Friends and family get paid to watch your kids

WHAT’S ON DECK

• Tell Me More: Sweden Sets an Example for Parental Leave… Again

• Troublemaker Spotlight: Kirby Porter, Chief Brand Officer, Unrivaled Basketball

• Dear FQ: Why Am I Always Tasked with Extra Work?

• Poll the Pack: What’s the Determining Factor for Career Advancement?

TELL ME MORE

Grandma and Grandpa have entered the equation.

When it comes to parental leave, the rest of the world has looked to Sweden since 1974, when the Nordic country first extended its parental leave policy to fathers. 50 years later, Sweden is making waves again.

Sweden’s extended childcare leave policy allows family and friends to care for a child and get paid. Swedish parents are allowed 480 days (!!) of paid leave per child. This new law allows them to transfer 45 days of that paid leave to a family member or friend, or 90 days if you’re a single parent.

This might sound utopian, but research shows that involvement from extended family can have a powerful impact on both children and parents:

• Children who have a high level of interaction with their grandparents are shown to have fewer emotional and behavioral problems.

• Parents are more likely to stay in the labor force if they have access to grandparents who take on childcare responsibilities.

• Active and involved grandparents can help prevent perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs).

The science is clear. When families come together to raise children, they feel happy, secure and supported. 

The key takeaway from Sweden? Whoever cares for the child gets paid. Against the backdrop of rising childcare costs in America, new parents are looking for affordable, trustworthy care for their children, and Sweden is showing that the answer might be closer than we think. After all, it takes a village! 

Bottom line: Share the responsibilities. Share the benefits.

TROUBLEMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Kirby Porter, Chief Brand Officer at Unrivaled

Imagine creating an entirely new sports league on par with the NFL, MLB, and WNBA. Well, that’s Unrivaled, a brand-new 3v3 women’s basketball league with the highest average salaries in women’s sports history. We should mention that all 36 initial players receive equity ownership, too. 

Behind the scenes, Kirby Porter is making the magic happen. The former Harvard Women’s Basketball captain and alumna has dedicated her career to opening doors to athletes on and off the court, from venture capital to the new game-changing league. And people are noticing. Kirby has been named on Forbes 30 Under 30, Sports Business Journal's New Voices Under 30, and Front Office Sports' Rising 25, just to name a few… 

FQ: What’s the worst career advice you’ve gotten?

KP: To simply put your head down and do the work in order to succeed.

You need to do the work, but you also need to put yourself out there. It's about doing good work, going above and beyond, and being a top performer in whatever field you're in, but you also need to build relationships. That's what really moves your career along—the combination of the work and the people.

What’s the best piece of non-obvious career advice you’ve gotten?

When I was playing basketball, I was always told to think about the 40-year plan, not the 4-year plan. Athletes get that advice—to think long-term about the decisions they're making, where they can succeed on and off the court. The same thing applies to career decisions. As you're building your portfolio of your experiences, how does it contribute to the long-term vision? It shouldn't just be about the next couple of years. 

What was a “heartbeat moment” for you in your career?

Unrivaled's opening night. Seeing everything our team worked on for the past 10 months happening in real life was beyond rewarding. Seeing our really big idea becoming a really big, tangible product, and then seeing it sustain over the season, just proved that the excitement that we built up was legitimate, and the work we put in was all worth it.

Imagine you just received your industry’s version of an Emmy award. Who are the three people you’re thanking that aren’t at your current gig?

My former coach, Kathy Delaney Smith, who was a great role model for me and an incredible example for a generation of women's basketball players. 

My first managers at Pepsi, who taught me the ropes of brand marketing.

And my parents, who have had high levels of belief in me throughout every chapter of my life. They help me do what I do.

Where have you caused trouble?

Unrivaled itself is good trouble. It's bold, innovative, groundbreaking, bringing something new to women's sports, and setting a new standard. It's making people think differently about what women's sports can look like, and that's good trouble. 

DEAR FQ

Your burning career questions answered

Paige McGovern of The Female Quotient weighs in:

First of all, context matters here. When you’re a part of a team and organization, there may occasionally be tasks assigned to you that do not fit within your original job description. Know that roles can evolve over time.

If you have a history of receiving these task requests, here are a few things that might help you decide your next steps: 

• Assess each task. What is it? How long will it take? Who is asking? Is this a one-time request or ongoing? Not all tasks are the same, and there is value in being a team player for your organization and colleagues.

• If you are not able to complete a task, communicate this professionally. If the new task is a priority, inform your manager of the impact on your current workload and request clarity on how you should proceed. 

• If these tasks are a regular occurrence that start impacting your day-to-day responsibilities, it’s time to have a larger conversation with your manager.

If it’s time to have the conversation with your manager, keep this in mind: 

• Seek clarification on your role—what’s expected, and what needs to be prioritized.

• If task requests originate from other team members, seek support on setting and communicating boundaries to the rest of your department. 

• Can you spend time training others to complete these types of tasks so more people know how to do them in the future? Is hiring additional support feasible?

Continue to assess tasks individually, show up for your team, and bring your boundaries with you. You got this!

P.S. Got a burning career question? Serve it up here to Dear FQ to score advice from a powerhouse leader in our network.

POLL THE PACK

Relationships are everything!

It’s all about people. Work relationships are the difference between promotions or disengagement. 

Healthy relationships with your colleagues and manager contribute to higher productivity and a sense of camaraderie, fostering a desire to stay and progress within an organization. Not to mention, genuinely liking the people you spend the majority of your time with makes work more inspiring, creative, and fun. 

For companies, strong workplace relationships are a big win, too. Happier employees contribute to lower turnover and higher workplace morale. 

How can you foster strong workplace relationships and advance your career, too? 

• Be intentional and set aside time each week to build relationships, like having coffee with your colleagues.

• Ask questions or their advice. There’s power in simply asking what someone did over the weekend or if they need help with something.

• Celebrate other people’s success! Recognizing the wins and contributions of your colleagues makes it much easier for them to know, like, and trust you. 

After all, what really moves your career along, according to Kirby? The combination of the work and the people.

Don’t forget to let us know what you think of The FQ Newsletter here. 

Xo,

The FQ