Just fifty or so years ago it was commonplace for the husband in a marriage to have a job and for the wife to take care of the children at home. While this program might have worked perfectly back then, life is wildly different in this day and age, as both members in almost every relationship seem to have busy jobs to think about when planning for a family.

The idea alone of balancing career responsibilities with raising a child can be intimidating, but especially so if you’re running a business. As the boss, you have an additional amount of responsibility and you’re the one who makes all the major decisions. It might be difficult to imagine how the business can operate without you, so what is going to happen when you need to take months away on maternity leave?

As the person in charge, your main responsibilities have to be addressed far before your absence, and you’ll need to constantly look for ways to manage your time more effectively in the meantime. Time management, as we know, is critical as a business leader and you will now find that you have two babies to watch – your newborn and your business interest!

By planning how you will manage your priorities, you can put in place effective strategies, standards and boundaries that will help you perform at work and enjoy your time at home fully.

Ponder on what additional support you’re going to need both as a Managing Director and as a mother once your newborn has arrived and you have to go back to work. For example, what contingency plans can you put in place if your child becomes ill and nursery imposes one week isolation? Or if you have a nanny, what will you do if (or when) she suddenly becomes ill, goes on holiday or quits? This is definitely something that they don’t teach anyone at ante-natal classes, and it often really pays to create detailed back-up plans before something actually happens!

Many senior managers and CEOs make use of professional coaching to help them plan a smooth transition leading up to, during and beyond maternity leave.

In senior positions coaching for women is now commonplace and it’s certainly a sound investment in your work life integration as well as your business! You may well be used to working with consultants in other areas of the business to help you run your operation efficiently, so why not consider online life coaching as well?

Communication with all stakeholders is paramount – colleagues, employees and most importantly customers. If you inform customers of your forthcoming absence and let them know how you intend to cover for this to ensure a seamless service to them, you will grow their loyalty. Now is certainly the time to nurture the relationships with your existing client base rather than developing new ones, as you will not be able to closely oversee the delicate process of rapport building new clients.

As a leader, you are probably well aware of the importance of delegation. However, if this has not been your forte, now is the time to build up your delegation muscle! As you get closer towards your maternity leave, increase the delegation and make sure that you are training your “number two” in as many areas as you can safely hand over.

In short, your four essential success criteria for planning a smooth transition to your maternity leave are:

1. Seek Support

2. Plan

3. Communicate

4. Delegate

Once you’ve done what you can to prepare for your absence, relax and enjoy your new “promotion” to motherhood!

Amanda Alexander is the CEO of Coaching Mums. She is a widely renowned ICF accredited coach, who for more than six years, has been providing her services to thousands of working moms from across the Globe in an effort to bring balance back into their lives, help them lose their guilt, show them how to find the time to reinvent their passions, and most of all, to have fun every day! For truly inspiring articles and cutting edge professional coaching tips, sign up to receive our absolutely brilliant free newsletter “Inspire”, right now!