I had coffee with a female acquaintance the other day to talk about her future career prospects. Six months ago she had given birth to twins, and while she originally thought work, and her life, would eventually be the same as they were before children, she was now having trouble returning to her pre-baby routine. I smile now as I remember my early post-baby perspective, “This is just a temporary situation. Once I get some sleep again, I will be back to my old self.” After 18 months of interrupted sleep, “sick days” where I was not the one sick, and a laptop bag full of diapers, pacifiers, crayons, and ground up Cheerios, I suddenly realized that life had changed. Luckily, I think my friend has reached this understanding much sooner.

Part of the issue is that many of us built professional careers by investing all of our waking hours in our work. We have perpetuated the belief that the number of hours in the office is the litmus test for loyalty and achieving results. Let’s face it – if you are relatively smart and willing to spend all of your waking hours at work, you get promoted. There exists a macho attitude that endurance is the mark of great leadership. Those people that habitually leave at 5pm indicate early on they are not interested in prime projects or the elevator to the top floor.

It is especially tough for moms, I think. In the first few months post maternity we are subjected to an even bigger career test. “Will she come back full time? Will she want flexibility? Will she leave?” Even if you can convince everyone you are staying, everything you do is seen as a projection of your entire future career. “She never took sick or vacation time before. Now she is out every week. I am not sure she is as committed as she once was.” Suddenly, your personal reasons for being out are also important and a matter of lengthy discussion. “Is your nanny really late again?” or “Why can’t you stay for 6pm meeting? Oh, you have to pick up your child? I see.” I also really love the recommendations. “How about you go now, pick up your child from daycare, feed him dinner, then come back when everyone is asleep, let’s say, 7pm?“ And finally there are the ‘feats of strength’ challenges. “Um, do you think you could fly to Tokyo next week to attend the partner conference? I know you haven’t slept in 4 months and your staff handled this before but we really think it needs to be you this time.” It is no wonder so many professional moms opt-out – leave the workforce and their high-level careers – so they can stay home with their children.

My colleague, a successful Operations Vice President who has been instrumental in building her organization, is one way or another going to step back from her career right now. It is not that she wants to stay-at-home; she recognizes how much she loves her work and how her interests and skill set are not amenable to full time childcare duties. But her work is one of those fast-paced, binary (“on” or “off”) careers requiring 60+ hours per week and she isn’t willing to relegate her family relationship time to late evenings and weekends. If she stays at work, she risks being sidelined (mommy-tracked), failing to deliver optimal results (at work and at home), or burnout.

The crazy thing is; people like her are exactly who we need in leadership roles today. Moe Grzelakowski studied the traits of 50 female leaders who were moms in her book, “Mother Leads Best.” Not surprisingly, she found women honed critical leadership skills through motherhood and these skills are exactly those often missing in organizations today; Values-based leadership, empathy, humility, long-term perspective, and maturity. Add to that the ability to diaper a child with one hand while conducting an overseas teleconference with the other and I think it is clear moms are all about productivity. What sucks most is if my friend leaves her job for the unpaid joy of full time mothering, statistics say she will only be out on average for 2.2 years, she will have a very difficult time re-entering and she will take a 38% pay cut to do so. Ouch!

There is currently a world-wide leadership shortage. I know this seems hard to believe with all of the labor arbitrage to India and China, but it is true. India projects to need 5000 new CEOs per year for the next 10 years and has no idea where they will come from. The baby boomer generation will leave the workforce over this same time and yet should continue to consume products and services somebody needs to produce. Further, flattened organizations and a lack of succession planning have left dangerously few managers ready to lead. Look at runaway executive compensation: Companies are chasing a shrinking labor pool for top roles and therefore costs are continuing to rise.

My point? They need us, ladies. And where there is a need, there is a solution. Don’t opt out. Instead, ask your organization for what you need. If they won’t give it to you, find an organization that will. Because companies that figure out how to tap us will survive; those that don’t will wonder what hit them.