I’m Jenny, a Staff Marketing Manager for the Global Business Solutions Group (GBSG) Partner Marketing Team. I’m also the co-founder of Intuit’s brand new Employee Resource Group (ERG), Guardians: Parents and Caregivers Network. Becoming a mother changed the way I live and work, and I’m excited to share how I’ve grown my career at Intuit in a few big ways.
Years before working at Intuit, I worked on a small marketing team at a mid-sized tech startup. We were tight knit, and had many highs as well as many lows. We came together to solve gnarly business problems, and we knew each person’s partners and kids by name. We supported each other when people were having a rough time outside of work. I invited my entire team to my wedding.
At the time, I thought we were just a really social bunch. However, I now realize we chose to bring our entire selves to work. I feel lucky I’ve been able to continue this culture at Intuit, at a time when my life is full of the chaotic unpredictability that comes with having 2 small children.
I joined Intuit as a first-time parent, 5 months postpartum, so I’ve always “parented out loud.” My team knew that I logged off around 6 pm each night to spend the night with my family; they were the first to be alerted when my husband and I had to race my daughter to urgent care in the middle of the day. They also knew that I wanted to deliver extraordinary outcomes for our customers and be challenged in my career just as much as anyone else.
Your Manager is Your Champion, Not Your Supervisor
When I prepared my final interview presentation for Intuit, called A4A (Assess for Awesome), I included my strengths as part of my “About Me” section. I also included many photos of my baby daughter. In my first meetings with my new manager, I continued to share how I was demonstrating these strengths. We started a great working relationship in which I made an impact—on both the business and the culture—and she got the satisfaction of supporting my growth (and then getting to brag about me during end-of-year reviews).
I’ve always felt my manager was my champion—both professionally and personally. So when I told her I wanted to discuss my promotion path, she shared that we would absolutely start unofficially making a business case, so we’d be ready when my promotion nomination was approved. I created a “brag book” where I captured all my wins and positive feedback. My manager added to it and kept me informed on the timing for promotion.
Working Parenthood as a Podium, Not a Crutch
When I found out I was pregnant with my second child, I didn’t feel scared or nervous to share my news with my manager. I felt empowered and excited. Going on parental leave meant I would be able to:
- Create a detailed and comprehensive coverage plan for my team to step in while I was out
- Think about my job scope and whether I’d like to change things up once I was back
Once my son was born, my personal life turned into utter chaos. Once my short-term disability was over, during my 16 weeks of Intuit paid parental leave, there were times my mind would wander. At 3 a.m. when I was breastfeeding and mindlessly watching Gilmore Girls, I would think about a project that might excite me once I was back at work. I jotted it down on my phone for later.
Two months before my leave was up, I asked my manager for a check-in. We talked mostly about life as a mother of 2, how her house projects were going, etc. I asked for any noteworthy updates on the big work project I led from pilot to launch. I brought up some thoughts about how my work responsibilities could change once I’m back, with my promotion path in mind.
About 6 months after returning to work from parental leave, my manager shared it was the right time to put me up for promotion. Since we’d been talking about this for a while, I felt a little nervous, but mostly confident, prepared, and excited. I knew I deserved the promotion, because of—not despite—my identity as a working parent.
When my manager shared the wonderful news that I was promoted, I had only been back to work for one year. I cried happy tears, knowing that we both worked so hard for this, and that I wasn’t going to have to sweat the tuition increase at daycare (IYKYK).
Imperfection is a Superpower
We all know what imposter syndrome is. Some of us know it too well. I used to feel like a major imposter…until I came to Intuit. When I joined Intuit, I sought out fellow working parents with whom I could share my experiences. Every time I shared an imperfect reality of my life, I could feel others’ shoulders relax. Then I’ll hear something like, “I completely understand. That happened to me, just the other day.”
Sharing our imperfections is the cure to imposter syndrome. Full stop. And it just takes one person to be a little brave and admit, “Things are hard right now.” And then at least one other person sees this, acknowledges this, and perhaps shares their own experience. The domino effect is infectious.
Using My Internal Chaos to Build Community
Going through tough times feels lonely. I experience highs and lows on a weekly—if not daily—basis. But, as a really wise business school professor said to me, “Leaders give others permission to go second.” For example, all it takes is for one person to share something that differs from the norm, like respectfully disagreeing with a popular opinion; that gives others permission to also share differing views. In my experience as a working parent, it has been freeing to share my struggles with my fellow Intuit parents and caregivers, and I’m always so proud when others step up and share similar tough realities.
In fact, in my nearly 4 years at Intuit, I (with help) grew a small community of 24 parents and caregivers into a Slack channel of more than 1,400 employees. Intuit has continued to invest in our community, and we recently announced the most exciting news: we are Intuit’s 15th global ERG: Guardians. For more information, visit Intuit’s Diversity & Inclusion page.
My chaos helped build this community, and I’ve never been prouder of bringing my whole, messy, unpredictable self to work.
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