Big Careers, Small Children

“You try to learn to make peace with the mother you are not and embrace the mother that you are.” Our guest today is Clarissa Ward, a multi-award-winning war reporter and CNN's Chief International Correspondent. For over 15 years Clarissa has been reporting from front lines around the world, including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Her incredible memoir ‘On All Fronts: The Education of...

I don’t think anybody’s life is quite as smooth sailing as social media would have us believe.” This week in support of World Mental Health Day (Monday 10 October) we welcome Clinical Psychologist Professor Roz Shafran, co-author of the brilliant book “ How to Cope When Your Child Can’t” . Parenthood can often be far from smooth sailing, especially if your child is unwell, experiencing challenges...

" In practice there’s always a bit of wriggle room for individual discussions and individual negotiations about pay." This week we are joined by pay expert, lecturer, HR leader and Leaders Plus Fellowship Alumni Dr Lisa Grover. Lisa is a Senior Lecturer in Degree Apprenticeships at the University of Exeter Business School and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to practical advice on  prep...

How can you juggle your senior career when your children are born prematurely? Our guest this week is Lucy McAuliffe, Stations and Security Director at Network Rail and parent to 5-year-old twins and a 16-month toddler. Lucy and her wife's twins arrived 8 weeks earlier than planned, not long after Lucy had started a new senior position.  She shares:  The reality of having premature children W...

"We’ve been working with NHS England who last year made a huge policy shift in the NHS to make flexible working a day one employment right and to make roles flexible by default." Joining us for the 100th episode of Big Careers, Small Children is change-maker Kate Jarman, co-founder of Flex NHS and Director of Corporate Affairs at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Ka...

A special update for any listeners working in the NHS.  Too often, parents feel they must choose between an ambitious career and enjoying their young children.  As part of the 6-month Leaders Plus NHS Foundation Fellowship, you get expert career development support, group coaching, a supportive network of peers and practical support to overcome work/life hurdles.  It has been described by some NHS...

What if being lucky wasn’t just by chance but a skill that you could master?  Our guest this week is Dr. Christian Busch, the best-selling author of Connect the Dots: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck and a Professor at New York University. Christian has spent years exploring the connection between chance encounters and new professional opportunities and has fantastic insights on how we ca...

How can you secure an internal promotion without working all hours and putting your hand up for every task? Our guest today is Nadia Bunyan, HR Director at Global Witness , an international NGO that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. Nadia shares fantastic advice on progressing your career internally, in...

Many listeners have told us that guilt is a challenge you're struggling with, particularly working parent guilt.  This week on Big Careers, Small Children we are revisiting some of the best tips shared by our previous guests around guilt and learning to let it go. Featured: Wendy Merricks, CEO Jumar ( Series 6, Episode 91 ) Michelle Mitchell OBE, CEO Cancer Research UK ( Series 4, Episode 52...

What does it mean to be a compassionate leader and how can it benefit organisations? Kami Norland is a national and international speaker, facilitator and CEO of Integrative Re-Sources . In this episode, we chat about compassionate leadership and how it’s not only possible but essential to create compassionate organisations. Kami reminds us that we aren't just an employee but an individual br...

Ever felt like you're not living up to your full potential and wished you could change your career?  Karen Squires is an A&E Consultant at the Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool, but her career actually started in hairdressing.  After re-evaluating her life in her mid-20s and feeling that she wasn't reaching her true potential, Karen made the brave decision to take a leap and p...

Not everyone is in a relationship but those that are can spend a considerable amount of time trying to negotiate two big careers alongside raising young children and the commitments this entails. This week on Big Careers, Small Children we are revisiting some of the best advice previous guests have shared around making dual career couples work. Featured: Nick Wilkie, Former CEO of the NCT (Series...

Today's guest knows a thing or two about working under huge pressure after being headhunted by Wockhardt UK to direct the development of the manufacturing process and facility to produce the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. Alice Kan is the Pharmaceutical Director at Kan Do Ventures and one of the UK's Top 50 Women in Engineering. In this episode,  Alice shares what she has learned from man...

"Children are not going to come to any harm because you work full time," says our guest today Wendy Merricks. Wendy is the CEO and Founder of Jumar , a group of companies in the IT sector and a Senior Leader Mentor on the Leaders Plus Fellowship Programme. Growing up in inner-city Birmingham in a working-class family, Wendy has worked hard to get to the most senior positions, always beli...

Can you work as a senior leader in a fast-paced industry like banking and set boundaries around your working hours? Our guest today is proof you can. Guy Duncan Neale is Head of Global Internal Audit Transformation at HSBC and leads a team of international senior internal auditors within the bank. Following a cancer diagnosis, Guy reflected on the priorities in his life and decided he would limit...

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your conflicting priorities? Our guest today is Suzy Reading , a Chartered Psychologist, author and specialist in self care and well being. Suzy knows the science behind well being and shares how, as busy working parents, we can look after ourselves when under pressure without feeling like it's something else we need to tick on our to-do list. We discuss: Why s...

Do you ever worry about changing priorities during your career? Our guest today is Dr. Christina Venzin, a Senior Doctor, Coach and Gender Equality Change Maker. Christina makes no secret of the fact that when she first had children she thought her career would have to totally change. What she in fact discovered was that it's absolutely okay to evolve your priorities over time and come back t...

Big Careers Small Children helps ambitious parents progress careers they love whilst being present with their children. Through honest and informal conversation, senior leaders divulge what they have learnt on their own journey of combining big careers with young children to our host Verena Hefti MBE. Expect lots of aha moments, inspiration, fresh ideas, and practical support, so you can move forw...

Do you ever struggle with saying no at work? Our guest today is Laurie Weingart, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Carnegie Mellon University and Co-Author of the brilliant book No Club: Putting a Stop to Women’s Dead-End Work , she is an expert at saying no.  The No Club has a fascinating back story. It began when Laurie and a group of friends came together disheartened by the fact they we...

' Dadvocate ' Ian Dinwiddy is the founder of Inspiring Dads , a platform designed to help dads balance the complexities of modern life and fatherhood. Management Consultant Ian and his partner Lisa (a lawyer) have made what some might view as bold decisions regarding their parenting setup. When their daughter Freya was born they took the decision that Ian would step back from his career...

Steph Douglas is the inspirational Founder and CEO of the gifting company Don't Buy Her Flowers . Steph launched her business in 2014 after having her first baby and being inundated with bouquets. She joins Verena to talk candidly about growing a successful business, raising her family and challenging expectations, including at home.  The conversation includes: Why and how to ensure you safeg...

Our guest today is Lauren Seager-Smith FRSA, CEO of the bullying prevention charity Kidscape and a Mentor on the Leaders Plus Fellowship Programme. Lauren is one of a small but growing number of CEOs with younger children and she shares her experience of working in a senior position whilst juggling the reality of small kids. She has many years of experience providing expertise and guidance relatin...

Joining us today is Leaders Plus Fellow Amy Gibbs. Amy is CEO of Birthrights , a powerful charity championing human rights in childbirth. Working part-time in a senior role is (sadly) still an exception and not the norm and Amy describes her journey to becoming a CEO and taking the top position, including how she makes her role work 4 days a week. Amy also shares her wonderfully honest reflections...

Our guest today is Carlotta Negri di Sanfront, Chief Product and Design Officer for giffgaff , the mobile network run by its members. Carlotta is wonderfully honest about her experience of starting a family at the peak of her career and talks openly about deciding to go for the role of Chief Product and Design Officer whilst 8 months pregnant.  Our discussion includes: When is the right time to ha...

Welcome to series 6 of the Big Careers, Small Children (formerly Leaders With Babies) podcast. Our guest today is Mary Ann Sieghart.  Mary is a former The Times Senior Editor and more recently the author of a really intriguing book, The Authority Gap, which analyses why women are taken less seriously than men and what we can do about it.  The discussion includes: Why is that men and women can say...