How I Became a Better Manager as a Stay-at-home Mom

Having a baby changes a number of things- in my case almost everything! I now live in a completely new world of diapers, bibs, bottles, poops and more poops. Amazingly, such a tiny fellow can leave you breathlessly tired and totally absorbed in his daily routine.

To be honest, I never thought my life would take this turn. I was an ambitious and motivated engineer who worked really hard all her life to be the best in school, the topper in college and finally a success in the lucrative world of IT. I had grand plans of a management degree followed by a quick accession to the managerial post. Staying at home certainly did not feature in my scheme of things. But, as they say, life has its own plans. Following the news of my pregnancy, I was in a dizzy. Whether this was the result of euphoria or fear, I have still not been able to decide. Let me tell you, I love children and have always managed to be the favorite of my nieces and nephews; however, finally having to be responsible for a child shook me up considerably.

I started wondering whether I would be able to do justice to both my career and my baby if I tried to look after them simultaneously. Many women do it successfully, I reasoned, but several nagging doubts refused to leave me in peace. What if my baby refuses to be fed while I am not there, what if the caretakers fail to understand the reason behind his cries, what if I miss his first smile or first word or first step. Finally my "what ifs" won hands down and I made up my mind to be a stay-at-home mom.

In the process of running around the house, it often appeared to me that I was losing out on two precious years of corporate experience. But the feeling that I was learning something new while reading out those bright board books to my baby lingered throughout. Was I loosing out on my career or was I becoming a better manager? The kind of efficacy with which I had started managing time surprised me. Staying home and tending to every need of my son necessitated that I learn not only how to divide time between all the chores but also how to prioritize successfully. Perhaps the corporate world would have taught me that but (probably) without the patience, empathy and positive attitude that motherhood gave me. Understanding the needs of a baby who can hardly move, let alone communicate requires unfathomable patience and care. How to handle less flexible deadlines, utter chaos, difficult temper tantrums- the soft skills necessary to succeed as a manager were taught to me first hand by my baby!

Today, my resume has a gap which will, in professional terms, be a loss that I might have to contend with. Nevertheless, as my son picks up an almost invisible speck of dirt and hands it to me saying, "Ma, Mama Chichi (his interesting word for dirt)" in his own inimitable style, I realize that unlike the tiny particle that on my son's insistence must go into the trash can, these two years of my life have gone into a precious memory repository that I am to cherish for the rest of my life.