What COVID-19 has taught me about being a ‘Leading Woman’

This week, we celebrate women; both through International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day. As the Executive Sponsor of Highways England’s Leading Women Network, I’ve been reflecting on working throughout lockdown whilst home schooling and managing general everyday life.

This year has presented us all with different kinds of challenges. For me, it began with the week running up to lockdown. As Chief Information Officer, this entailed enabling our 6000-strong workforce to be able to operate seamlessly from home. Not really knowing how long this would be for meant we initially prioritised and paused some work. Quite quickly we realised we were in it for the long-haul, so we had to adapt our ways of working, continue to improve our services and implement new technologies. This was our new ‘business as usual’ and the whole organisation was relying on us.

As well as the professional challenges in the initial months, as for many of us, my husband and I had to manage our two children home schooling; initially with them walking in to the middle of video conferences to ask me “where’s the hair brush” or to ask if I could get something out the cupboard for them. My parents and in-laws were shielding, so this was also a time for our families to come together in co-ordinating who would take what supplies to them on weekends. It wasn’t long until we realised this was not normal working from home.

Early in the first lockdown, my husband contracted Covid-19. This was a worrying period, as we were still learning about the symptoms and how they evolved. For a few days my fingers hovered above the 999 buttons on my phone, thankfully he recovered well.

Sadly, in September, I lost my mother. Through all of this, she was a beacon of support to me, she was always on the end of the phone if I wanted to chat, vent or ask advice. Funeral arrangements were limited and socially distanced, and the family were unable to get together after. And this has remained the case until today.

Like any other parent, I’ve worried about my children’s education. My husband and I both work full-time, there’s not a significant amount of home schooling we could do, and things have changed so much too! However, they’ve both taken it in their stride and remained resilient. Their online parent’s evenings have been a joy and, dare I say it, a relief.

So, what have I learnt and what coping strategies have I deployed?

·     I prioritise ruthlessly at work and at home. Some things don’t matter, and making those prioritisation choices early keeps me focused on the important things and helps me maintain good mental health and resilience.

·     Planning and organising. Sometimes I feel like I run a small military operation from my desk at home! I’m always looking forward, I journal and write lists, I think in time blocks, consider what I can run in parallel and connect dots. I have a busy mind, so writing things down helps get it out my head and form plans.

·     I celebrate successes and I’m positive. I always believe where there is a will there’s a way. Instead of focusing on the things I can’t do, I pat myself on the back for the things I did. Tomorrow’s a new day.

·     I am thankful for the small things. I look forward to dinner chats with the family and the dog walk at the end of the day. Walking always helps me, not every meeting needs to be a Teams meeting, I get my headphones on and go for a walk around the block and I encourage my team to do the same.

·     I communicate what I need, accept help, ask for help and delegate – this is the case at home and work. You don’t have to do everything yourself.

·     I always have holidays booked, even though we can’t go anywhere at the moment, I take the time off to be with the family and plan fun things. Regular rest ensures I am more present and effective at work and home.

·     Mental health and wellbeing is as important as process, personal and workplace safety, and this is completely linked to the culture and values of the company you work for.

From all of this, I’ve learned that there isn’t a work and a home version of us. We are the whole person, and this has never been truer than it is today. There are different situations going on behind the chair, and I’m proud to be working for an organisation that get this and has provided support to our employees throughout this period. Being part of an Executive Team that has shown and led with empathy and understanding throughout has been genuinely heart warming, and because of this we’ve got the very best out of people at this difficult time.