Big Careers, Small Children

Our guest this week is an expert in utilising the power of persuasion to get what you want. Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist and associate professor of organisational behaviour at Cornell University, New York. She is also the author of a thought-provoking new book You Have More Influence Than You Think .  In the book, Vanessa draws from her original research to illustrate exactly why we migh...

Today's podcast guest is Claire Ferreira, an NLP Coach and the Founder of Mums in Marketing, a free community connecting "women who do marketing and raise humans". Verena and Claire compare notes about how to create a peer support community with impact (like Mums in Marketing and the Leaders Plus Fellowship) and why this is so incredibly important for working parents.  There is also...

Our guest this week is Dr. Heejung Chung, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Kent and the author of the excellent and thought-provoking book The Flexibility Paradox. Heejung Chung offers a completely fresh perspective on flexible working and whilst she acknowledges it as a great solution to our work-life balance challenges, she also believes it can lead to us exploiting...

Our guest today is Jane Galloway, Head of Flexible Working for NHS England and the Founder of the brilliant Quiet the Hive , a community that helps women identify the life they want and arms them with the tools and confidence to go get it. Jane is incredibly passionate that flexible working should be for all and she shares fantastic advice that will be very helpful if you're looking to make a...

Our guest today is Chief Executive of The Supreme Court, Vicky Fox . A mum of 3 boys (now young adults), Vicky has made some tough decisions for her career and family life. Including putting her career progression on hold and making the brave decision to leave a specialist career whilst her children were younger before reigniting her work ambitions with a new role later on in her career.  Vicky is...

My guest today is Jane Beeston, Chief People Officer for Colart (the global market leader for art materials) and mother to two grown up boys.  Becoming a Chief People Officer is the pinnacle of a career in Human Resources and Jane shares with us how being a parent has positively impacted her senior leadership career trajectory, including how having children has allowed her to bring her whole self...

Our guest this week is Elliott Rae, the Founder of Music Football Fatherhood , a support forum often referred to as 'Mumsnet for Dads' and author of the best-selling book, “Dad - Untold Stories of Fatherhood, Love, Mental Health and Masculinity.  Elliott left his senior career in the civil service following the traumatic birth of his daughter and is a passionate advocate of men's me...

"Most people know what the concept of job sharing is but many don't know how it works in practice." Our guests this week on the Big Careers, Small Children podcast are Hannah Hall-Turner and Rachel Maguire, otherwise known as The Job Share Pair . Having successfully job shared together in their HR Director role at a Fortune 500 firm they are now on a mission to make job sharing an a...

This week Verena Hefti, FRSA is joined by the brilliant Gabriel Davies, a mother of two and a Commercial Director at the global green energy company Ørsted , working in the leadership team responsible for building the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Gabriel is also an inaugural Fellow on the award-winning Leaders Plus Fellowship Programme. This week our discussion focuses on ambition and why t...

Our guest today is Sharath Jeevan , an expert when it comes to motivation and purpose and the best-selling author of Intrinsic, a practical guide to re-igniting the inner-drive (or intrinsic motivation) in our lives. Sharath is also the Executive Chairman of Intrinsic Labs ,  supporting organisations all around the world to solve deep motivational challenges. Previously Sharath founded and led STi...

Finding a career that also brings meaning to your life is a priority for many working parents so this week we are diving back through the archives to bring you the very best tips from our previous podcast guests. For many Christmas is a time of reflection and an opportunity to sharpen your vision, these thought provoking snippets will help inspire you to make your purpose a reality. You will hear...

Something a little different for this week's podcast. We are diving into the archives to bring you some of the very best tips around managing workload and supporting your mental health and wellbeing from popular previous episodes. Laura Harrison (Co-Founder of The Human Change Agency and a Leaders Plus Mentor) has excellent advice on managing your workload when you move from full time to part...

Having a baby is a huge transition for any couple and navigating life as a new family can be particularly challenging. This week's guest, Catherine O'Brien, is an expert in relationships. As a marriage and family therapist and the author of the brilliant book Happy With Baby she shares with new parents the advice she wishes she could have had as a parent, whilst giving practical tips on...

Joining Verena Hefti in this episode of Big Careers, Small Children is Fiona McDonnell , an author and business leader with more than 30 years' experience in senior management at global companies like Kellogg's, Nike and Amazon. Having regularly mentored others and as a regular speaker on the topic of careers, Fiona recently published her debut book T wo Mirrors and a Cheetah: Think Diff...

Hopefully none of our listeners have ever had to deal with sexist, racist or power play incidents at work. But if you had, would you know how to take them to HR? On this episode of the Big Careers, Small Children Podcast (formerly Leaders With Babies) Verena chats with Sylvia Opara, the Group Head of Human Resources at Alandale Group of Companies. As a senior HR leader in the male dominated constr...

We are very excited to welcome you to the Big Careers, Small Children Podcast and our first episode under our new name! (Formerly the Leaders With Babies Podcast) Joining Verena this week is Senior Executive Coach and expert on all things pay, Claudia T Miller.  Thursday 18 November 2021 is Equal Pay Day here in the UK, the day in the year where women effectively stop earning relative to men becau...

Exciting news as the Leaders With Babies podcast is changing its name! You may have heard me to discuss on previous episodes that I've been considering changing the name of our 5 star rated podcast. I love the name Leaders With Babies but I worried it held us back from reaching even more parents. I've really appreciated all of the input from you the listeners on the name and I have taken...

Does your career make you feel alive? Our guest today believes it is critical that we find a job that ignites our passion and shares fantastic tips for working parents looking to change their career. Geraldine Butler-Wright juggles multiple senior leadership roles. As Chief People & Culture Officer for Healthily she is on a mission to help a billion people find their health through self care....

Who makes up your professional network and how different to you are they?  Why do you need a diverse network and what's the best strategy to ensure you get one? Plus, what's the best networking advice if you find this skill doesn't come naturally to you? I am delighted to welcome back to the podcast Lee Higgins, the co-founder of DIVERSE TALENT netWORKS and a thought leader who has...

Carole Robin Ph. D is Co-Founder of Leaders in Tech, a development program for leaders of tech companies. She also taught the legendary Interpersonal Dynamics (aka Touchy Feely) course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and is the co-author of the highly acclaimed Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues. The book contains the lessons of "Touchy...

Flora Letanka is Executive Director for Network Development at Teach First, the largest educational charity in the UK. She is  in charge of mobilising high-impact networks of Teach First alumni, schools and others, to ensure that every child gets an outstanding education. She is also a mum to three young children. Here she speaks to Verena Hefti, Leaders Plus CEO and Founder, about being an Exec D...

 Dr. Michael Baran is a social scientist and Senior Partner at inQUEST Consulting. He draws on his own research in cultural anthropology and cognitive psychology to inform his current diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work–his speaking engagements, writings, consulting, leadership development, workshop facilitation, and digital products.  In addition to his inQUEST work, Dr. Baran has taught...

Katie is one of the UK’s leading Performance Psychologists, working behind the scenes and on the big stage with some of the world’s best athletes, leaders and organisations.  Here she speaks to Verena Hefti, Leaders Plus CEO and Founder, about how to achieve exceptional performance in challenging circumstances.  Katie and Verena discuss the impact of guilt, how lack of sleep affects performance, n...

In this episode Verena Hefti, CEO and Founder of Leaders Plus, talks to three Leaders Plus Fellows about their honest reflections on career and ambitions, including failures and setting boundaries.  They cover how to manage your own wellbeing whilst holding down a job and having children. They also discuss the value of the Leaders Plus Fellowship and how it has benefited them. Are you progressing...

Reverend Carla Maurer, from The Swiss Church London, discusses developing purpose, how to set boundaries and offers top tips for prioritising yourself.  Are you progressing a big career whilst raising small children? Each month we send out a helpful round-up email featuring useful info and brave new ideas for ambitious mums and dads. Sign up now. Applications are now open for our NHS Fellowship Ou...