When your child is sick and work is calling, it can feel like a no-win situation. Stay home and you worry you’re letting your team down. Log on and you feel like you’re failing as a parent.

That constant tension? It’s not just you—and it’s not a personal flaw.

In this episode, we unpack the real reason working mums experience so much guilt when caring responsibilities collide with career demands. From outdated workplace norms to invisible societal expectations, we explore why this pressure exists—and why it falls so heavily on mothers.

More importantly, we shift the narrative.

You’ll learn:

• Why guilt doesn’t make you a better employee or parent
• How unchallenged guilt can quietly impact your confidence and career progression
• The powerful mindset reframe that helps you make calmer, clearer decisions
• Practical coaching tools to stop over-apologising, set boundaries, and feel more in control

If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing in both directions, this episode will help you understand why—and show you a better way forward.

Because this isn’t about doing more. It’s about thinking differently.

Welcome to your Boss Mom Era.

Want to nominate another topic for a future episode? Email me at [email protected] or DM me at boss.mom.coaching on insta.

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Shout out to Kate Mannix for producing and editing this episode!

Why are so many talented women leaving within years of becoming mothers—and what is it really costing organisations?

In this episode, I’m breaking down what companies get wrong about supporting maternity returners (even with the best intentions), and why flexibility alone isn’t enough to retain top female talent.

I share my own experience returning to work after three children, the identity shift no one prepares you for, and the hidden factors driving burnout, disengagement, and resignation.

If you’re an HR leader, manager, or decision-maker—this is your wake-up call. And if you’re a career mum, this will help you understand what you actually need to thrive (and what to ask for).

We’ll cover:

• The real reason maternity returners leave
• The biggest mistakes organisations make (and how to fix them)
• What effective, early support actually looks like
• How to turn maternity return into a retention and leadership opportunity

Because supporting working mothers isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s a strategic advantage.

Find out more about what I do and how I can support you and your organisation on my website: www.coachingcorporatereturners.com

And a shout out to Kate Mannix for producing and editing this podcast!

In this episode, we explore a powerful truth many modern mothers question but rarely say out loud: we are not meant to mother the way our mothers did.

Our mothers raised us in a completely different world — socially, economically, and culturally. Many of the “rules” they lived by made sense then, but when modern mothers try to apply those same expectations while navigating careers, entrepreneurship, constant digital connection, and unprecedented mental load, something starts to break.

This episode isn’t about criticising the generation before us. It’s about understanding context, releasing outdated rules, and consciously choosing a new way forward that actually supports modern motherhood.

I share personal reflections from my own experience navigating differing expectations with my mother, and why so many career-driven mums today are feeling the quiet tension between love for their mothers and the sense that their blueprint no longer fits.

We also dive into the concept of matrescence — the often-missing framework that explains the profound identity shift that happens when women become mothers — and why understanding it changes everything.

If you’ve ever felt stretched between motherhood, ambition, and the invisible expectations you inherited, this conversation will help you make sense of it.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why modern mothers are parenting in a completely different context than previous generations

• The invisible rules many of us inherited about what a “good mother” looks like

• Why endurance, silence, and self-sacrifice are no longer sustainable strategies

• The impact of mental load, digital culture, and changing work expectations

• How matrescence explains the identity shift many mothers experience

• The difference between rebelling against the past and choosing with discernment

• How to consciously update the “rulebook” of motherhood

This episode is an invitation to stop measuring yourself against outdated standards and start asking a more powerful question:

What does motherhood — and work — need to look like for me, in this season of life?

Because the goal isn’t to prove we can handle it all.

The goal is to build lives that are sustainable, honest, and aligned — for us, and for the generation watching us.

If this episode resonated with you…

I work 1:1 with career-driven mothers navigating matrescence alongside leadership, careers, and entrepreneurship. Together we unpack the overwhelm, clarify what’s actually happening beneath the surface, and design a way forward that supports both your ambition and your life.

You can book a coaching session via this website or email me at [email protected]

Welcome to your Boss Mom Era.

Want access to free resource - Mompreneurs starter guide to building a flexible resource, email: [email protected] with subject "Starter Guide"

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Big thanks to the wonderful Kate Mannix, for production and editing!

Ever feel like becoming a mother changed you in ways you can’t quite explain?

You’re not broken. You’re not failing. You’re experiencing matrescence.

In this episode, we unpack what matrescence really is — the profound physical, emotional, psychological and professional transformation that happens when you become a mother. Just like adolescence, it’s a developmental stage… yet hardly anyone talks about it.

For corporate career mums, this transition can feel especially intense. You’re navigating leadership, ambition, guilt, identity shifts, relationship changes, and a completely new internal world — all while trying to “hold it together” at work.

If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t even know who I am anymore” — this episode is for you.

Because matrescence isn’t a breakdown.

It’s a becoming.

--Want access to free resource - Mompreneurs starter guide to building a flexible resource, email: [email protected] with subject "Starter Guide"

Visit my website for more info about what work I do with organisations and mothers.

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Big thanks to Kate Mannix for producing and editing this podcast.

Motherhood comes with love, joy—and an invisible to-do list that never ends. In this episode, we dive into the “mental load” mothers carry every day: the constant planning, remembering, organising, anticipating, and emotional managing that often goes unnoticed. We explore why it’s so exhausting, why it’s rarely acknowledged, and how families can begin to share the weight more fairly. If you’ve ever felt tired in a way that sleep doesn’t fix, this conversation is for you.

Want access to free resource - Mompreneurs starter guide to building a flexible resource, email: [email protected] with subject "Starter Guide"--

Big thanks to Kate Mannix for producing and editing this podcast!

Welcome to Boss Mom Era - the podcast for ambitious mothers who refuse to choose between a fulfilling career and a present, meaningful motherhood.

In this very first episode, I'm introducing you to the heart behind this podcast - and a little about me.

I'm Kirsten Hackney, a career and entrepreneurship coach for ambitious moms who are building big goals while raising little humans.

I know first hand what it's like to balance work, ambition and motherhood in a world that often tells us we can't have it all = or that we shouldn't want to.

This podcast was created for the mom who wants more - not out of lack, but out of purpose. More alignment. More confidence. More freedom. More impact.

Here, we'll talk about balancing work and motherhood without burnout, redefining success in this season of life, building careers and businesses that support your family (not compete with it), and stepping fully into your Boss Mom Era - without guilt.

If you're a working mom, entrepreneur, or a mom with dreams that refuse to stay quiet, this space is for you. This is your permission slip to grow, evolve, and lead - at home and in your career.

Your Boss Mom Era starts NOW.

Want access to free resource - Mompreneurs starter guide to building a flexible resource, email: [email protected] with subject "Starter Guide"

Instagram: @boss.mom.coaching

Website: coachingcorporatereturners.com

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Big thanks to Kate Mannix for producing and editing this episode!