In this episode, Verena discusses the importance of allyship in the workplace.

She is joined by Brad Johnson and David G. Smith, authors of the book: Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace.

As well as discussing what men can do to support their female colleagues, Brad and David discuss ways we can all support members of minorities in order to help everyone thrive professionally.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Show Notes:

• Good Guys is out on the 13th of October, pre-order here
• Visit Workplace Allies at www.workplaceallies.com
• Interested to join our Leaders Plus ESG peer support network? Get in touch

If you are looking to progress your career after having children then the award-winning Leaders Plus Cross-Sector Fellowship is specifically designed for working parents with management responsibilities, who want to progress their careers and reach their full potential professionally. Find out more.

In this episode, Verena is joined by Tiffany Sauder, CEO of Element Three and mother of four.

Tiffany breaks down some of the key factors which have led to her inspiring success. 

From prioritising what really matters to the power of networking, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone looking for tangible career and family advice.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

This episode is part of our CEO Series, spotlighting parents with young children who hold a CEO role.

Show Notes:

• Connect with Tiffany on LinkedIn
• Find out more about Element Three.

A senior-level career doesn’t have to come at the expense of being a present parent. If you are interested in progressing your senior job and balancing your family life, take a look at our Senior Director's Fellowship: www.leadersplus.org/seniorleadersplusfellowship

Is the four day working week the future of work, or a luxurious dream?

In this episode of Big Careers, Small Children, Verena is joined by Tatiana Pignon, Head of Development at The Autonomy Institute, an independent research organisation that focuses on the future of the working world.

In this intriguing conversation, Tatianna discusses Autonomy's fascinating research on the shorter working week and the elements of their discoveries that you could apply in your organisation.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

This episode is part of the future of work series, where we explore how work will change in the future to help everyone thrive and progress their careers equitably regardless of circumstances.

Show Notes:

• Connect with Tatianna on LinkedIn
• Find out more about The Autonomy Institute

We know how difficult it can be to balance an ambitious career with raising a family especially if you’ve taken time off to focus on your children or opted for a lower grade role to accommodate the demands of family life. That's why we created the Future Leader's Programme.

If you are interested in progressing your career and nurturing your family at the same time, take a look at The Future Leader's Programme:

https://www.leadersplus.org/futureleadersplus

In a bid to make a difference and bring more purpose to her work, Polly Neate left her successful career in journalism and joined the charity sector. Nearly twenty years later, she is CEO of one of the largest charities in the UK, Shelter, and a proud mother of two grown up women.

In this podcast, Polly discusses her fascinating journey, the sacrifices she has had to make, and why finding purpose in your work is so important.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

This episode is part of our CEO Series, spotlighting parents with young children who hold a CEO role.

Show Notes:

• Connect with Polly on LinkedIn
• Find out more about Shelter

A senior-level career doesn’t have to come at the expense of being a present parent. If you are interested in progressing your senior job and balancing your family life, take a look at our Senior Director's Fellowship:

https://www.leadersplus.org/seniorleadersplusfellowship

Job sharing is a powerful tool for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace and has several benefits for both the organisation and their employees.

Joining us on Big Careers, Small Children this week are successful job-sharing duo Emily Wilton and Jo Goring, two senior leaders at the UK's largest animal welfare charity, the RSPCA.

Emily and Jo share how they make their job share (which they explain is actually a job split) work so successfully, including why communication is key. They offer practical advice on approaching your employer about a potential job share - spoiler: be brave and go for it!

They also discuss why they believe it's vital to be loud and proud about job sharing and how splitting senior roles and designing them part-time can be especially beneficial to organisations.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

How can you self promote at work and invest time in building relationships as a busy working parent?

Today on the podcast Verena Hefti MBE welcomes Ferzana Bham & Bethany Pearson from PR Mums.

PR Mums is a community-led platform which offers former PRs (many of whom have left the workforce after having children) a pathway back into the industry.

Ferzana and Bethany share their expert advice and practical tips on self promotion, including how to forge relationships when you're time poor and effectively promote your achievements whatever your industry, especially when it might not come naturally to you.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

PR Mums are working to establish an industry-wide model of best practice for parental policy – for the benefit of all current and future mothers and fathers; our children; and our parents. 

If you work in PR, please spare five minutes to complete this survey.

Show Notes:

• Find out more about PR Mums: www.pr-mums.com
• For more information on the Leaders Plus Fellowship head to www.leadersplus.org/fellowship

Shift work can be especially challenging when you're a parent to young children.

This week on the podcast our Leaders Plus Fellow Nathalie Holdstock, a Senior Sister and Emergency Nurse Practitioner, shares how she navigates working shifts in the NHS whilst raising two small children.

Nathalie shares practical tips for other shift workers, including why it's important to ask for what you need and what others who don't work shifts can learn from the experience.

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

The Leaders Plus podcast will now be on a short break over the summer holidays returning on Thursday 5th September.

Show Notes:

• Find out more about the Leaders Plus NHS Fellowship

Why are so many women over the age of 38 leaving the workforce and what can we do about it?

Our guest today to discuss the future of work is employee experience, culture and communications expert Lucy Kemp.

Lucy shares how AI is impacting the workplace and gives practical advice for anyone just getting started with adopting AI to support their work in future.

We delve into why workplaces have historically been designed by men for men and what this means for women. We also look at the data around women leaving the workforce after the age of 38 and what we can do to stop this, including why we need to support Gen Z women to thrive in the workplace.

Enjoy the conversation.

Show Notes:

• Find out more about Kemp & Co
• Find out more about accessing a Mentor via the Leaders Plus Fellowship

This episode is part of the future of work series, where we explore how work will change in the future to help everyone thrive and progress their careers equitably regardless of circumstances.

Are you feeling overwhelmed and burnt out?

This week on the podcast Executive Coach and Founder of Wisdom for Working Mums Nicky Lowe shares practical advice on dealing with and preventing burnout as a busy working parent juggling both career and family. 

Burnout is something Nicky has experienced first-hand following her return to work after the birth of her first child. She shares her own story, plus how to identify if you are struggling with burnout and fantastic tips on how you can begin to recover and learn to reimagine your approach to career and parenthood.

Enjoy the conversation.

Show Notes:

• Listen to more from Nicky on her Wisdom for Working Mums podcast
• Download our free setting boundaries workbook

How can we move to more outcome-based work cultures and how best can managers support this?

Outcome-based leadership relates to delivering results and achieving specific, measurable goals rather than being hyper-focused on time spent at your desk. It can enable employees and teams to work more autonomously and flexibly.

Our guests today Helen Balcome and Kate Groom, founders of The Health Kollective, believe that work can be and should be a positive force that complements everything else we do, enabling people, teams and businesses the freedom to thrive. They believe that outcome-based management is key to this. 

On the show, they share how organisations can move to a more outcome-based way of working, how to manage a team based on output rather than time practically and why senior leaders should be first to model this behaviour. Plus, why you should have both 'to-do' and 'woo-hoo' lists. 

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Show Notes:

• Find out more about The Health Kollective
• Find out more about the Leaders Plus Fellowship