Project Management and Strategic Planning – What Skills Are Needed for the Profession of “Mom”?

5/9/2025

Anta Praņēviča, Figure Baltic Advisory leading consultant

A year ago, I shared some thoughts on the cost of the work done by the parent who stays home to care for children – pointing out how many roles are combined in this “position.” From that arises a range of experience and competencies that can later be utilised in the workplace. Caring for a child is a powerful management experience in an environment where there are no crisis management simulations – only real situations and immediate responsibility. Parental leave is an opportunity to learn, apply, and strengthen skills that are essential in today’s leadership roles: planning, adaptability, collaboration, problem-solving under pressure, and maintaining long-term thinking in short-term stress conditions. So, how can these skills best be presented in a CV or job interview?

Strategic Planning and Execution Management

The ability to systematically plan daily and long-term tasks, create structured routines, and prioritise effectively, ensuring efficient use of time and resources. A results-oriented mindset and goal achievement, while staying flexible in changing circumstances. Not all company executives can boast of such planning skills, but many parents can attest to the familiar morning challenge: by 8:00 a.m., they’ve coordinated a three-person team to ensure one child is fed, dressed, motivated, has found their missing shoe, and arrives at kindergarten as a cheerful member of society; the other – with all required school supplies, including completed homework – arrives at school ready to learn. This is full-cycle project management with a high adaptability factor, multiple stakeholders, and absolutely no room for deadline extensions.

Process Coordination and Project Management

Experience managing multi-level processes from concept to execution. The ability to simultaneously track the progress of various activities, focus on deadlines, and adapt execution to changing conditions. Competence in structuring work into phases to ensure clear direction. Many would agree that such skills are valuable in almost any organisational leadership role. Family logistics – daily tasks, appointments, purchases, and long-term plans – are a project with deadlines, task allocation, and external partners (e.g., doctors or suppliers). Nearly every parent runs a complex, multi-phase family logistics project, involving daycare prep, shopping, doctor visits, and coordinating playtime with the weather. It includes external vendors (paediatricians, grocery stores, babysitters), variable resources, and often – unpredictable risks (a child waking with a fever at 7:30 a.m.). The work is phased – with a morning stand-up meeting over porridge and an evening retrospective in the bath.

Communication, Negotiation, and Conflict Resolution

The ability to maintain dialogue, align on next steps, and bridge differing views using positive influence, clearly defined boundaries, conflict transformation, and mutual trust. Consistent and empathetic communication with highly demanding, emotionally intense partners (under age 3). Every parent is familiar with the morning negotiation: the small partner refuses to go to preschool, ignores the travel schedule, spontaneously alters the route (jumps in puddles), resists the dress code, and challenges the parent’s time management. How to reach an agreement in such cases? Parents know the key lies in empathetic communication, consistent boundaries, and reframing the situation – for instance, by explaining that today is yoga day with modelling clay at school. Conflict becomes collaboration – with a mutually understood goal and a workable tactic.

Developmental Leadership, Coaching, and Mentoring

The ability to develop another’s potential through questioning, leading by example, and giving positive feedback. A focus on long-term growth rather than immediate results, and a deliberate approach to creating learning experiences. Regular management of structured developmental activities with clearly defined goals (e.g., motor coordination, language development, social skills). Coaching and positive parenting methods – with observable weekly progress. In practice, this might mean setting a development plan with three key goals: eating with a spoon, using the potty, and expanding vocabulary. Working with demonstration, repetition, and encouraging feedback (“You did it yourself – bravo!”). The result: mealtimes without porridge on the floor, successful potty training, and the child’s first sentences with verbs. These goals are reached gradually but with lasting effect – as is fitting in long-term development.

Decision-Making and Crisis Management

Experience making quick and effective decisions with limited information. The ability to remain calm under pressure, combining intuition with analysis, and leading others through uncertainty with a clear action plan. Parenting often means making immediate decisions under time constraints and emotional intensity. Situations must be resolved with a focused, balanced approach, using instant risk assessment and rapid scenario planning. For example, when the TV remote stops working, batteries are missing, and there's a chance the youngest child has swallowed them – the parent must swiftly assess the risk, arrange childcare for other kids, and initiate communication with medical professionals. All of this is done calmly and methodically to avoid panic. Crises must be managed without escalation, ensuring safety and stability for all involved.

Financial and Resource Management

Effective budgeting, expense optimisation, and rational resource allocation. The ability to maintain high quality while working with limited funds and to find sustainable solutions for daily needs. Management of family budget structures, oversight of daily and periodic expenses, and optimised purchasing based on priorities and growth goals. Ensuring a lasting balance between needs and limited resources. For instance, when a child outgrows several sizes in shoes and clothes within three months, the budget must be reorganised without additional funding. Rapid cost reallocation is needed, reducing less critical expenses and focusing on essentials with long-term returns. Existing resources (e.g., seasonal items, usability potential) must be reassessed, and a new purchasing cycle developed based on forecasted growth. The outcome: a sustainable balance between quality, relevance, and financial discipline.

Adaptability and Change Management

Flexible thinking and readiness to learn from situations. The ability to apply change management approaches when changes occur without warning. Skills in designing alternative action plans and maintaining emotional stability in shifting circumstances. Even when a child’s favourite food has been planned and stocked for the week, there may come a sudden declaration: “I don’t like it anymore.” Instead of reacting emotionally or insisting on the original plan, the parent applies emotional intelligence: listening without judgment, normalising the situation, and quickly offering alternative choices. Only then can cooperation continue without loss of control or conflict, and the planned daily rhythm be maintained. Resilience and self-regulation help manage unexpected changes with dignity and balance.

Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Resilience

Empathy is the ability to identify and name emotions, manage stress, and create a safe emotional space for others. These skills form the foundation of leadership – trust, humanity, and broad perception. Consciously developed abilities in self-regulation, compassion, and emotional support create a balanced environment, where long-term relationships are built on trust and understanding, not authority and control. When a child refuses their nap – during the only focus time in a parent’s day – it’s essential not to take the resistance personally. Instead, identify the root emotion, name the feeling (“I’m overwhelmed”), and offer an alternative – a shared quiet moment. The result: a safe emotional space, mutual trust, and a preserved daily rhythm – without control mechanisms (and perhaps with some unfinished tasks). It’s a conscious choice – to lead with empathy, not authority – an approach equally valuable in professional settings, like when a colleague knocks on your door just as you’re finishing a critical report.

Although in Latvia it's common to call it “parental leave,” it’s clear that rest is scarce during this period. If you choose to include this time in your experience description, do so with your head held high, confidently outlining the broad range of skills gained during this phase. As we’ve seen – there are many. In fact, parental leave might be the most demanding training one can go through, and few corporate roles can match the intensity and responsibility that come with parenting.