Released On 23 March 2026
Lee's blog: Please Complete Your Objectives
I always feel reflective around birthday seasons in our household – I try to take the opportunity to reflect on whats been happening in a seemingly constantly forward moving scheme. What has changed since the last birthday, what should I be looking forward to or preparing for in the year ahead?
As my eldest child is growing and maturing so too is her need for more freedom to grow, to learn, to be independent, to make her own choices and consequentially the demand on me as a parent to adapt my own ways to allow her to do this. We chatted this year on her birthday about being 9 and what she would expect – to her credit there were some very considered and thoughtful elements
- To be allowed to walk to school alone or with her friends
- To be allowed decide which extra curricular activities to continue
- To take responsibility for her room contents and cleanliness without nagging from me – I was only mildly offended she considered me the source of the nagging
- To take responsibility for her clothes, note when things are needed for activities and not be last minute about it
- To have sleepovers
- To decide and stick to a screen time policy.
This season is also the time in work where we wrap up our reflections of the past year and set expectations and objectives for the year ahead. I would never want to directly link the parent child relationship with all of its complexities and unconditionalities to a working environment sometimes there are comparable lifecycle stages in careers that spring to mind and I am reminded that the annual review and planning process can also be reflective of changing relational and responsibility dynamics.
While less marked by age there are periods in your career growth path that lead to changes in structures and ways of being that develop you and your career over time. I have been reflecting on career development and thinking about how there are phases in your career when you find yourself ready to be allowed to do and show more. You want to set out your plan of what you are ready for, what you want to stop doing and acknowledge the responsibility you have to progress . You want every year or every progression to be an opportunity to show more of what you can do.
In the end, these moments of reflection whether sparked by a birthday candle or pop up to complete an appraisal remind me that growth is never a single event. Watching my daughter step into her 9th year with such clarity about the freedoms she wants and the responsibilities she’s ready to carry is lovely (albeit slightly petrifying!!) and it nudges me to continue to be excited by the professional journey I still have ahead.
Lee is a mum, accountant, coffee lover and sometimes runner. She is married, has two young girls and works mostly remotely for a London based bank.
No Comments