Meet Erin Engelke | Founder of Beauty in the Busyness, a movement and blog for working moms

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Engelke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Interestingly enough, as my success grew, I actually found more clarity about what is most important and how I should focus my time both personally and professionally. I became much more confident in the need for boundaries (not checking email while I’m on vacation, for instance) and giving myself adequate opportunities to unplug so when I am at work, I am fully recharged, present and efficient. I’d be lying if I told you it’s been an easy journey though. I’m a wife, mother of three children, community volunteer, executive coach, trainer, public speaker and writer. And that’s all above and beyond my full time role as CEO of a nonprofit. If I reflect on what makes juggling all of that the most challenging, it is without question the pull to do it all. To say yes, even when I know I should say no. Whenever I find myself filling my life with “to-dos” that don’t bring me joy, that’s the exact moment I feel out of balance and can’t be fully present at home or at work.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I began my career in corporate and agency PR and marketing, with every intent of rising the corporate ladder, but four years in, discovered my skills and experience could best be utilized in supporting the development, marketing and executive management efforts of the nonprofit sector. Little did I know how much I would fall in love with the nonprofit community! Over the past 16 years, I’ve led and managed teams at four notable charities – World Neighbors, Feed the Children, Sunbeam Family Services and now at Calm Waters Center for Children & Families where I serve as the agency’s youngest Executive Director. In all four of these roles, I stepped in at a time when change was greatly needed and when strong leadership was needed. I excel at building a team from the ground up – quickly identifying what needs to be done and rallying a staff to help execute a strategy. I love seeing my teams succeed! My success is their success. Most of all, I get such joy out of witnessing the change that can happen because of a powerful mission.

As my career has blossomed, so has my personal journey of motherhood. I struggled with infertility and lost four precious babies to miscarriage early on as a working professional. Once I was able to successfully have children, I have never taken them for granted and have made them a priority while also modeling for them the value of having a mother that pursues her own life’s goals and dreams. I, truthfully, felt alone for many, many years as a working mother though and struggled to find that work/life balance, which led me to create my movement and blog, Beauty in the Busyness, where I talk candidly about the struggles of leadership, motherhood and how to find joy…how to find the beauty…in all the busyness of life as working moms. I was so honored to be asked to speak on the topic of work/life balance as a TEDx speaker and have since spoken on stages across Oklahoma, helping other women (and men!) to resist the pull of balance and instead live a fulfilled life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oklahoma City is the 22nd largest city in the United States, and in my opinion, has the best food of any city I’ve ever visited, thanks to super talented local chefs! Any visitor that wants to experience this incredible city will get to eat their way through the town, beginning with a glass of Frose and the BB Salad at The Jones Assembly, followed up by the BEST chocolate cake from Cheever’s and then a ride on the Wheeler Park Ferris Wheel (which was the original Ferris wheel from Santa Monica, California). I would definitely want to take my friends to Midtown for fun, local shopping as well as catch a concert at the brand new Scissortail Park. Suffice it to say, I would need a good week to show them all my favorite hot spots!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have three people I’d love to give a shoutout to! For starters, my mother taught me the value of hard work and how to step outside of my comfort zone, even when I didn’t think I could do it! She continues to be a wonderful example of what it means to be a mother and servant leader.

As I began my career, I was privileged to work under the first female CEO of World Neighbors, an international development organization. She took a chance on me, seeing more potential in me than I even realized existed, and promoted me to Vice President of Marketing & Communications when I was 26 years old and 7 months pregnant with my first child. Her boldness, tenacity and strong leadership was an inspiration to me and the impetus for me to pour into the lives of other young potential leaders.

Later in my career, I worked for another CEO whose leadership style was unlike any other. He believed in the Southwest Airlines methodology – if you invest in your employees, they will provide the highest quality of customer service to their clients. He genuinely cared about me, my family, and my long term dreams, wanting to help see them come to fruition, even if it meant I no longer worked for him. I credit him for teaching me the value of true servant leadership and consider him a life-long mentor and friend.

Website: www.beautyinthebusyness.com

Instagram: @erinengelke

Linkedin: Erin Engelke

Facebook: www.facebook.com/beautyinthebusyness