Job Requirements:

Leader

Decision maker

Change Manager

Role Model

Compassionate

Multi-tasker

Empathetic

Good listener

Negotiator

Problem solver

Motivator

On call 24×7

This description could easily be for a CEO, but why does it sound less impressive and less exciting when the job title is Mother?

I did not go to school to learn motherhood, there was no manual attached to my kids when they were born. Learning for me was on the job.

Some skills that I learned as a mother I could not have learned anywhere else, like putting others’ needs before mine, empathy, compassion, and patience, lots of patience.

Being a mother has shown me that I have endless internal strength and that there are no limits to what I will do for someone else. I have learned the true meaning of unconditional love.

Being a mother has taught me new skills and tested every one of them time and time again.

Being a mother has made me the person and professional I am today.

As a society, we greatly value being good parents but we do not appreciate enough the work moms do at home and the skills they use in parenthood that are easily transferable to the workplace. 1.5 million educated women take a career break and want to return to the workforce. Take a moment to re-think about all the skills that mothers use on a daily basis. How can you use them in your workplace?

I dedicate this post to my loving mother, Sylvia Simon, who passed away 4 years ago today.