I'm Maura Aronsmeli, and this is The Anxious Achiever.

We look at stories from business leaders who have dealt with anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges,

how they fell down, how they pick themselves up, and how they hope workplaces can change in the future.

When we go to work, we're not just workers.

We're also partners, parents.

We're the same people we were at home.

We might be struggling ourselves with anxiety. We may be in intensive therapy that demands a tough transition back into the workday. Or we might have children who are

dealing with a medical or a mental health issue which wears on us and on our ability to perform

effectively at work.

We can't separate these parts of ourselves, and the thing is we shouldn't.

Managing at all the glorious mess of it all makes us better leaders if we're intentional about the mess we dwell in.

And oh my gosh, things can get messy.

For those of us anxious achievers who strive to reach perfection, we're And oh my gosh, things can get messy.

For those of us anxious achievers who strive to reach perfection, we have to seriously readjust our expectations when we become working parents.

But I really believe, and I really believe this, that we become better leaders by waiting

through the imperfect mess.

This is something my next guest understands well.

Stu Friedman is a professor at the Wharton School of Business,

and he's co-author of the book,

Parents Who Lead, the Leadership Approach you need to Parent with Purpose,

fuel your career, and create a richer life.

Thank you. purpose, fuel your career, and create a richer life. I'll never forget you telling me about early in your career in the 80s when you first started

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