Can You Have a Stellar Career and Be a Great Parent
In today’s competitive business world, advancing in your career takes hard work, diligence, and sometimes long hours. Likewise, being a good parent takes attention, time, and consistency. All too often, we feel that these two things are mutually exclusive - that you can either be focusing on your career or on your family, but not both at the same time.
No doubt, the work-life balance is one of the biggest challenges we face and made even more difficult by the new work-from-home environment. However, it is possible to be career-minded while also being a wonderful and devoted parent. In my career, I certainly didn’t get it right 100% of the time, but here are four strategies I found very effective for walking the work-life tightrope.
Be there for the big moments.
Even when work is busy, it’s important we be there for the moments that are important to our kids. The kicker is, what’s important to them may not always seem as important to us, so it’s imperative we are talking to our kids and valuing what matters to them. Maybe your son’s tee-ball game doesn’t seem like a life or death situation to you, but it is to him. He will never forget looking up into the stands to see his mom and dad cheering for him.
I can’t tell you how many times I rushed from work to my son’s practices (when I was a coach) and games in my business suit (sometimes changing clothes in my vehicle), ready to run back to the office as soon as his practice or game ended. In many of these instances, I knew leaving work for the practice or game meant I’d have to work late into the evening, but it was worth it to support my son in what mattered to him!
Bring them along for the journey.
When your kids are old enough to understand, let them know what’s going on in your career. If you’re facing a big deadline at work, tell them and ask them to pray for you. If you are feeling stressed about a decision, ask them their opinion. You might just be surprised by the wisdom that can come from the innocent mind of a child! Most importantly, you’ll show them that your family is a team and even the children can support and help their parents.
Set aside family time.
There’s no way to avoid having to work long hours from time to time in our careers, but when it’s family time, it’s important to try to keep that as interruption-free as possible. Set aside time where your focus will be wholly on your family. If possible try to find a small pocket of time every day. Some families are so busy, they sit down for breakfast before they all go their own ways. Other families have dinner together or set aside time to read a book with their kids before bed. Whatever works for your family, make it consistent and set work aside for that brief time.
I also made it a practice to put away my cell phone during family time so I could be totally focused on my family. I even had a recording on my out of office assistant that I turn on during the weekends that said if it is an emergency and you need me on the weekend, please call my cell phone, otherwise, I will respond to your email or text message on Monday.
Prioritize Your Spiritual Walk
The single most important thing you can do to be a great parent and a great business leader is to spend time in prayer and reading God’s Word every single day and regularly attend church. You will be amazed at how starting your day with our Heavenly Father can impact every aspect of your life. No monetary gift or time spent with your kids will ever measure up the gift of a parent who is walking with the Lord and helps their kids come to have their own faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. No matter how busy life is, church and quiet times are two things that should be non-negotiable as you model that for your family. And make it a priority for your kids to be involved in some type of church youth group, YoungLife, or similar groups so that they have a solid foundation and group of friends of faith to support them when they go off to college.
The balancing act of work and family is a challenge that no two families navigate the same way. By walking closely with the Lord and working together as a family unit, you can find ways to be a great, involved parent while also furthering your career.