The (Most Powerful) Working Mom of the Year 2010

Work Wednesday

Working Mother magazine this month named Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's COO, the most powerful working mother of the year. Right behind her were Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Pepsico Chairman and CEO, Indra Nooyi, MIT President Susan Hockfield, tennis star Kim Clijsters, Brigadier General Michelle Johnson, and a few other extraordinary women. Michelle Obama, who works all the time at her unpaid job, was on the short list. Sarah Palin, thankfully, was not.

Like all end-of-the year lists, the Working Mother list is somewhat arbitrary. But these women are all, undoubtedly, "major power players" whose accomplishments are also, as Working Mother requires, "societal contributions." And, because all of them reside in the U.S. and have at least one kid 18 or younger, they qualify for Working Mother's power posse. (Some of them just squeak by, though. Nooyi's youngest child is 17 and Hockfield's daughter is 18.)

But the Working Mother line up is incomplete. The magazine left one of the most powerful working mothers in America out of the power pack.  Before you spend a lot of time trying to guess her identity, I'll clue you in.

It's me.

Yes, me! Don't laugh. I'm serious. I meet the Working Mother criteria: I reside in the U.S., my kids are well under the cutoff (they're seven and four), and my accomplishments are . . .  well . . .  they speak for themselves. I'm sure a few recent examples will persuade you of my worthiness.

Last week, for example, I convinced our IT "help desk" to replace my dying computer. Before it started to hiss and emit other weird noises. Before the hard drive failed completely and I lost all my important data. This was an unprecedented achievement that will unquestionably lead to great societal benefits for anyone in my office who would have had to deal with me had my files been irrecoverable.

Over the weekend, I persuaded the charming agent of a friendly airline that had somehow booked my family on two conflicting flights this coming Friday (also known as Christmas Eve Day) to confirm us on the correct flight. After a mere hour on the telephone, extended periods on hold, and an extremely pleasant conversation with a supervisor, I managed to reclaim the seat assignments that had vanished in the double-booking process.  I even obtained two seats (including one for my four-year-old) that are actually next to each other! I expect that my efforts to wear down the customer service representative (and override the seat assignment software) will provide great benefits to society -- or at least to the next complaining customer.

And this week, in the lead up to the holiday break, I'm engaging in two power activities - power partying and power packing. They qualify, don't they?

I know what you're thinking.  She's no Sheryl Sandberg.  She didn't grow Facebook to 500 million users.  Expand its advertising base and raise its revenue to $1.6 billion. She's not Mark Zuckerberg's "most valuable friend."

Sigh. You're right. Sigh. I'm no Sheryl. Or Michelle. Or Amy. Or Kim. Or anyone on the list for that matter. I'm not even in the runner's up category.

But I did convince a work colleague to incorporate my comments on a report yesterday. And I got my kids to bed on time last night. (That's real power!) Come to think of it, most days I am a powerful working mom! So, I think I'll give myself my own power mom award for 2010. You should give yourself one too.

Happy Holidays!

Image via Wikimedia.

 

 

 

Comments

[Yael]

More power to ya! From another power mom down the hall.

[ellen]

You have my vote, Stacy!

[Jamie]

You rock! Getting your kids to bed on time - now that's an accomplishment! Happy New Year and happy vacation!
Jamie

[Katherine]

LOVE this post and what it says about the importance of those daily victories - over the schedule, the technology, the recalcitrant children. We working moms of the world deserve a pat on the back. Go us!

[Michele]

I so appreciate this post! I rolled my eyes a bit when I saw WM's power mom list (even though I love the mag!). I kept asking, "Who really defines 'success' or 'power' anyway?" I feel pretty darn successful and powerful, despite not being a recognized celebrity, head of a major conglomerate (if you don't count this empire I'm raising at home) or politician.

So, thumbs up. You and all the other working moms around the world get my vote!

[DrHeidi]

seriously, don't those people have their own personal staff? Getting 3 kids to be at night and activities coordinated for the week is a Herculean feat after major work exhaustion...