As of: February 22, 2024, 3:56 p.m
By: Martin Schullerus
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Author Anette Lippert with book cover: Her first work “Leading Mothers” is a non-fiction book about mothers in leadership positions, structured according to building blocks.
© Dagmar Rutt
Are children career killers?
Are mothers unsuitable for leadership positions?
The Gräfelfinger Anette Lippert finds clear, practice-based answers in her non-fiction book “Leading Mothers”.
It appears just in time for International Women's Day at the beginning of March - an encouragement.
Gräfelfing -
Anette Lippert (52) experienced her key scene years ago on a Gräfelfing playground - and in a Munich company.
Her son, whom she calls Quentin in the book, took the excavator away from another child in the sandbox.
The mother intervened, mediated, and clarified the situation to everyone's satisfaction.
The next day, Anette Lippert attended a meeting at work.
“Two department heads colluded over a project,” says the author.
“And my head automatically responded: Now give him the excavator back.” She made a effort and used sandbox diplomacy, asking clarifying questions like: Who owns the excavator, can we play with it together, can we Then show the sandcastle to the moms?
“And it worked surprisingly well,” she noted.
During her extensive two-year research for her debut work “Leading Mothers,” her impression was confirmed: “Motherhood is not a black hole in your life.
On the contrary: it is a boot camp for leadership.” And therefore a real “benefit” for companies.
Because mothers have had intensive, emotional, years-long training behind them, with various development phases for their wards.
Anette Lippert is convinced: “What you learn is grossly underestimated.” A mother is resilient, patient, flexible, exudes a basic trust that the crisis will change for the better, and can juggle balls.
That doesn't mean that every mother is a good leader.
“But on the other hand, we cannot afford to do without those who are.” She points to studies that currently and will in the future show a glaring shortage of skilled workers in the executive suites.
As a basis and practical reference, Anette Lippert not only started an internet survey on the topic of mothers and careers, but also held detailed discussions with 66 mothers in leading positions - from the start-up founder to team and department heads in many industries Bundeswehr General.
Like Lippert himself, they had all successfully returned to work after a break to have children.
A frightening result of the discussions: “There were many who didn’t mention their children in the office.
And a shocking number said that young female employees came to them, burst into tears and said: 'I'm pregnant.'
“Why does a pregnancy have to provoke a slump in the working world,” asks Lippert.
Nobody is free from stereotypes, but her book wants to make people become aware of them - especially on the employer side.
This could be an aha moment for managers.
Nevertheless, the book is primarily intended as an encouragement for women.
“Today, women think much earlier about how they can balance children and a career,” says Anette Lippert.
“I wanted to say something positive about all the accurate descriptions of the problem: that it is possible and that these two worlds enrich each other.” Of course, a significant transfer performance is a prerequisite for success.
Children's stories can quickly make you look ridiculous in the company.
But if fundamental insights from the family life are applied in the professional world, that is often a solution.
“There are already very positive examples of this in the corporate world,” says Lippert.
In the book she mentions the Otto Group and the streaming service Netflix, “which do this really well and set a benchmark in Germany in this regard.”
The added value that women and mothers bring to the company has long been recognized and rewarded there.
In the Merkur interview, Anette Lippert admits that it was not easy to win over a publisher for this topic.
“It’s not mainstream,” the author knows.
But especially today it could be an important social contribution to mutual perception of opportunities - for mothers and for companies.
ZS Verlag (Edel Verlagsgruppe) recognized this and took action.
Anette Lippert is planning several readings as part of the publication, one of which in Munich is already fully booked.
A reading is also planned in Gräfelfing soon.
“Leading Mothers”
will be published on March 2nd and will also be available in the Gräfelfinger bookstores Wort-Schatz and Kohler (256 pages, 22.99 euros, ISBN 978-3-96584-375-2).