Lucy Gernon (00:01.67)
Picture this, you are wrapping up a high stakes meeting, you’re rushing to get the kids and you’re mentally juggling tomorrow’s deadlines. Sound familiar? You are not alone, lovely lady. But here’s a question. What if you could excel in your senior corporate leadership role while being the mom you want to be for your family without running yourself into the ground? By the end of this week’s episode of the 360 Leadership Podcast, you’re going to have some
powerful actionable strategies to lead with impact, protect your wellbeing and create more balance in your life. Because success, balance and happiness isn’t just possible, it is inevitable when you come into my world. So be sure to tune in. I cannot wait for today’s show.
Lucy Gernon (00:49.628)
Hi there and welcome back to another episode of the 360 Leadership Podcast. I am your host, Lucy Gernon, a multi award winning executive coach who sometimes really feels like she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She has three kids. She’s one ragged, just like you, which is why today’s episode is so important because I want to talk what it’s really like to be a working mom as a corporate leader, because I think sometimes as women, we forget that we’re not alone.
And we’re all just juggling it all. We’re all just trying to do our best. And I think I kind of have it down. And I wanted to share a lot about that today, because even before I had my own company, I was really protective of my work life balance. In fact, it’s exactly why I decided to start my business, because it doesn’t have to be as difficult as we make it. But let’s rewind a little bit in today’s episode of the show. I’m going to be.
talking to you about some actionable strategies. I’m going to give you five of them actually to support you to thrive without burning out. But before that, I want to just tell you a little story. I remember when I worked in the corporate world, we were in a startup phase and I was pregnant. had three, I had two children. I was about to have my third and I was in middle management. So, you know, when you’re in middle management, Jesus, like you have so much on your plate. You’re juggling it all.
And my brain felt like it was about to explode. I actually struggled with prenatal anxiety, prenatal depression and anxiety, actually, I think it was, officially. And I found leading at that time so, difficult. And at the same time, my kids needed me. My mental health wasn’t great. So I want you to know that
If you’ve ever felt like you’re barely keeping your head above water with all the demands, whether that’s young children, older children like I have now, elderly parents, I want you to know that it doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it. OK. And today I’m going to be sharing the five strategies to support you to really thrive this year without burning yourself out because you didn’t work so hard to get to this level only just to work.
Lucy Gernon (03:13.082)
all of the time and not enjoy the fruits of your labor, did you? Because I know I didn’t. So let’s get into the tips. It’s going to be a short episode. So get ready. and as always, be sure to sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t, because I’m going to be digging deeper into this topic in the Sunday night newsletter. And you’re going to want to keep it. You’re going to want to save it. I hear from you all the time that you’re saving all the tips. So definitely head over to lucygarland.com forward slash newsletter and sign up. It’s totally free.
OK, so the first tip I have for you is to prioritize ruthlessly. Now, I have a matrix called the more time prioritization matrix, and it’s in my work life balance guide. And you can get that absolutely free if you just go to lucygernon.com forward slash balance. I’ll link it in the show notes anyway. And in there, there is a prioritization matrix that’s going to support you to prioritize.
The most troublesome thing, I think, with the corporate world is that everything feels urgent. And if you’re multitasking, come back to me, because this is a mindset shift that I think is going to change the game for you.
Things only feel urgent because of the energy behind the request. So when we have a fear reaction to a request, it feels urgent. So fear can come from it actually being urgent because something is due and the business is going to stop, or it can come from somebody who creates a sense of urgency within you, which actually activates that fight or flight response. And the only way for you to kind of calm down and get out of that is to action the thing, right?
So I want you to know that that’s actually happening in your psychology. And what’s really, really important is you remind yourself that energy does not equal urgency. Okay. You’re not going to die. It’s all going to be good. So head over to lucygarnon.com forward slash balance, grab that matrix. And in there, it’s based on the Steve, the Eisenhower matrix that Steve Covey made famous. But I’ve made it more psychology infused because it talks about urgent and important tasks. We all know that.
Lucy Gernon (05:28.87)
But what’s really urgent? Like, how do you define what’s urgent? Go grab the matrix and it’s going to help you with that. OK? The second thing is to master the art of saying no. So firstly, like no can be a full sentence, they say, but personally, I don’t like that. think I would never like to leave somebody high and dry. just that just goes against who I am. I think we all should try to support each other.
But I also really believe in saying no. I mean, I say no and no a lot. I have said no to work that would have generated tens of thousands of my business because I knew that it was going to take me away from some more important things that could generate more revenue while not actually burning me out to the ground. Right. So it’s really, really important that you actually mastered the art of saying no with grace. So, for example, if somebody asks you.
for your support in a project, you could say something like, I’d love to help, but my current workload means I can’t give this the attention it deserves. But here’s what I recommend you do. Give them a pointer. Be that, know, give them an outline of how how they could approach it or point them to somebody else. I mean, I’m talking a lot about AI in 360 leaders club at the moment, because it really is a tool that if you’re not leveraging it, guys, like it’s probably why you don’t have the time.
re you could even direct them if you’re using co-pilot in your organization. I personally use Claude.ai and I use chat.gbt as well because there’s so much information that they can get from that. So please be OK with saying no and just think of it as a like polite not today thanks you know we just don’t need everything on our plate do we? Number three then is to create non-negotiable me time. Every single month I have
a spa appointment booked for 2025. Every single month, come rain or shine, I’m going to the spa. Sometimes I’ll get a treatment. Sometimes I’ll just go to a treatment room. But you’ve got to do that because you don’t want to just work yourself into the ground and like your mom as well. You’re you’re joking the kids. You’re joking everything. Like, where are you in all of this? Right. Do that. And that’s one thing I love about 360 Leaders Club, which I created to support you with 360 degree success.
Lucy Gernon (07:51.568)
Which means being successful in work, being happy in your mindset and living a balanced life for the most part. One of the things we talk about all the time is I remind the girls of like, what are you doing for yourself at the moment? And I love seeing them celebrating like that they went for a run or they’re going for a spa or all of that. So if you’re interested in learning more about working with me, you can just go over to 360LitersClub.com
You can join our wait list and the next time that we have spots available, you will be first to know. But just don’t wait if I tell you there’s a spot, because, yeah, you’re going to want it. You are going to want it. But anyway, creating a negotiable meet time. Number four, then, is and this is so important. It’s something it’s a trap that I fell into for way too long, like way too long. And if you are doing this, it’s probably why you’re burning yourself out or you don’t have time.
The fourth one is to build a support system at work and at home. Honestly, I know this sounds basic, but so many women, me included, we take on way too much. So here’s what my support system looks like. I have a team who support me. The team members who I didn’t feel were supporting me were taking too much from me and didn’t have the potential. We parted ways. OK, the at home, I have a cleaner.
I have enlisted my husband to step up because I just couldn’t do everything I was doing. And remember, like you teach people how to treat you. So a lot of people might not be helping you because you’ve never asked for it. Right. But you can make an empowered decision to actually build that support system at work. Have you got good relationships? Can you reach out for support? Come join 360 leaders club. It’s why I created it. Right. You’ve got to have support system for yourself because
You do not want to get to the end of the year and face another year going, where did that year go? How was it December? How am I here again feeling absolutely exhausted? What did I do for myself? my God, my bad mother. I can’t even tell my boss that I’m a mother because I feel it’ll diminish my authority. And then at home, I’m feeling guilty because I’m not in work and I’m here. Here I am again. Before you know it, guys, your whole life will be lived that way. So please don’t do that to yourself.
Lucy Gernon (10:11.024)
Get yourself to support, you deserve it. And number five, and this is a really important one. So if you’re multitasking, come back to me. As a positive psychology coach, so I’ve done multiple coaching qualifications, right? I’ve got all my professional coaching, but I love positive psychology because I know how negative and draining the corporate world can be, the business world. It’s quite a lot.
And one thing I do in 360 Leaders’ Globe, and I encourage all of our members to do, is to celebrate your wins. We know from the science of positive psychology that leaders who adopt a growth mindset are more effective in their roles. You instill more trust in your team. You increase talent retention. And it’s something as simple as just celebrating your wins every single week. So how does that look? For OSIN 360, we have like a…
specific channel within our private community where everyone pops in and we encourage them to celebrate their wins. Your win might be guys, you had your period or you were having a menno moment and you went to work anyway. That can be a win. Another win can be you delivered on a big project. You hired a team member, you went for a walk. It doesn’t matter. It’s about celebrating the progress along the way to the goal. It’s not always the goal. OK, so there.
Just five very, very quick tips that if you actually implement some of these, I promise you, I promise you your life is going to change, but you’ve got to set a powerful intention. And the biggest reason that you’re going to be listening to this podcast in six months time, maybe in a burnout state is because you didn’t do number four, which is to get the support that you deserve and you need.
And if you want that support from me, I would love to welcome you to 360 Leaders Club the next time that we have a spot available. So just head over to 360LeadersClub.com forward slash waitlist to be first to hear when we have a spot. You deserve support. It doesn’t have to be as difficult. Like I’m a mom as well. I get how challenging it is to be a mother. And I know, like I know when you come into my world and we work together, your life is going to change.
Lucy Gernon (12:21.124)
One of my clients was just telling me about how her husband has noticed like huge shifts in her because because she’s been more effective at work, because she’s setting boundaries, because she’s delegating more effectively, because she’s able to communicate and has better executive presence. People are listening. People are actually listening. People are doing their jobs properly, which means you can go home and not saying every week or every month because there’s going to be times where the shit’s going to hit the fan and things aren’t going to be good.
But I’m always there. I’m always there during those times. And it’s about keeping you on track and giving you the tools and support you need when you need them. So you can truly lead with confidence, right? And enjoy your life. So your action today is number one, if you’re interested in 360, go join our wait list. I’ll pop the link in the show notes. Number two, if you’re not on my email list, please go and join our newsletter. Just go to lucygarnon.com forward slash newsletter.
You can sign up there and you’ll get all of the wonderful free resources and tips and tricks and new podcast episodes that I send out as well as offers and exclusive events and things that we send to our email list first. And number three, the most important one today, I want you to book yourself something nice. Book a little spa or whatever it is that you enjoy. Maybe it’s a hike in the mountain, mountains.
And send me DM on Instagram and LinkedIn if this episode inspired you to do that, because I love hearing from a podcast audience. You guys are my favorite. You’re my favorite. I love you all. So anyway, that’s it for this week’s episode of the 360 Leadership Podcast. To summarize, the five strategies to thrive in leadership without burning out as a mom is number one, prioritize ruthlessly. That means at home too. Number two, master the art of saying no. Number three,
Create non-negotiable me time and schedule it in your calendar. Number four, build a support system at work and at home. And number five, for the love of God, celebrate your wins. Allow yourself to see the progress you’re making every week, every day, because you are incredible and the world needs you. So that’s it for this week’s episode of the show. I hope you found it valuable. If you did, as always, please send it to a friend who needs to hear this. Help me spread the word.
Lucy Gernon (14:41.604)
Leave us some reviews. I’m asking you to do a lot of things today, but just
