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Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Ryan Daugherty Sharp to our pages.
Six years ago, I transitioned from my law practice to become an owner/officer in the automatic door company that my father started when I was two, and ran until his retirement. I am clearly not the only attorney to move from the legal field to the construction world, which is riddled with daily negotiations and relies heavily on collaboration, organization, and timely flexibility. The only distinguishing factor for me is that I also happen to be a mother to three adorable, magical, messy, crazy, creative, and VERY energetic children. There are still, unfortunately, just not that many mothers in leadership positions in the construction industry. Further, because I entered both the ownership track and the “mommy track” at nearly the same time, I never had the practice and example of working for someone else while navigating parenthood. I basically started with a blank slate. I was — and am — simultaneously “allowed” to take whatever time I want off, make my own schedule, and set up my own rules about being a working mother, but I am also completely and utterly responsible for any impact any absence places upon our business, finances, and employees.
At first this was overwhelming for me, but over the last several years, I have grown to appreciate this experience. I have the unique vantage point of being able to simultaneously experience and address the following questions from the perspective of both a new mother and an employer.
- What challenges do my employees and customers — both male and female — experience in fulfilling their roles while also parenting?
- As a small business that may not always be able to provide big-ticket items (extended paid leave, duplicated employee roles for coverage, etc.), how can I provide employees with accommodations that truly make a difference, but also fit our business needs?
Here is what I have determined can really make a difference.
One Size Doesn’t Always Fit All – Each parent (and each parenting couple) has their own dynamic, and provided that your employee is dedicated and good at their job, that information is quite useful. Each person has a different level of detail that they want to share with their employer, but years ago, we started asking employees what their personal goals were, not just their professional goals. Employees have wanted to save for a house, plan for retirement, compartmentalize work and home better, get home earlier, get healthier, etc. Meeting these goals can actually improve performance and focus, though they can initially seem unrelated or counteractive to workplace goals. Thus, our team has made it a point to try help find ways to help with these goals whenever possible. In fact, we have helped employees become more efficient, take on more responsibility, or even rearrange their schedule in a way that benefits both our company and their balance. Sometimes it just takes an honest conversation and some creativity.
Culture – Most parenting benefits focus on paid maternity leave. For a small business (40 employees), it is somewhat difficult to offer extended leave because most job duties are unique to the individual employee. However, there is a very long span of time between when someone returns to work after a new baby and when they become an empty-nester, and a company’s culture can make so much difference in how an employee is able to navigate work and parenthood. For us, this goes way beyond congratulating a new mother or father or commenting on their kid’s cuteness (though we love doing that too). We have found that encouraging our employees to build comradery through quarterly team-building activities and our own general willingness to communicate has led to an environment in which employees are more willing to cover a new parent’s on-call rotation, or swap or share shifts in order to accommodate a family activity. This has, in turn, benefited our business, employees, and recruiting capability immensely. We have also encouraged office-based employees to bring their kids with them to the office or vary their schedule instead of miss a day of work (and pay) when childcare falls through. We have also worked with employees to create a work-from-home schedule to reduce summer child care costs. My kids join me regularly at the office, and we have acquired quite an extensive box of shared toys and art supplies to entertain. Since my brothers and I grew up hanging out at this building with our father, it seems particularly natural for us to have this same dynamic continue.
Flexibility – This is tricky, as we are a service profession. However, I have found that allowing varying levels of schedule flexibility is highly beneficial to employee retention and general work production. For us, it has been more about creating a culture in which — when the timing doesn’t matter — there isn’t any undesirable implication to sending an email outside of regular working hours, or in saying, “Hey, can we meet 30 min earlier because I have to pick up my kid.” We extend the same culture to our customers as well, and they appreciate it. When it does not matter, we try to work with our employees and customers. On the other hand, when it does matter, then we fully expect everyone to understand. Our experience is that they do.
Let’s be real, I don’t always navigate this perfectly: I lose my cool, I need a nap, I rely heavily on others. Still, I sometimes fall short of being the parent and employer I want to be. My hope is, however, that a continued focus on the above items and on communication about being a working parent can help be serve my business, my family, my employees, and my customers better. I hope that some of my observations can serve you as you navigate the balance of being a working parent for yourself, spouse, employees, co-counsel, and clients.
Earlier: Mothers At Law: Achieving Meaningful Success In The Legal Profession
Ryan Daugherty Sharp pursued her education at the University of Georgia where she was a member of the UGA Swimming and Diving team, graduating with a BLA (Landscape Architecture) from the College of Environment and Design. Thereafter, she worked as a Federal Planner in Pittsburgh and throughout the world, for the engineering firm now known as Atkins North America. After attending law school at the University of Kentucky, she went on to practice construction, employment, and real estate litigation matters at McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland, PLLC for the next five years. In 2013, she brought these diverse skills and client services to Door Equipment Company (DEC), and now serves as its CFO and a partner in the business. She particularly enjoys being able to find new and efficient solutions for Door Equipment’s customers, working alongside skilled employees, and always striving to make DEC the best door company in the business.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of 
