Being a Mom May Make Marissa Mayer More Effective

By Chasity Kuttrus

There was interesting news in the corporate world this week. Yahoo! announced that it has hired Marissa Mayer, a former Google executive, as their new CEO. She’s tasked with leading the technology company into new territories. Well, that’s incredible news…..a new female CEO taking the reins!

But wait one minute… here’s the real news; she’s pregnant! What does all this say about Yahoo? Well, in Marissa’s own words: “They showed their evolved thinking.”

Yes, they did. And I’m guessing when push came to shove, someone recognized and pointed out what I believe to be true: many working mothers possess a certain extra motivation and drive that can make them extremely effective in high level executive roles.

Really?

Yes. Any working professional will tell you that if you surround yourself with the right people and the right tools, your job becomes much easier. The successful working moms that I know seem to have some sort of “work-life integration.” They have surrounded themselves with good people who support them at work. And they’ve done the same thing for their home life. They have support and help with their children, their homes, their grocery shopping, their housecleaning, and so on. They know when they get home they don’t want to spend time doing the laundry; they want quality time with their kids. True, not every working person has this luxury but I’m sure that Marissa does.

While Marissa has stated that she’ll be working through her maternity leave, no doubt she’ll have plenty of help on all fronts.

What good can come of this?

If she is successful and Yahoo! is successful, she will be the new “case study,” demonstrating how women can manage it all…with some good quality support. And, I believe that many women, when they are their busiest, with the most demanding schedules and the most important decisions to be made, thrive.

Why?

In a nutshell, because they have no time for nonsense. Sometimes leaders can wait too long for answers…and to make decisions. For Marissa and for all working moms, every second, every minute matters. I doubt she will allow a whole lot of politics, hot air or pettiness in her ranks, because she simply doesn’t have the time.

This built-in, mandatory hyper focus that many working moms employ may well be Marissa’s secret to success.

What’s your reaction to the news? Are you like Yahoo and “evolved” in your thinking? Are you Marissa’s greatest supporter? Or are you her greatest critic? Personally, I want nothing more than Marissa to be wildly successful. She has a lot of women cheering her on. Taking on the Chief Executive position is a bold, courageous step in anyone’s career. She’s doing it at a time in her life when she has some serious competing demands. While there are very few examples out there, I want my own daughter to know that she can be a CEO AND A MOM. One does not exclude the other.