What stops employers from offering true flexibility at work and how can we drive change in this area? Our guests today are Helen Stenhouse and Alison Hilton from the HR company People Puzzles . Together with host Verena Hefti MBE they discuss: How organisations could offer the same flexibility as freelance life Why trust is at the centre of flexible working Why organisations need to focus on outcomes and not working hours The importance of creating work environments where people don’t burn thems...
May 18, 2023•41 min•Season 9Ep. 132
“You should always be thinking that you need to be fairly compensated for the value you are bringing.” This week we welcome Tobi Asare, Founder of the online platform for working mothers My Bump Pay . As the first woman in her office location to go through the maternity leave process, Tobi found herself on a steep learning curve and became interested in how mums go on to build successful careers amidst the barriers that surround working mothers. Tobi and Verena discuss: Negotiating for a pay ris...
May 10, 2023•41 min•Season 9Ep. 131
“If the [careers after babies] report did one thing it proved that 85% of us can’t make full time working in the office work alongside having young children.” This week our guest is Jessica Heagren, ex Financial Services Director, mother of four and the CEO and Founder of That Works For Me , a platform connecting skilled professionals with flexible work. Jessica is also the author of the groundbreaking Careers After Babies Report which presents stark research on what really happens to women's ca...
May 03, 2023•46 min•Season 9Ep. 130
There’s no doubt that the NHS is a unique and highly pressurised work environment. To celebrate the launch of applications opening for our award-winning NHS Fellowship Programme we have handpicked some of the most thought provoking discussions from previous podcast episodes. Each clip features an inspiring NHS Leader who has combined or is currently combining a big career with raising small children. Topics covered include: Advice on returning to work Driving change and the gender pay gap in the...
Apr 26, 2023•50 min•Season 8Ep. 129
“This time around I was really clear from the start with the recruiter that I can only consider this if the way in which I’m currently working compressed hours can continue.” Our guest today is Graihagh Crawshaw-Sadler, the CEO of children's charity Bookmark and mum to 3 small children. Graihagh works flexibly 4 days a week as the charity CEO and she shares with Verena how she negotiated for flexible working during the recruitment process, including why she strongly believes being a working pare...
Apr 12, 2023•46 min•Season 8Ep. 128
“If someone offers you an opportunity, yes think about it, but do it. Know that you can do it.” Welcome to this bonus Employer Change Maker episode of Big Careers, Small Children. Today we welcome Emma Codd, a Partner and Global Inclusion Leader for Deloitte , a leading professional services firm. As Global Inclusion Leader Emma was responsible for devising and rolling out Deloitte's DEI strategy globally, spanning 160 countries around the world. Emma shares why she is so passionate about divers...
Mar 29, 2023•43 min•Season 8Ep. 127
“If you’re a new parent thinking about going back to work and doing a job search, do have a think about searching for companies that are more remote first as it will make your life easier.” Today we welcome back Geraldine Butler-Wright to the podcast to discuss job hunting whilst on maternity leave. Geraldine recently returned to work from her own second maternity leave having accepted an exciting new role as Chief People and Culture Officer at the live streaming platform, StreamElements. Verena...
Mar 22, 2023•46 min•Season 8Ep. 126
“I had an awesome role model for how I want to work and the work-life balance I want.” Sophie Riegel It's our first mother-daughter interview this week on Big Careers, Small Children and we're delighted to welcome Deborah Grayson Riegel and her daughter Sophie to the podcast. Deborah is a keynote speaker and consultant who teaches leadership communication for Wharton Business School and Columbia Business School. She regularly contributes to Harvard Business Review, Inc., Psychology Today, Forbes...
Mar 15, 2023•45 min•Season 8Ep. 125
“When it comes to diversity and inclusion a lot of organisations are managing recruitment and selection rather well. Promoting for diversity is a whole other issue.” Dr Claartje Vinkenburg is an expert on gender diversity in careers. In this special employer change maker episode of Big Careers, Small Children she joins Verena Hefti MBE to discuss the most recent research on career development in the context of promoting gender equality. Their discussion includes: How organisations can ensure tha...
Mar 08, 2023•51 min•Season 8Ep. 124
"I worked for someone many years ago who said "You can look out the window or you can look in the mirror". I think it's really important to keep looking in the mirror every day and making sure you're role-modelling as much as you can.” In this episode, Verena speaks with Dax Grant, CEO Global Transform , Forbes Technology Council Dax is a lead global authority on entrepreneurial c-suite leadership, a renowned Woman in Technology, accomplished keynote speaker and societal voice. Listed within the...
Mar 01, 2023•38 min•Season 8Ep. 123
“The thing that bridges the gap between the choice I made and the connection I feel with the organisation - in order to give my best self to work - is purpose.” Today we welcome Adirupa Sengupta, Group CEO of Common Purpose , an incredible charity that runs leadership-development programmes around the world. Adirupa (Adi) has extensive experience working across different countries, cities and cultures to help leaders learn to cross boundaries in order to tackle complex problems. We discuss: What...
Feb 22, 2023•48 min•Season 8Ep. 122
Apply today: Cross-Sector Fellowship applications close on 7th March 2023 "Our family is a mutual enterprise, it's a project we manage together, and it has to be given time and resource. We have to really clearly communicate that between us: is everyone happy with the time and resource that is going into that mutual project? " Joining Verena on the podcast this week are Catherine Muge and Dr Tom Bashford. Catherine is Director of Partnership Intelligence at UNICEF UK and Tom is Assistant Profess...
Feb 15, 2023•57 min•Season 8Ep. 121
Thinking about a career change? Today we are revisiting one of our most popular podcast episodes featuring Chief People & Culture Officer Geraldine Butler-Wright. Geraldine has juggled multiple senior leadership roles and navigated big career changes (including cross-sector), she is an advocate of finding a job that ignites our true passion. In this episode, she shares fantastic tips for working parents thinking about a career change. The discussion includes: Why it's important to find organ...
Feb 08, 2023•46 min•Season 7Ep. 120
The tables have turned in this week's episode. Host Verena Hefti MBE (CEO and Founder of social enterprise Leaders Plus) is interviewed by Leaders Plus Fellow Jemma Biteye on the practical ways to support equal career progression for working parents. Jemma and Verena discuss: what led to Verena setting up Leaders Plus to support parents progressing senior careers how to network when you don't have time ways to deal with heavy workload practical ways companies and individuals can support equal ca...
Feb 01, 2023•33 min•Season 7Ep. 119
A special update for any listeners with a baby or a child between the ages of 0-11. We're creating a world where nobody needs to choose between becoming a CEO and raising young children. The Leaders Plus Fellowship is a targeted 9-month career development programme designed to support working parents to progress ambitious careers in a way that works for their family. Fellows have access to a dedicated Senior Leader Mentor plus high-quality resources to manage the practical challenges of juggling...
Jan 31, 2023•2 min
“Until you’re trying you just don’t look into fertility and you don’t understand where the fertility cliffs are and where the drop-offs start to happen.” Our guest today is Joanna Santinon, EY Ambassador, Non-Executive Director and Charity Trustee. Joanna bravely shares her personal fertility journey, including how she combined multiple rounds of IVF treatment alongside her demanding career as a partner at Ernst & Young. We discuss: What to know before you embark on IVF Why compartmentalisin...
Jan 25, 2023•41 min•Season 7Ep. 118
“Before Laura I really sat there waiting for opportunities. After Laura’s mentoring session that changed for me. I would actually go out and find them.” To celebrate International Mentoring Day (17 January 2023) we speak to Consultant Laura Harrison, a Senior Leader Mentor on the Leaders Plus Fellowship Programme, and her Mentee, Leaders Plus Fellow and U-Blox Principal Engineer Rajani Rao to find out what made their relationship so successful. We discuss: what it takes to make a mentoring relat...
Jan 17, 2023•43 min•Season 7Ep. 117
“The norm now in the UK is that we have working families but we don’t have a society that supports that.” Can a primary caring responsibility be equally shared between mothers and fathers? Our guest today is Tina Miller, Professor of Sociology at Oxford Brookes University and an expert in caring. Professor Miller shares how the responsibility for orchestrating the care of children often falls to mothers, and how, over time, this pattern becomes etched into the very fabric of family life. We disc...
Jan 11, 2023•38 min•Season 7Ep. 116
“If we shift our thinking to a both/and approach it enables us to open up all kinds of different possibilities and to use these tensions as a source of creativity.” Today we are delighted to welcome Wendy K Smith to the podcast. Wendy is the Emma Smith Morris Professor of Management and academic director of the Women's Leadership Initiative at the University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business & Economics. Wendy is also the co-author of the brilliant book Both/And Thinking, which challe...
Jan 04, 2023•50 min•Season 7Ep. 115
“If you are high performance you need empathy in your workplace!” Our guest today is Anita Nowak , an expert in empathy and author of the forthcoming book Purposeful Empathy: Tapping Our Hidden Superpower for Personal, Organisational, and Social Change. Anita is passionate about mentoring the next generation of changemakers and teaches leadership, ethics in management, and social entrepreneurship and innovation at McGill University. In this episode, we dive into empathy - a skill that post-pande...
Dec 21, 2022•48 min•Season 7Ep. 114
“In our office, we don’t talk about work-life balance we talk about home-life balance.” Our guest today is Michelle Bradley, CEO of The Parent Rooms, a perinatal mental health charity where parents can access support and friendship who are based in Northern Ireland. Michelle launched The Parents Rooms after struggling with postnatal depression and feeling isolated and alone in the early years of parenthood. She shares with us everything she has learned as a courageous leader with a big career an...
Dec 14, 2022•40 min•Season 7Ep. 113
“Instead of waiting for someone else, we can each try and lead change from where we are.” Our guest today is Alex Budak, a social entrepreneur, UC Berkeley Haas faculty member, speaker and the author of the empowering book Becoming a Changemaker . Alex believes anyone has the potential to lead change positive change. He talks us through his practical guide to becoming a changemaker, no matter where you are in an organisation. Including: The personality traits people who drive positive change hav...
Dec 07, 2022•46 min•Season 7Ep. 112
TW: TFMR “Emma is very much part of the family, that was very important to me. I am a mother, I do have a child.” Today we welcome critically acclaimed comedian, writer and performer, Lou Conran. Lou had a termination for medical reasons (TFMR) after finding out her daughter Emma had a rare medical condition which meant she would be unable to survive. She bravely shares her personal story, including how she dealt with needing to keep earning money (as a comedian) in the midst of this heartbreaki...
Nov 30, 2022•45 min•Season 7Ep. 111
“It’s good for our children to see mothers as not just a parent but so much more than that. There are different facets to our identity and it’s healthy for kids to witness that.” Our guest today is Dr Martha Deiros Collado, a clinical psychologist specialising in family therapy and host of the brilliant podcast Talking Sense with Dr Martha . Leaders Plus Fellows tell us time and time again that they struggle with worrying about their children when they are at work and thinking about work when th...
Nov 23, 2022•41 min•Season 7Ep. 110
Gender equity can't happen without racial equity. We need Shared Sisterhood. Our guest today is Dr Beth A. Livingston , Associate Professor in Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business. Beth's research interests lie primarily in gender, diversity, and the management of work and family. Her best-selling book, Shared Sisterhood is a blueprint for taking collective action for racial and gender equity in the workplace. Shared Sisterhood outlines how indiv...
Nov 16, 2022•47 min•Season 7Ep. 109
“Progress, not perfection. That’s a bit of a mantra for our leadership team.” Our guest today is Angela McConville , CEO of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), the UK’s largest charity for pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. Angela shares her honest reflections on motherhood, leadership and the importance of seeking progress not perfection. The conversation includes: Being an authentic leader The importance of realistic role models The organisations who are supporting parents brilliantly Why...
Nov 09, 2022•41 min•Season 7Ep. 108
"Trust arrives on foot but leaves on horseback." Our guest today is Veronica Hope Hailey, Emeritus Professor at the School of Management, University of Bath, expert on trust and organisational change and mother to 5 daughters. During the COVID-19 pandemic Veronica published two fascinating reports ( Responsible Business in Crisis – Rebuilding Cultures of Trust ) which featured over 100 interviews with CEOs, CFOs, CMOs and HRDs on their experience of leading through the first 2 years of the Pande...
Nov 02, 2022•45 min•Season 7Ep. 107
In this special episode to celebrate #NationalMentoringDay Verena Hefti MBE shares her experience of finding a high quality Mentor to help guide your senior career, including where to find one, how to approach the conversation and what to do when it just isn't working out. Access an inspirational Mentor, a network of like-minded parents and world-class training via our award-winning Fellowship. Register interest now. Are you progressing a big career whilst raising small children? Each month we s...
Oct 27, 2022•12 min•Season 7Ep. 106
Our guest today is charity CEO Dhivya O'Connor. Dhivya is currently Interim CEO of the youth mentoring charity, The Girls’ Network and has previously served in the CEO role for organisations including United World Schools, Chartered Institute of Fundraising and Children with Cancer UK. She is also a Senior Leader Mentor on the Leaders Plus Fellowship Programme, supporting women returning to work after having children, in progressing their careers. Prior to joining the third sector, she held vari...
Oct 26, 2022•40 min•Season 7Ep. 105
“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 a Journalist’ is a captivating read and details Clarissa’s life in journalism covering conflicts. Now a ...
Oct 19, 2022•40 min•Season 7Ep. 104
