Parents might be your best employees

My hiring philosophy is quite simple: find people who raise the bar. In practice, many of those people turn out to be parents.

That’s not a coincidence, but it does require a deliberate choice about what you’re actually optimizing for, because the default settings of most high-growth companies screen parents out before they ever get a chance to prove what they can do.

AI changed what great performance looks like

Being great at your job is no longer about who can put in the most hours. It’s about who can identify the highest-priority problems, use AI to accelerate execution, and drive work to completion with exceptional judgment and taste. The people who excel in that environment operate independently, move quickly, and deliver outcomes without heavy overhead or team coordination. They are comfortable owning processes end-to-end and willing to start from scratch. 

Parents are often very good at this because they’re forced into prioritization in a way most people aren’t. They focus on what matters, cut what doesn’t, and bring genuine ownership to whatever they take on. 

Parents also tend to bring a different level of focus and urgency because they have clearer priorities. Many are thinking explicitly about long-term outcomes: long-term financial security, future-proofing careers, and staying close to where the world is going. That often translates into higher ownership and stronger follow-through.

Working parents are an advantage, but you have to design your company to actually support them. Over a quarter of my team are parents, and that’s taught me three key lessons about what works.

1. Offer benefits that support a full life

Benefits matter because they are a tangible reflection of your commitment to supporting your employees. They are giving so much to building a business, and this is one way to show that appreciation back. 

Beyond the baseline benefits like healthcare and paid family leave, the most valuable benefits are the ones that remove real friction from people’s lives: fertility coverage, estate planning, and support with navigating complex financial decisions. Some sort of child care stipend (ex. daycare, emergency child care) is on my wish list as the business matures. These are high-stakes and often inaccessible without support, and can cost $10,000 to $30,000 out of pocket. Offering them shows you understand your employees’ needs beyond the day-to-day workday. 

2. Make flexibility explicit

“Flexibility” doesn’t work unless it’s clearly defined and normalized. At our company, it’s understood that people may step away in the early evening for family time and come back online later. We expect people to use the flexibility they need, but just be transparent about it through practices like leaving calendar blocks. The important part is that this isn’t hidden or apologized for—it’s just communicated and normalized. The practice also forces you to focus on outcomes, rather than hours worked. 

For example, I’m typically offline from around 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for dinner and bedtime, then return to work after. I also work Sundays. I keep my workouts visible on my calendar, and my team knows I’m not in the office before 9 a.m. most days. My team knows I keep a more dynamic routine where some days I might start early, and others I might start later because I’m taking my daughter to a pediatrician appointment.

However, this approach does require heavy trust in your team and a more “hands off” approach to management. In practice, it means that employees drive work to completion independently, and only pull others in when it meaningfully improves the outcome.

3. Normalize what being a working parent actually looks like at your company 

When employees join our company, we are honest with them that the model isn’t about perfect balance, but rather learning how to integrate work and life in a way that leaves time for both. That transparency starts at the interview process. We are very open about the fact that we are an early-stage company, and with that comes long work hours; however, we have significant  flexibility in when those hours happen. I find that it’s helpful to share examples of what a common work schedule looks like so candidates can decide if it’s a match for their family’s needs. 

It’s also on leadership to establish these norms and set a precedent. Our CEO/cofounder (who happens to be my husband) has two different blocks on his calendar: “Workout + child pickup” and “Parenting.” Our other cofounder has regular “leave” blocks at the end of the day to cue he’s leaving for family time. Everybody knows they’re both dads to toddlers, and in communicating their own schedule expectations, they’re also opening the door for others to do the same. 

The last piece for leaders is to set an operational cadence that works for your team. I’ve moved away from recurring one-on-ones. Instead, I set quarterly priorities with each direct report and stay in touch async. It takes trust, but it gives them room to lead. For tougher projects, I’ll get more involved and meet regularly. But the norm is that all meetings are modifiable by attendees, so anyone can adjust if something comes up.

At the end of the day, what matters is that these tradeoffs are chosen and understood, and that we are upfront about the reality. Some parents opt out of high-intensity environments, while others actively choose them. Both choices are valid. In my experience, being upfront with candidates has shown me that many people are willing to lean in and figure out the work-life integration that is best for them. 

As work changes in the AI era, the best operators in the market are looking for meaningful work and the upside that comes with it. Many of them are parents. Design for how they work, and you’ll find them.

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