Celebrating Corporate Moms – The Masters Of Multitasking — Part 4
Tashana BriscoePeople & Culture Manager, DigicelChild: Remero Brown Jr, 8 years
Briscoe leads learning, development, and employee experience at Digicel Jamaica.
AW: How have you had to change the way you carry out your roles as a mother and a professional this year?
TB: The year 2020 into 2021, I had to balance my roles like never before. I now realise that the only way to survive and be my best in all facets of my life is to ensure I can show up and be my best. This means resting, taking care of myself, nourishing my mind, body, and soul. So I have been reading a lot, especially on parenting and leadership.
Prior to February 2021, we used separate rooms for school and work and alternated monitoring with family members. I had to use a lot of behaviour management techniques to help us balance. This includes full schedule timetable for the entire week and rewards charts.
In February, my workload increased and I had to make some adjustments. Now, to ensure he is properly monitored whilst I am in back-to-back meetings and presenting, I hired additional help to support me during these times. But one thing for sure, I use my breaks to check in on how he is doing and remind him to do his best.
I’m just grateful that my son is obedient and sometimes waits when I tell him I’m busy or stays until he gets a “Yes” nod.
Our weekends are filled with lots of fun! On Fridays it’s games night, Saturdays we Netflix and (chill with pop corn too) and on Sundays, we worship together.
AW: What is your motivation for giving your best both at home and at work?
TB: My motivation is adding value to everyone – to my son and to others.
AW: What is your number one attribute that you want your child to emulate?
TB: Lol [laugh out loud], sorry it has to be two: my relationship with God and my passion for service to others.
Tashima WalkerSales Operations Manager, Digicel BusinessChild: Isaac Mair, 8
Walker oversees the business processes and sales structure of the business solution team, while managing a team of eight sales operations executives. In short, her team helps to create operational efficiencies within Digicel Business to allow for improved delivery of its products and services.
AW: How have you had to change the way you carry out your roles as a mother and a professional this year?TW: The pandemic has created unique challenges, especially for the working professionals with children. However, I choose to see homeschooling as an opportunity to connect and be more involved in my son’s learning experience. Professionally, I have had to learn how to maintain a healthy work-life balance, as work and home are now happening in the same space. Some days it is harder than others, but my son is my accountability partner, he reminds me to turn off the laptop after 5:00 pm.
AW: What is your motivation for giving your best both at home and at work?TW: I am motivated by the level of integrity (values) which I hold myself to, especially as a parent. I am responsible for molding another person to take on life. My aim is to be the foundation/shoulders on which my son can stand/lean on as he grows older.
AW: What is your number one attribute that you want your child to emulate?TW: I want my son to be bold enough to ask/go for whatever he wants in life. It’s a quality I learnt late in my life and that’s why I want to bestow it on him from early out.
I am where I am and who I am today simply because I was not afraid to put myself out there and go for my goals.
Tracy-Ann SpenceChief Operating Officer, NCB Capital Markets LimitedChild: Carson, 5 months
Responsible for the Jamaican operations of NCB Capital Markets, with strategic oversight for investments, wealth management and alternatives, and fund management, Tracy-Ann Spence says she really thought she knew all about multitasking until she became a MOM (master of multi-tasking) in November 2020.
“Juggling being a brand new mom and a busy professional during a pandemic has been challenging, to say the least. But they say nothing great ever happens in your comfort zone. I have no pre-pandemic reference point as it relates to my experience as a mommy, but as a workaholic, I have had to change the way I approach work to integrate mommy life and work life in these unprecedented times,” she shared.
She said at first, it was adjusting to the new concept of work from home, and not just adjusting for herself, but being able to lead her team through their own adjustments.
“I was navigating a first-time pregnancy in a pandemic, but I still had to give my best at work; that’s just me. Work has always gotten my best; sometimes, admittedly, at my own expense. But I had to now figure out how to give work as well as my baby the best of me. The planner in me thought I had it figured out until I had to actually juggle a demanding baby, plus the demanding job. Ha! There is no amount of preparation that could help master this puzzle.“
The role of mother, she shared, has been her most challenging yet rewarding role to date.
“I was completely flung out of my comfort zone. I was someone who was used to being at my desk/office, intensely focused on work and going, going, going. That approach, of course, does not work when you are now fully responsible for a human being other than yourself who needs to be at the top of your priority list and constantly craves your attention. I had to develop ways to juggle and know when to switch off and on.
Regarding working from home, she said there were upsides and downsides.
“But I try to focus on the good in all things. The biggest plus for me is knowing that I get to see and spend time with Carson that I probably wouldn’t get to do if I went into the office every day. And while it seems as if the workload and number of meetings have increased ten-fold since the pandemic, being able to see my son smile at me during different points of the day makes my days so much better.”
Her motivation for giving her best both at home and at work, she says, is that she is self-driven and strives to succeed and leave her mark in everything she does.
“I am therefore naturally motivated to do my best at home and at work. At work, I have a team who depends on me to steer them in the right direction while supporting them on their journeys to achieving individual and collective success. At the same time, I have a little one who is also depending on me — to protect him as best as I can and lead him in the right direction. While life is nowhere near perfect and I will continue meet hurdles along the way, my drive to ensure I don’t fail myself and those depending on me motivates me to give my best both at home and at work.”
And the number one attribute she wants her son to emulate?
“Be driven. You can achieve anything you want to once you put your mind to it and work hard.”
READ:
