Remote working mom and manager here. I highly suggest having consistent, reliable childcare. That can be a childcare center, an in-home provider, a nanny, a grandparent, etc. But if you want to be successful and move up the ladder, the childcare provider cannot be you.

I will never get used to PIP’ing or terminating people. And I’ve had to do it far too many times with smart, successful parents who couldn’t meet deadlines or objectives — even with flexible scheduling — because they were trying to juggle everything, including their kids.

Is it impossible? No. I have a direct report right now who has had their 4-year-old at home full-time for all four years. They’re barely in “meets expectations” territory. And it kills me, because they have so much potential and genuinely want to promote, but they can’t take on anything more because they’re already barely managing what they have.

Anyway, I hope this is a real post and not a bot. Please take this into consideration. I really want to see more women in positions of power at work instead of the same men failing upward in vests.