Back at work, you feel a bit out of it because things have
changed in your absence. There are new
colleagues, new processes, perhaps a new senior manager. Even the job is not quite the same as when
you left. You may have new
responsibilities or you have been placed in a different team. Home, work, life, parenthood: the Universe has spun around a few
times. Most likely you will feel out of
alignment for a while as you negotiate your way through all this change.
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| Define it and Manage it and You will be in Control of your Professional Brand. |
Perhaps you decided to come back part time for the first few months. But part-time hours does not mean part-time effort and dedication to you. You expect to be regarded as a full member of the team. You are an experienced professional with loads of confidence and energy, yet you are picking up some signals that you are being perceived in a different light. These signals include comments like “Well, we can’t get Mandy on that project because she’s not here all the time.” Or “Didn’t you receive that email? I thought I sent it to everyone.”
People appear to be stereotyping you as a Mum first,
professional second. These individuals
may not be consciously aware of their thought patterns or have ulterior motives. They automatically think “Working Mum” before
they think of you in as a professional in your field. Working Mum has become a dominant part of
your Brand at work.
While you love being a mother, you don’t want your managers
and colleagues to put “Working Mum” ahead of everything else about you. Here are a few ideas on how you can swing
your professional brand back to where you want it to be:
· Consciously segment your life as you walk
through the office door each morning.
Switch your mind over from your parenting role to your professional
role. Can you think of yourself as an
actor taking a different part on a different stage? Give your complete focus to this role for the
next seven hours until you leave at the end of the day.
· Define your Professional Brand. How do you want others to perceive you at
work? By defining your key brand
messages it will be easier for you to express and project them every day. When you reinforce brand messages of
“serious, committed, proactive, creative, professional (amongst others)” you
are defining who you are and how you want others to “see” you.
· Pay particular attention to your personal
presentation. Refresh your wardrobe with
a couple of new outfits and shoes. Don’t
forget the jacket trick. Pop a jacket
over your dress or blouse/skirt ensemble when you attend meetings for an
instant corporate look. Perhaps it is
time for a new hairstyle and colour?
When you look good, you feel good and your confidence will soar.
·
Be consistent and stay within your Professional
Brand at all times at work. Don’t share
too much or express doubts to work colleagues about your ability to fulfil your
dual roles. Reserve any such
conversations to have with trusted friends and family members.
· When someone asks about the baby, be polite and
answer her/him briefly (no more than a couple of sentences). Then immediately swing the conversation over
to a work topic, e.g. “Thanks for asking about Joshua. He is going really well. Bob, I wanted to ask you about the remuneration
report…” Do not give into your (only natural)
instincts to talk on about your child or children and go through all the cute
things he is saying and doing. This is
reinforcing the “Working Mum” tag which will get even stronger.
· Do not turn your work-station or desk into a
baby wonderland of multiple photos and memorabilia. Again this display is reinforcing that you
are Mum first, professional second. Also
do not volunteer your latest digital photos of your child to everyone on the
team. You are giving the “Working Mum”
tag lots of oxygen and it will only grow bigger.
· If you believe you are not being treated as a
full member of the team, step in and correct any misconceptions quickly. For instance, if you haven’t been included in
a group email, have a quick word with the colleague involved, “I didn’t receive
that email. Would you please make sure I
am on the distribution list?”
· If you have been overlooked for an interesting
project, say to your manager, “Tom, I would have liked to be involved with that
one. Is there any reason why you didn’t
think of me?” If Tom replies, “Well
you’re not here all the time…” You could
reply by reminding Tom that you have a full-time dedication and commitment and
that you can take on such a project by managing your time and other
commitments, etc.”
· Ask for what you want. Don’t leave your manager in any doubt of your
serious commitment to developing yourself and your career. Take control of your Brand and let your
manager and others around you know how you wish to be perceived, what projects
you would ideally like to be involved in and what and how you can contribute.
It is really up to you!
When you continually reinforce the brand messages you want to be known
by, you will break through the stereotype of the “Working Mum” tag in a
relatively short time. Quite simply, at
work you will become your Professional Brand.
To your brand-new Professional Brand!
Lynne Lloyd
Managing Director
People Results
Telephone 1300 167 981
p.a. Need help with creating your Professional Brand? People Results provides executive coaching and a number of talent development programs for women managers and professionals: two of our popular workshop are Executive Presence for Women and WomenSpeak. According to your needs, we facilitate workshops in-house exclusively for our clients' team members as well as offering public workshops regularly throughout the year.
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