Maternity leave shouldn't be a cliff - for the leader or the company

A year ago this month, I thought I’d take maternity leave and still “keep momentum.” My air quotes "advanced maternal age” body had other plans.

60+ hours of labor, 2 failed epidurals and a C-section later, I was the happiest and most physically wrecked I have ever been.

When I got home, I couldn’t even walk down the stairs to take him to his first pediatrician appointment. 

I had GRAND PLANS for maternity leave. Deep data analysis. Pending M&A. A podcast to start, a book to write. 

I was in for a rude awakening. What saved me (and protected the business) was simple: My CEO approved fractional CMO coverage while I was out. Shout out to Lewis Goldman, who kept the wheels turning and the priorities moving for Winmo.

It feels fitting that now, exactly a year later, I’m having a conversation about backfilling a VP of Marketing planning her maternity leave. They are on the verge of launching a new product. At the last minute she piped up and said she needs help.

If you’re planning a maternity leave or supporting someone who is- a few key ingredients that made my maternity leave smooth for my company:

📄 Updates in a document that I could check asynchronously when I had time (hello 4AM feeds)

⏩ A few weeks of overlap before leave so the fractional lead knew the players and the priorities

📈 Zero scavenger hunts: A link to every dashboard, an email for every key contact and a calendar invite to every 1:1 and executive session BEFORE I went on leave (which was a week earlier than I anticipated)

💬 Slack. The ability to schedule messages to my fractional CMO and having them run point and disseminate information to appropriate parties

➕ Bonus: it was incredibly valuable to have a skilled marketer offer a second set of eyes on processes and procedures to offer their insight.

📣 Once again for the people in the back: Maternity leave shouldn’t be a professional cliff. For the leader or the company.

If you have a head of marketing going on maternity leave in the next few months and you’re debating coverage, I’m happy to share what worked, what I’d do differently, and where a fractional CMO can plug in to keep momentum without burning anyone out.

P.S. Here is said baby sleeping off his first birthday celebration :)