Leading Through Overlapping Roles

As you may already know, I am a mother of two young children.

I have demanding commitments that requires focus and consistency.

At the same time, I am building something new with Her Leadership Playbook, something deeply aligned with who I am becoming.

And lately, I also need to be with my parents in Türkiye. Present, available and emotionally steady, more than ever.

All of this while living abroad, having recently moved from Thailand to Spain, still finding our rhythm as a family, still settling into a new country, a new pace, a new version of home.

If I am being honest, it feels confusing. The overlapping roles and competing needs brings up a constant internal question of where I should be and whether I am doing enough in each place.

So instead of trying to push through, I am choosing to sit down and pause. And I am choosing to work through a few reflective questions for myself. That pause eventually is eventually turning into this blog, because I realised this is not a personal challenge.

It is a leadership one.

There are seasons when life requires you in more than one place at the same time.

At work.

At home.

As a leader.

As a parent.

As a daughter.

And some family matters simply cannot be postponed.

At Her Leadership Playbook, we do not believe in pretending these seasons do not exist.

We also do not believe in glorifying exhaustion as commitment.

Leadership, especially human leadership, is about knowing how to respond when life rearranges your priorities without asking for permission.

So what does HLP recommend in moments like this?

1- Name the SEASON you are in.

Not every season is meant for acceleration. Some are meant for holding, supporting, stabilising. When you name the season, you stop negotiating with reality and start leading within it.

2- REDEFINE what leadership looks like right now.

Leadership is not always about visibility or output. Sometimes it is about steadiness, decision clarity, and protecting what truly needs your attention. This is not stepping back. This is leading differently.

3- FOCUS on essentials, not expectations.

Ask yourself what truly requires your presence and what is driven by habit or external pressure. Reducing noise is not failure. It is strategic care.

4- COMMUNICATE clearly and without apology.

You do not owe long explanations. A grounded statement of what is possible right now builds trust far more than over explaining or disappearing.

5- ALLOW yourself to receive SUPPORT.

This is often the hardest part. Strong leaders are used to carrying. But leadership also includes knowing when to lean and when to let others hold parts of the load.

As I worked through these questions myself, I start to internalize that being present for your family does not make you less committed to your work, honouring personal responsibility does not weaken your leadership identity and djusting your pace does not erase your ambition.

At HLP, we believe leadership is choosing consciously when life asks you to lead in a more human way.

If you are in a similar season, you are not behind.

You are responding to what matters most.

And that, too, is leadership.