How do you manage your work-life balance with your leadership role at RP and your family of four children?
I’ve always found this terminology “work-life balance” quite awkward as it almost implies that work is not part of someone’s life but an external element that needs to be balanced against “life”. Maybe “professional and private life balance” would be more inclusive in my view.

Having said that, my answer to your question is…like all working mums, trying to do the best I can while I am at work and while I am with my family and kids.

I was lucky to have a few role models. My mum and some amazing female colleagues. I witnessed their ability to manage a successful career, and this was not at the expense of their private lives.
Sometimes conciliating both worlds is not easy. To be honest, kids are more demanding and stressful than clients!

I have four wonderful kids. Elisa, the oldest and Antonio, Federico and Debora (our triplets). Although they are now 10 and 7 years old and taking care of them is definitely so much easier compared to the past, I sometimes struggle because, as is so often the case across so many families, there might be health and/or other problems around kids that make the balance hard to attain. My husband is a rock and a pillar of course!

Are there things that “suffer” from this balancing act?
Probably yes, and only time will tell me if my kids will keep a good memory of their childhood but I feel that, so far, I made the right choices as I have always been guided by my sense of priority and values.

I think that if you have a compass in life (whatever it might be, God, values, etc.), and you stick to this compass, then this anchor helps to achieve an equilibrium.

In my case, I took 8 months of maternity leave for Elisa and around 2½ years for the triplets. I needed to be with them as one of my sons had some serious health problems but, more importantly here, I wanted to be with them in this wonderful phase of their life and mine. Becoming a mum is a gift and a life-changing experience. I would make the same decision again and again even if my career suffered, if only temporarily, as a consequence.

One lesson I have learned during these years is that it is risky to try and reach “perfection”. The concept of perfection is a dangerous illusion that can make people unhappy as the target itself is just unattainable. I have therefore learned to leave the feeling of “guilt” behind me and rather feel accomplished with what I do.

I try to do the best I can and feel colleagues and kids see this. Society forces us to pretend we are strong and indestructible. The reality is that every single one of us has some fragility inside him/her and is doing the best he/she can.

How important do you consider the role of the employer and co-workers in achieving the work-life balance?
This is crucial. Being part of a company that embeds a culture that encourages women to pursue a career while keeping their private dimension safe is key. I am proud to work at Rud Pedersen because our values – caring, inquisitive, and driven are not a list of “to-dos” on a piece of paper but are part of our daily behaviour.

As an example for the topic of our discussion, over the last 12 months we hired two brilliant professionals, women, knowing they were expecting a baby. Remarkable professionals that we wanted to have onboard. The fact that they would both be out for a few months did not make us hesitant in our decision. We were and are fully convinced that they will both be back, determined as ever and even more focused than before.

Women are still underrepresented in leadership roles. How do you position yourself in a rather male-dominated environment?
In public affairs and government relations, I would say that women are pretty well represented but I do agree that we still live in a male-dominated environment.

The two points I would raise are that we should not compare ourselves with others (at work and in life in general) as inevitably we will find more and/or less talented people. We should just think about ourselves and about our own journey and the ways we can improve. Comparisons paralyze, distract us from our focus (and our guiding compass). Comparisons make us jealous and therefore unhappy.

Also, women should be proud of their differences. Instead of trying to emulate their male colleagues, pretending they are something they are not, they should make their differences stand out and be proud of what they offer.

Did you always know that you wanted to pursue such a career?
I always knew I wanted to work and be satisfied at the end of each day (maybe at the end of the week as constant daily satisfaction rarely takes place).

At the beginning of my career, I was probably more attracted by titles and promotions. Then, thanks to some experience, I changed my approach and I rather focused on responsibilities and satisfaction for the team I was handling.

This new approach was healthier and made a huge difference.

What do you think about the stereotypes about working moms?
I think women and mums are just individuals. Individual professionals that make choices, which are the consequence of culture, roots, values and environment the person has been surrounded by. No one can judge the personal choices of other working mums as each of us is a complex universe that outsiders cannot grasp.

How do you think your career impacts your children (and vice-versa)?
As I had taken long breaks with them, getting back full time had an impact on them. As kids can often do, they clearly expressed rather passionately, loudly, and repeatedly how much they were missing me. You can imagine the effect this had on me. But after the first month or so, I think they got the positive side of this dual role. I try to involve them as much as I can to make them understand the world I am in and I notice that they are curious to know about my job, they relate to what I say about colleagues and clients. We make parallelism with their own life – friends at school are like colleagues and their school tests are like my pitches. Conversations can be hilarious and in some cases, helpful for both sides.

I hope there will be a positive impact later in their growth but, as I said, only time will tell us. I hope my kids will see that women (their future wives and them as future working mums) can hold a dual role. Being independent and being able to contribute to the wider society is important.

Do my children have an impact on my career? Definitely. I think I am more effective and decisive at work (as I want to devote time to kids), I have grown in my emotional intelligence thanks to the huge patience I acquired by being a mum and I am able to put “work” issues into a wider perspective.

What are your 3 key tips/advice for women to balance work and life?

• Focus on the present. If you are at work, forget about all things that are waiting for you back home and just focus on that task in front of you. Equally, if you are with your kids, just enjoy that moment and that precious exchange.

• Follow your instinct. You will probably have to make some decisions in life and a male-dominated culture might direct you on a journey that is probably not your own. Be guided by your own compass.

• On a more practical side, accept that you cannot do everything (and certainly on your own). Try to find some profiles that can assist you at home or with the kids as it is often these profiles that allow working mums to find the famous balance.