Superwoman Syndrome: Why I Walked Away from a Corporate Career and Never Looked Back

I’ve seen it all too often in my career.

You know exactly who they are. Those women who seem to do everything.
Raise a family.
Run businesses.
Crush deadlines.
Read ten books a month.
Remember recitals and crazy hair days.
Answer emails at midnight.
Show up looking polished, smiling, composed.

Superwomen.

I spent over two decades building a pre-kids career in an industry dominated by strong-minded, high-performing women. Bold. Outspoken. Strategic. Bad-ass boss babes and professional powerhouses.

Ironically, many of the top seats at the table were still filled by men - but the women making it all happen? They were impressive as hell.

I admired them deeply. I studied them. I wondered how they did it all and quietly dreamed of the day I’d have my life together enough to be that organized, that composed, that respected.

From the outside, it looked flawless.

From the inside? It was something else entirely.

When the Boardroom Walls Come Down

I watched colleagues move through a revolving door of maternity leaves. Someone always leaving with a send-off ‘baby-shower’ over Zoom, ‘fresh meat'‘ always on their way in, hair glossy, heels (and hopes) high.

Twelve months later, those same women would return. Sure they had dark circles under their eyes, but with Starbucks in-hand, calendars packed. And more often than not, a promotion waiting for them.

On paper, it looked like success, but as I climbed closer to upper management, I started seeing the cracks. Behind closed doors, behind the titles, behind the LinkedIn announcements…these women were crumbling.

Leaving their infants all day with childcare they secured the moment they found out they were pregnant, while quietly admitting they just wanted to be home snuggling their babies.

Wishing they had time to wash their hair today (or yesterday, or the day before…) making do with dry shampoo and a messy bun that had become part of their brand.

Staying glued to their desks well past 5 p.m., answering emails late into the evening because closing the laptop ‘on time’ was still silently frowned upon.

All the while, they were praised. Celebrated.

“Wow. Look at you. Superwoman.”

“How do you do it all?”

Here’s the truth: You don’t.

You can’t, at least not without a village, without outsourcing your life, without sacrificing time with your children, your partner, your body, your mental health, yourself.

And yet, Superwoman is still the goal.

Conjuring Confidence through Compliments

Somehow, we’ve been conditioned to believe being called Superwoman is the highest compliment. Because she does it all. Because she says yes. Because she can do absolutely anything and everything and she kills it.

But how is it a compliment if you’re carrying an overflowing plate to a table where you don’t even get a seat?

We clap for women who take on more. Who stretch themselves thinner. Who don’t complain. Who say yes. Because in corporate culture, if they don’t say yes, someone else will.

It. Doesn’t. Make. Sense.

Giving Myself to Motherhood

When I took my maternity leave with my firstborn, I knew something instantly and unequivocally:

I wanted to give myself to motherhood.

There wasn’t another option in my heart.

When I told colleagues I was expecting, the first question wasn’t “How are you feeling?”, it was, “What daycares are you putting your name down for?” All I wanted to think about was the kind of mother I would be, not which stranger I’d leave my baby with a year and a half later so I could attend a meeting that could’ve been an email.

But I stayed quiet.
Because that’s what you do when you’re climbing the ladder. You nod. You smile. You play along.

I was told I could do it all.
I was offered the promotion.
Because of course I’d want to be Superwoman too, right?

Planning a Different Path

What matters to moms is that not everyone has the opportunity to stay home, and that needs to change. I want to see an economy that supports mothers who want to stay with their children. One that gives families real options instead of impossible choices.

My husband and I planned. We invested early in property and in our careers with the intention of creating flexibility for our future family. I knew I wanted to work from home in some capacity. I just had no idea where that decision would lead me. All I knew was even when my oldest was just a tiny heartbeat on a monitor, I couldn’t imagine any path that didn’t involve spending as much time with her as possible, especially while she was little.

So when the promotion was offered…
When the door was wide open…
I finally asked myself…

What if I didn’t want it anymore?

Walking away from a corporate identity you’ve spent decades building is terrifying.
I was a national manager. The face of a brand. The 20-something year old women who were early in their careers reached out to me for leadership, strategy and advice the way I had to those my senior.

And suddenly, I was choosing a path that didn’t come with a title, a salary or a performance review. I wasn’t running from something. I was walking toward alignment.

Toward presence.
Toward my family.
Toward a version of success that didn’t require burnout as a badge of honour.

And I never looked back.

Today, I’m a mom blogger. A kids digital creator. A woman building something from the ground up on my own terms.

I still hustle.
I still create.
I still send e-mails at midnight.

But I also eat lunch with my kids. I witness milestones. I don’t miss the magic in between meetings.

Superwoman syndrome told me I had to do everything at once, or I’d fail.
Motherhood taught me that doing what matters most is more than enough.

And if that means stepping off the ladder entirely?

So be it.

Because there are people out there who see success as a cost, and I’m not about to put a price tag on my family.