Succeeding as a First-Time Parent

Navigate work successfully as a first-time parent

Just when you're starting to figure out this parent thing, wham, your leave is over.

Take a deep breath, you'll get through it. The first few weeks and months as a working parent are hard, but they can be truly affirming, too. People want to see you succeed, they'll support you if you ask, and you'll find you have energy stores and resources you didn't know existed. You can make great strides forward in your career as a new parent. Succeeding as a First-Time Parent can help.

This volume will help you: understand all your options for childcare; have essential conversations with your spouse or partner; stay connected during leave and hit the ground running; get the support you need at work; stay on the career track you want to be on; set reasonable expectations for yourself; carry on amid inevitable exhaustion and emotional upheaval; and set your family up for success.

The HBR Working Parents series with Daisy Dowling, series editor, supports you as you anticipate challenges, learn how to advocate for yourself more effectively, juggle your impossible schedule, and find fulfillment at home and at work. Whether you're up with a newborn or planning the future with your teen, you'll find the practical tips, strategies, and research you need to make working parenthood work for you.


  1. Generative AI : The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

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  2. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Updated and Expanded (featuring "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy" by Michael E. Porter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

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  3. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Change Management, Updated and Expanded (featuring "Leading Change" by John P. Kotter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, John P. Kotter, Frances Frei, Vijay Govindarajan, Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

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  4. Authenticity, Identity, and Being Yourself at Work

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  5. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Across Cultures

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Jeanne Brett, Yves L. Doz, Erin Meyer, Hal Gregersen

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  6. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Making Smart Decisions

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Daniel Kahneman, Ram Charan

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  7. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Change Management (including featured article "Leading Change," by John P. Kotter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, John P. Kotter, W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne

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  8. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Communication (with featured article "The Necessary Art of Persuasion," by Jay A. Conger)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Robert B. Cialdini, Nick Morgan, Deborah Tannen

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  9. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy (including featured article "What Is Strategy?" by Michael E. Porter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Michael E. Porter, W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne

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  10. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Collaboration

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, Morten Hansen

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  11. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership (with featured article "What Makes an Effective Executive," by Peter F. Drucker)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Peter F. Drucker, Daniel Goleman, Bill George

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  12. Dealing with Difficult People

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