Super moms, super managers

By T Nidhi

Someone once said that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Aptly so, as mothers are not only an inspiration to their children but also make good managers and leaders. They have a natural ability to handle everything efficiently, which makes it easier for them to manage both their career as well as their personal lives – and keep everyone happy.

So what makes moms such great managers? “Mothers are naturally flexible, adaptable, create trust, have rational thinking and have superb analytical skills, and to top it all have the best crisis management skills, all of which are required to be a great leader. That is why moms make the best leaders. We have the innate ability to also juggle our personal and professional lives and manage it all seamlessly,” says Mythili G Nirvan, who is a senior PR professional and has odd work hours that require her to travel most of the time and be away on weekends.

It is the juggling ability of moms that gives them an edge. “Women are naturally attuned to multitask and do not get stressed. It is ingrained in our mindset that we have to handle everything and therefore we are always prepared to fire-fight and lead from the front. That is why moms make great leaders,” agrees Sangeeta Lala who is President, Retail and co-founder of Fanzart. The company designs and manufactures luxury fans, a business that has Sangeeta travelling throughout the country.

So, how do these super moms manage it all? Vasantha Krishnamurthy, who has a high-powered job as Chief of Staff at SecurEyes, a company that provides consulting and suptech cybersecurity products and solutions to government and non-government sectors, has it all figured out. “I never worried about forcing myself to be physically present. I was there in so many different ways. Homework on video calls while jumping airports in multiple locations; work-cations that ensure quality time and quantity of activities are just some of the ways I have managed, through the last 15 years. One such idea was also adoption of two dogs who promptly stuck to their best friend ever, my daughter,” she explains.

It is a misnomer therefore that working mothers cannot handle their homes efficiently. On the contrary, working mothers are able to devote quality time to their family and earn the respect of their children for what they are and what they have achieved.

“A qualified, working woman is as much an asset to society as she is to her home. I was very happy working on verifying cutting-edge, safety-critical software in the initial stages of my career and later, as a faculty member at IIIT Bangalore, teaching and mentoring young, talented minds, along with pursuing research. My children now respect me more for what I am and know that I will be around for them whenever they need me, without fail,” says Meenakshi D’Souza, Professor at International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB).

“When they were young, Meenakshi used to save all her leaves to care for them and never took a proper break. “Each stage of raising children is challenging in its own way. Now, as teenagers, I need to be their buddy and provide for their growing needs and constantly changing demands,” says she.