A month or so in the past, I used to be requested to tackle the position of CEO at SMG, a worldwide retail media specialist with places of work within the U.Okay. and the U.S. Considerably unusually, I used to be six months pregnant on the time.
The reactions have been fascinating: congratulations, adopted by congratulations once more. There’s usually an accompanying smile that’s a mixture of shock and curiosity, together with a way that this mixture of occasions, or definitely this timing, isn’t one thing individuals are used to seeing.
It’s common as a result of it’s unworkable. It’s uncommon as a result of, structurally and culturally, we’ve made it so.
I’ve been with SMG for a very long time, by way of totally different chapters and roles, from industrial and consumer management to operations and technique. I’ve been a part of this firm because it has grown from a challenger into a longtime retail media specialist. I’ve taken maternity go away right here earlier than, and I’ve returned, as has our chief folks officer, who’s at present eight months pregnant, too. I’ve seen loads of folks progress into larger roles earlier than, throughout, or after parental go away. This isn’t handled as an exception, however as a part of how we’ve constructed our tradition at SMG. It doesn’t make headlines internally as a result of it’s simply how issues work right here.
That sort of long-term pondering round expertise, and notably feminine expertise, continues to be far too uncommon. Throughout a lot of the promoting trade, there stays a deeply embedded warning in relation to development and parenthood. It’s not often express (in my expertise, these days are, fortunately, largely gone), but it surely surfaces subtly in the way in which conversations get delayed, tasks softened, and choices deferred. The logic appears to be that people who find themselves quickly much less obtainable may also be completely much less bold. That assumption, nonetheless, is simply that: an assumption.
The expertise we danger dropping in these moments is commonly precisely the expertise companies say they need extra of—strategic, dedicated, skilled, resilient. I’ve seen many instances, from watching folks in my staff, that being pregnant doesn’t diminish management potential. In some ways, it cements it.
Nonetheless, I acknowledge how unusual it’s to see pregnant leaders in seen positions. Extra typically, it’s one thing quietly managed or completely hidden. While you don’t see it, it’s straightforward to internalize the concept that these two identities—CEO and mom, or mother-to-be—are in some way incompatible. There’s a notion that also exists: Should you’re one, you possibly can’t absolutely be the opposite.
That notion is a part of a broader story we proceed to inform ourselves about what management appears like. For many years, the picture of a CEO has been formed by a reasonably inflexible set of expectations: fixed availability, full-time visibility, relentless drive, whole independence. The basic archetype is somebody who’s at all times on the transfer, at all times in management, typically male, and infrequently encumbered by seen caregiving tasks. It’s a model of management constructed round stamina and individualism, and for a very long time, it went largely unchallenged.
The world, nonetheless, has modified. What companies want from management in the present day could be very totally different from what they wanted 20 years in the past. The tempo of change, the complexity of the working setting, the rising give attention to tradition, inclusion, sustainability, and adaptableness—all of those demand one thing broader and extra human. Management in the present day wants vary, empathy, readability, and the power to construct sturdy groups that may lead collectively. The concept that anyone individual ought to embody a whole group is not only outdated, it’s short-sighted and counterproductive.
The model of the CEO position I’m getting into is totally different, each by necessity and by selection. It’s shared, for one factor. I’m taking over this place throughout a time of transition, supported by sturdy leaders throughout the enterprise who carry totally different views, kinds, and specialisms. It’s extra centered than all-consuming, and constructed on belief, not presence. It’s additionally designed to proceed working properly once I step away quickly—which, to me, is an indication of power in an organization’s management, not weak spot.
That doesn’t imply it’s straightforward. It takes aware effort to unpick long-held beliefs about how issues “ought to” be finished, together with some that I’ve held myself. It additionally takes methods which are genuinely versatile, not simply on paper. It requires a office tradition that values what folks contribute and the influence they’ve above all else. At SMG, we don’t at all times get it completely proper, however we do attempt to design roles with an consciousness that our staff have essential lives exterior of labor. That issues greater than ever in an trade that continuously pushes for extra, quicker, larger.
The methods exterior of labor—those that are supposed to help working dad and mom—nonetheless don’t. Within the U.S., childcare is now the largest expense for a lot of households, typically exceeding the price of housing. On the similar time, the U.S. stays the one high-income nation with out a nationwide paid parental go away coverage. There’s no structural incentive for companies to create space for care. So if management roles really feel inaccessible, it’s not as a result of ladies lack confidence, ambition, or functionality. It’s as a result of the infrastructure too typically lacks the required growth or funding.
In that context, appointments like mine may really feel symbolic. However they shouldn’t be. They need to be regular. They need to comply with open conversations, long-term profession planning, and a recognition that management potential doesn’t vanish when somebody turns into pregnant.
I don’t know if I’d have predicted this second—getting into an even bigger job whereas getting ready to step out of the enterprise for one thing private. What I do know is that the timing doesn’t undermine the position, simply because the position doesn’t outline the chief.
There’s nonetheless progress to be made, each within the promoting trade and throughout society. The extra we see leaders who mirror the complete actuality of contemporary life, the nearer we get to constructing corporations and cultures that mirror the long run we wish.
