Between 25 and 43, I was on a great team—I led a good one, too. I’ve built strategy, moved continents, and raised five children across three parenting generations.
I’ve been pregnant while onboarding as a graduate trainee, nursing during professional training sessions, team norming and building remotely, across continents.
My youngest is 13 months. My oldest is off to college. One child was a planned milestone.
Another was a beautiful surprise; all arrived while I was still building, at work and home.
Some years felt like stretch seasons. Some felt like survival. But every moment reminded me that we can thrive. Work didn’t pause, even though the career ladder shifted. It wasn’t a straight line either.
There were trade-offs, Sacrifices, and Strategic choices—some painful, some satisfying. Most importantly, they were seasons of pause and push, presence and pressure.
That headshot? Taken in my third trimester—just before a mentor’s board session. The second image? A real day: running a virtual meeting from my kitchen counter (gazing and sleepy), caring for a baby, and policing teens preparing for exams.
No dramatic story. No silver bullet.
I found a note I wrote, which captured what Dr. Bolaji Ogundare F. CIoD told me during that stretch season:
“Whatever you do, don’t lose your smarts. These things shouldn’t stop you from working.”
It wasn’t pressure. It was permission.
And I am learning that:
Motherhood—and the desire to raise good humans—doesn’t cancel out the ability to be excellent. Not in rooms. Not on screens. Not in strategy.
We often celebrate polished leadership moments. But leadership becomes real in the stretch seasons—the blurred, tired, nonlinear ones.
Success doesn’t always come glammed up.
Leadership doesn’t always wear a suit.
And presence isn’t always loud—or in proximity.
The future of work needs to reflect the reality of modern life, not just for flexibility’s sake but also for strategy, sustainability, and inclusion.
Kudos to every leader who does the work and lives. Your story counts, even the hidden frames.
What is your stretch season teaching you?