Why the 9-to-5 Is Failing Working Moms (Heather Powers)

"We want a wife too." That's the joke Heather Powers and her girlfriends at work used to make: someone at home scheduling the appointments, running to the dry cleaners, keeping the household Tetris moving so they could focus at the office. Heather has spent almost 19 years as a working mom in Washington, D.C. management consulting, and during the pandemic she found herself sitting with three schedules at once (hers, her son's, her daughter's), making sure everybody logged on to virtual school at the right time. That's when it crystallized for her: the traditional 9-to-5 wasn't built for the way most families actually run. Heather grew up the daughter of a construction worker and a teacher in rural New Hampshire, moved to D.C. for what she calls "this mythical thing" called corporate life, and climbed to an executive role at one of the large management consulting firms, all while raising two kids. She's since founded The Power Lane, a consultancy that helps organizations and individuals accelerate toward their goals, and written a book by the same name making the business case for why working mothers are exactly who companies need right now. We get into the corporate return-to-office fight Heather helped win for flexible work, why she thinks negotiating with a toddler prepares you for anything a boardroom can throw at you, and the very specific way she wants you to start asking for what you actually need at work. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQSOD1tl08c In this episode Why "we want a wife too" is the joke working moms make, and what it reveals about who's actually doing the invisible labor at home How the pandemic crystallized Heather's mission to advocate for working parents, three overlapping school schedules at a time Why project management, budgeting, and negotiation are skills parenting already taught you for free, and how to name them in a job interview The return-to-office fight Heather helped her organization win by refusing to accept a one-size-fits-all mandate Why staying quiet about what you're juggling at home trains your employer to assume you have none of it How to actually make the ask at work instead of hoping someone eventually notices what you're carrying Timestamps (00:01) Welcome and intro: meet Heather Powers, founder of The Power Lane (01:54) From rural New Hampshire to nearly 30 years in Washington, D.C. management consulting (05:08) Finding the courage to leave home, and "you can't be what you can't see" (08:44) Founding The Power Lane, and why working moms became her focus (09:38) How the pandemic (and three overlapping school schedules) crystallized her mission (10:32) Winning the fight against a one-size-fits-all return-to-office mandate (11:57) The supervisor pushback that became her real turning point: "we are all at breaking points" (14:46) "We want a wife too": the invisible labor working parents carry, and why it's cultural, not just personal (19:34) Why leaders and companies have to change, and how to actually make the ask for what you need at work (22:19) The superpowers working moms build: project management, time management, negotiation (26:36) Heather's book, The Power Lane, and the business case for hiring working mothers (29:54) What Heather would say to a mom who's discouraged and afraid right now (31:07) Heather's offer: a free 30-minute consultation for the first 17 listeners who reach out About Heather Powers Heather Powers is the founder and CEO of The Power Lane, a consultancy that guides organizations and individuals to accelerate toward their business and revenue goals. After almost 19 years as a working mother in Washington, D.C. management consulting, including time as an executive at one of the large firms in the industry, she now writes and speaks on building workplaces that actually work for working parents. She's the author of the book The Power Lane. Learn more at Heather's website, or connect with her on LinkedIn. Favorite quotes "You can't be what you can't see." —Heather Powers "If you can negotiate with a toddler about eating vegetables, you can pretty much handle anything in a boardroom." —Heather Powers "We want a wife too, right? We want that woman at home or somebody at home to be scheduling the appointments." —Heather Powers Resources mentioned The Power Lane by Heather Powers: her book making the business case for working mothers in the workforce HeatherLanePowers.com: Heather's website Heather Powers on LinkedIn Related episodes Navigating Perimenopause in the Corporate World: more on the corporate structures that weren't built with women's real lives in mind. From Adversity To CEO: Victoria's Path to Leadership: another working woman's climb into leadership, and what she had to unlearn along the way. Setting Boundaries for Well-Being and Success: more on the boundary-setting Heather describes doing with her own calendar and workload. Subscribe & connect If this episode gave you something to sit with, follow Phoenix and Flame so you never miss an episode: all apps in one place, or jump straight to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube. And if it moved you, leave a review; it's the easiest way to help another listener find the show. Learn more about Phoenix and Flame, connect with Dana, and listen to more episodes here. Curious where your own boundaries stand? Take my free Work Boundaries Quiz: danaskaggs.com/quiz