Entering Motherhood… Lessons from Michelle Battersby
Entering motherhood is typically a mildly daunting prospect for most. Add a strong identity tied to career and momentum and this can lead to some complex feelings.
As I write this I am just entering my third trimester with my first child. I am so excited for this next chapter and to meet our little girl, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little apprehensive about the transformation to come and how on earth I am going to pull off building a career, a brand and being a new mum.
Then I came across this episode of the HSR podcast, which hit me straight in the guts.
Michelle Battersby was part of Bumble’s launch, she founded Lightroom and is now the President of Peanut. Michelle was a recent guest on HSR, and spoke to the host, Maggie Sellers-Reum, about tall poppy syndrome, the power of naivety, and crucially, life as a successful businesswoman during and after kids.
Here’s a snippet of what Michelle said…
“Motherhood is an accelerator. It teaches you resilience, empathy, compassion and ruthless prioritization.
Motherhood clarified my ambition. It channeled it in a way that it had never been channeled before.
Motherhood cracks you open. It’s impossible to go through this and not change. You should change.
I used to think change equaled loss, it equaled less than; it equaled less ambitious, less successful, less of a gun. But it doesn’t at all.
The new version of you that awaits on the other side of motherhood is a version 10 times more powerful than the version of you before. You just need to not be scared to embrace her.
She’s waiting, she’s going to do great things for you. Don’t be scared of her.”
I hope this resonated with whoever else needed to hear this today!
You can access this episode of the HSR podcast here: