The Exhaustion of the Daily Micro Decisions of a Career-Driven Mom
INTRODUCTION
What I have learned since launching this podcast is that burnout does not discriminate. It can happen to anyone at any time. The more we can talk about it, the more that we share our stories, the more we expose ourselves and our vulnerabilities, the more we can prevent it and look after our mental wellbeing.
On this episode we have my amazing sister-in-law, Kristen Craig, who is the interim dean of the School of Business at Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Moose Jaw. She has three wonderful kids, a master’s degree in business administration, a CPA, not to mention her husband and two dogs – and somehow, she manages it all.
PASSION
“Everything that I do in life is because I am passionate about something. I’m passionate about higher education, and I’m also passionate about leadership.” - Kristen
If you can boil burnout down to the root of what is causing it, it’s often a misalignment between what a person is passionate about and what their values are, versus what they’re actually doing in life. People start to burn out when they spend too much time doing things that aren’t lined up with their values.
DECISION FATIGUE
A common misconception about working moms is this idea that working moms can do it all. They still carry the traditional familial roles of cooking, cleaning, paying the bills, etc., without acknowledging the many new expectations that have been placed on us in this current culture. Among those many expectations are the micro decisions that we’re constantly thinking about that often lead to decision fatigue.
Being in a leadership role, these micro-decisions are magnified. One of the ways we can avoid decision fatigue is to delegate, but don’t think of it as delegating, rather think of it as empowering others, and building relationships with our teams. When we empower others to work on what they want to do, that supports us in accomplishing what we are working toward too.
IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Women will apply for roles when they know they have 9 out of ten of the requirements, whereas men will apply when they have only 5 out of ten of the requirements because they have the confidence in themselves that they can learn or do the other five. We need to create environments where women can thrive in these roles, as their self-esteem is built differently than men's.
We subscribe to grandiose visions for work and for our families, and those take our focus, but we shouldn’t skip over the small wins along the way. Everyone is on a unique journey, and the challenges they have are unique, so it’s important to celebrate milestones along each individual journey. Celebrating the small wins will help change the culture and improve employee morale.
This idea of celebrating small wins applies at home as well. Encourage your kids along the way. Always bring out their growth in whatever they are working on. Try to focus on the things they did well. If there is something not quite right, always ask questions and have those conversations. Talking it through and asking questions will help them to learn how to problem solve, which will lead to greater independence and greater confidence. Asking good questions is a helpful skill to have as a mom, but also as a good leader at work.
CONCLUSION
Thank you so much for joining us today, Kristen, as we continue to navigate burnout and reclaim our well-being. Let’s live our lives lit! 🔥