Courtney Cecil is the founder of Working Moms Movement, a coaching community and platform dedicated to helping mothers thrive in both work and life. A former corporate executive who led culture change at a Fortune 50 company, Courtney is now a fierce advocate for making “mom life” sustainable. She is the host of the podcast The Life Management System for Working Moms and lives with her husband and two sons. Her journey from the C-suite to entrepreneurship is a masterclass in ditching the overwhelm and designing a life that is present, purposeful, and free from chronic stress.
I’m a former corporate executive turned entrepreneur, but mostly, I’m an advocate for making work and mom life sustainable. I launched the Working Moms Movement after experiencing the impossible standards placed on mothers firsthand. Today, I use my background in systems engineering, behavior change, and leadership to help women take back control of their time and energy. My mission is simple: to help working moms build systems that protect their energy and make success sustainable.
Lower the bar to get it done! I refer to it as “B- work.” For example, my boys are notorious for getting their clothes near the hamper, but not in it; it’s still movement in the right direction. As an entrepreneur, I’ve had to embrace that B- standard to value progress over perfection. A draft deck or rough outline gives me an opportunity to get results; revving to get something perfectly polished never does.
It would be called “Plan, Flex, Repeat.” I believe in intentional routines, but with a soft grip. I prep like everything is going to go smoothly, then pivot because it inevitably won’t.
Director of Lost & Found (and Found Again, and Again). Socks, water bottles, my husband’s keys…even emotional regulation. If it’s missing, I’m expected to locate it. I always joke that I’m a parent to three boys: ages 8, 10, and 42. I’m quite jealous of how they have someone else doing their thinking for them!
I swore I’d never go overboard with gifts. I had visions of intentional, minimalist parenting focused on experiences. But somewhere between holiday sales and the look on their faces, I lost the plot. We are starting to phase out gifts for family experiences, but we’re still a work in progress!
I lowered the bar! I used to think leadership meant being on top of everything (e.g., responding immediately and over-preparing). Parenting rewired me to realize my capacity and energy has limits. I started making faster decisions, skipping unnecessary meetings, and trusting my team more. I became a better leader when I stopped trying to do it all or asking for it all and started asking, “What actually matters here?”
The idea of a “flexible schedule” as an entrepreneur is grossly misunderstood. People say, “At least you have flexibility,” as if I’m doing yoga between Zooms. Flexible doesn’t mean less demanding; it often means constant context-switching (e.g., unloading the dishwasher during a client call or answering emails in the pickup line) and that I never get to be “off”. Flexible, sure. But the overlapping is exhausting.
Becoming a parent made me so much better at setting boundaries. Once I had a nanny who needed to be relieved or a carpool line to hit, I had to get real clear on what was urgent and what was never mine to carry. It forced me to prioritize and delegate in ways I never would have otherwise. Interestingly, once I honored those boundaries at home, I became a better manager at work because I started protecting my team’s time, too.
This is for sure a “B- stage of life,” and I’m proud of that! Success looks like:
Death to RTO (Return to Office)! As a former culture executive, I believe in being together, but I’d put a hard cap on three in-office days per week. “Propinquity” can be created by being intentional and does not depend on proximity. Parents are no less committed, but we also manage so much outside the office. I have five hours a day of “parenting work” on weekdays alone. Structured flexibility creates loyalty and prevents burnout.
I had my boys at 31 and 32, which felt like the “sweet spot”. I had real traction in my career, but didn’t want to risk major complications or not having the energy to enjoy their childhood. While it felt a little early compared to some of my peers, it was the right decision for me.
The most intentional choice I made was having them close together. That wasn’t accidental; it was a systems decision as much as a family one. I knew it would be wildly hard in the short-term, but I wanted to consolidate the “disruption.” By having them back-to-back, I could group the sleep deprivation, the diaper years, and the daycare logistics into one intense season rather than stretching them out.
I recognize how lucky I was to have that option, as I know not everyone has an easy path with fertility or timing. But for me, that choice shaped everything, from how I paced my career moves to how I built my support systems.
Looking back, I think the universe knew I was impatient! It gave me everything I could handle all at once. While it nearly broke me some days, it also gave me immense clarity and conviction. It taught me how to make bold choices with both ambition and alignment in mind.
I approached parental leave the same way I approached any major project: with a rigorous plan, a clear calendar, and backup coverage. Before I left, I made sure every process was documented and every deadline was handed off. I was determined not to be the person checking emails from the hospital room. I also believe I over-prepared and, like most others, I realized not much changed while I was away.
But coming back was a different story. No checklist could prepare me for the identity shift or the emotional whiplash of handing my newborn over to someone else and knowing how many “firsts” I’d be missing. I cried in the shower every day in the two weeks leading up to my return.
What truly saved me was lowering the bar on purpose. I gave myself permission to ramp back slowly and stopped pretending I was “back to normal.” I wasn’t; I was building an entirely new normal. My support system became my lifeline, including:
The Industrial & Systems Engineer in me came out in full force during those early days. I started calling these strategies my “Life Management System,” and it’s the exact same framework I teach my coaching clients today. Parental leave taught me how to plan, but the return taught me how to ask for help without guilt. Both were incredibly hard, but both were worth it.
Your time, energy, and money are limited resources. The best advice is to get crystal clear on what you value spending them on and let that drive your decisions. The biggest trap is trying to hold onto everything you used to do and wondering why you’re burned out. Balance doesn’t come from getting more done on your to-do list; it comes from doing less, on purpose.
