The real reason I can succeed as a CEO

Today I had the privilege of speaking at our partner Union Pacific's Women's conference about the themes women discuss and care about in our community. One of the things I was asked to specifically talk about during this speech was how these career themes manifest themselves in my personal career journey and life choices. So during the part of the talk where I discuss work-life balance, I admitted how difficult it is to be an entrepreneur and mom to 3 little kids. (I don't really use the term "work life balance" because that balance word doesn't really register in any practical way). I talked about how despite having a very similar spouse who is very egalitarian in carrying his fair share of the workload at home, that it would only literally and physically be possible because our our nanny, Dixie. I shared how in my case, we don't have grandparents or family nearby and therefore we picked someone who had very little of her own personal constraints / nearby family obligations, how Dixie has been on the plane and in hotel rooms with me and a newborn, how we didn't even dare have a third child without consulting her and agreement that she'd move in with us for a year. This kind of transparency is something that many business book narratives about successful careers often don't mention. Whether its a spouse or partner that stays home and takes a step back in their careers, or whether its grandparents or daycare givers, friends or teachers or nannies, I'd love to hear how women in this community lean on others (so often they are, incidentally, other women) in order to pursue their ambitions outside the home. PS After the talk, I immediately texted my husband to tell him we needed to give her a raise. =)