employee to understand how you approach each client’s “nuances” and unique needs. It’s also crucial that clients feel confident later on when someone else steps into the conversation besides you.
    • Also vital: be sure the team has a master document to pull upon with talking points to use when approaching external conversations with those clients.

Prepare your team early on to approach business as you would. 

It’s always a best practice to instill a solid company/team culture from day one, but fine-tuning and re-enforcing those messages never hurts, and a pending maternity leave is a great time to focus energy on those best practices.

Keep it positive and be sure the team “buys-in” to your approach. Take the initiative to talk openly with your direct reports, and let them know this is an opportunity for them to step up and assume responsibilities that may have otherwise been months or years away. Everyone likes an opportunity to shine. And when they subsequently do so, make certain to support their efforts with positive acknowledgements.

Learn how to slowly let go and trust it will all work out. 

A month before my due date, I started working remotely sooner to begin getting used to “detaching and trusting,” both for me and for my team. Here’s a general plan for doing that:

• • • Develop a system for communication while you are out. Utilize technology! Team-building app Basecamp is great for project management, Dropbox for file sharing, and G-chat for quick questions and check-ins.
    • While you will need (and want) ample one-one time with your newborn and family, you should consider that, in a founder/CEO role, it’s likely impossible to be completely out of touch for more than two weeks.
    •  So develop a practical approach to maintaining contact – it will alleviate a lot of stress all around. Find downtimes, or restless times, to check-in on emails, and let your team know you are still accessible when needed.

Overall, treat maternity leave as an opportunity for growth — for both you and your team  —  and embrace the change. If you are truly building a company, then have confidence that you have made solid hires and that the team will take pride in supporting you while you are out.