Overcoming Working Mom Burnout

Thank you for being dedicated Overcoming Working Mom Burnout listeners. And thanks to all the guests who have made this podcast possible!

I am excited announce the Leading Real Change podcast to help passionate people leaders create thriving workplace cultures for all, where parents won't burn out!

Please listen in or find more at www.leading-real-change.com

This season featured 16 conversations with dads, which may seem odd for a podcast on overcoming working mom burnout. But I truly believe that if dads who have experienced full time caregiving are in leadership positions, they will help create the workplace systems change that will benefit moms and prevent burnout. I learned a lot about the barriers dads face and what we can do at home, at work and in society to support dads to be active parents. You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.

Michael Ray is a solo dad to daughter Charlie. He is an author, speaker, coach and activist with endless analogies to make sense of the challenges dads are facing in being active parents. He describes all the barriers that dads face in stepping into fatherhood and concludes that the only way to change that dynamic would be to incentivize dads to take leave. Michael’s approach to parenting is to ask questions so that his daughter can find her answers within herself and he shares the joy he has experienced in becoming a connected, present dad. You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.

Aaron Coleman is the founder and CEO of Fitabase, a 10 year old technology company processing sensor data for scientists. He has two daughters who have made him more aware of the need for paid parental leave and flexible schedules, even in the confines of a small business. Aaron took a 3 month sabbatical this year to reset from surviving as a business during Covid and in the process took time to reflect on what he had achieved. You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.

Nihal Mehta is a dad to two boys and husband to change maker Reshma Saujani. He talks about giving each other time to focus and making time for exercise, especially with others. Using a stress monitoring app helps him keep burnout at bay. In particular, he advocates for dads creating friend groups so that they can feel appreciated more in their role and supported by other dads. You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.

Brian Anderson is a community organizer and dad to two girls. He leads the organization Fathering Together and recently wrote a book of the same name. He often blogs about being present with his girls and putting work aside for those moments.  Brian has had to balance his work mission with his desire to be a connected and available dad. He also talks about systems being the relationships between people and at the simplest level asking: did I make somebody’s day better today? You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.

Art Eddy is a stay at home dad, ex radio host, and founder of The Art of Fatherhood. As an entrepreneur and lead parent he has to find time to take a break, often with his girls initiating that it’s time to relax. Art supports other Dads through his writing and communications, challenging how Dads are often left out in key conversations. You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.

Dr. Charles Daniels is a therapist and TED Women conference speaker who was moved to tears during his talk as he described the struggles fathers face. He leads the organization Fathers Uplift. His approach to supporting fathers is multi-level, trying to change social stereotypes, providing community, and helping fathers self parent. Their secret sauce is how they make fathers feel. His wish for his children is to be able to choose purpose over performance. You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.

Jeremy Smith has two children and works full time. But following his experiences of taking paternity leave in the US, no less, he started speaking publicly about it and encourages other Dads to do the same. He shares some of the challenges of taking leave and the consequences it had at work. He also presents some tips about how to advocate for parental leave without becoming overwhelmed. Jeremy has hope that we have made progress on paternity leave and he sees innovative companies with younger leaders moving in further in this direction. You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.

Ian Dinwiddy has two kids and is the founder of Inspiring Dads where he coaches Dads to play a role at home and work. Clear early articulation of values, goals and expectations for sharing the parenting load was part of Ian’s success. But also understanding the societal pressures that judge women as always responsible for the kids and in contrast giving men a pass when they make mistakes. And the expectation that even for primary caregiver men, if there is a women on the scene she is expected to step in and take the slack. I love the quote he shared: “Teach your daughter economic independence in the future so she can have a partner, not a master, and teach your son to do housework. So in the future he can have a partner, not a servant.” You can find my free guides to prevent burnout at www.DrJacquelineKerr.com/free-guides.