Diary of a Modern Manager: Juggling Deadlines and New Responsibilities

The real scenarios managers face with working mothers.

Each week, we’ll feature real scenarios managers face with working mothers on their team and how to navigate towards a solution.

Scenario One: Juggling Deadlines and New Responsibilities

Tina (Manager) needs to deliver constructive feedback to Alison, a senior direct report who recently returned from parental leave and is balancing caregiving with work. She has shown dedication, creativity, and has been logging long hours at night, but is still struggling to prioritize and delegate tasks. Most recently, she missed a critical deadline. What should Tina say to help Alison grow from this?

Our Response

Tina should recognize Alison’s commitment and frame feedback around operational impact (team delays, missed grant deadlines) rather than intent or hours worked. Tina should consider context in assessing the situation. Has Alison always struggled to prioritize, manage time, and delegate work, or are they new challenges? Has Alison asked for support throughout the project? Did she proactively communicate that deadlines were going to be missed?

Before meeting with Alison

“I want to use our next check-in to debrief the outreach campaign, discuss what worked and what could be improved for next time.”

Tina should schedule a meeting with Alison, and let her know in advance that it will be about giving and receiving feedback on this particular project to avoid catching Alison off guard and ensuring that she has the chance to come prepared to have the conversation.

Entering the meeting

“Before we dive into our meeting, I want to ask how you’re doing overall. How has the transition back from leave been for you?”

Tina should enter the conversation with curiosity and empathy, resisting jumping to conclusions without adequate information. Tina should recognize that Alison may have a lot happening outside of work while maintaining clear expectations and accountability for missed deadlines. Starting the meeting with a general check in about how Alison is doing will go a long way.

During the meeting

“I noticed that you missed the deadline we set to senior leadership for final review. This created a significant delay in getting our final product out the door, and put our contract with the customer at risk. I want to better understand what happened here, and what we can do to avoid this in the future.”

Tina should approach the meeting from a place of curiosity, resisting the impulse to draw conclusions without adequate information. She should focus on stating a specific observation or fact, provide context on why this matters, and ask questions to better understand what happened.

Ending the meeting

Tina should end with concrete actions and a plan to check in again. For example, Alison might benefit from a project management tool to keep project work moving when she’s not available, and should be given access and/or additional training. After the conversation, Tina should send an email summarizing the discussion, next steps, and a time to revisit progress. She should also call out improvements as she sees them.