Power of the Parent

In this episode of 'Power of the Parent' podcast, host Charlotte Speak chats to Lauren Currie, the founder of Upfront Global, about women's confidence and financial discussions. 

They delve into the societal reluctance of women to talk about money and ambition, how historical and cultural narratives shape these barriers, and practical advice for addressing them. 

Lauren shares insights on overcoming financial discomfort, transparent pricing, and the importance of financial conversations among women. They also discuss the gender pay gap, both in traditional employment and self-employment, and Lauren's own experiences in growing Upfront Global. 

The episode emphasises the power of reframing thoughts around money and the actionable steps women can take to build wealth and confidence.

In this episode of the podcast we’re doing things a bit differently! 

Today I’m talking to a few different people about their experiences of being a part of the workplace whilst navigating the family set up of being a single, solo or co-parent. 

There are so many versions of parenthood that are not talked about in the workplace, and whilst we want to honour people’s boundaries, it’s also incredibly important that we pass the mic to those that do want to share. 

You’ll hear from:

Rachel* - a co-parent who is in the early days of living separately from the father of her little boy and figuring out her new routines, rediscovering what she needs and re-establishing boundaries. We covered a lot about the assumptions she’s held for herself and some of the practical things we could do to support each other at work. 

Elizabeth - a disabled solo parent to her little boy who generously shared her experiences and conversations about how she’s navigated the workplace when met with limiting narratives and beliefs. We called out a myriad of behaviours and Elizabeth gave some really helpful practical advice for both parents and line managers.

Ash - a dad who is co-parenting his little boy, who was incredibly honest about the rollercoaster he’s been on, how his current relationship with his son’s mum is picked over (because they’re on brilliant terms and are maintaining a friendship), the feelings of embarrassment and how there was nothing that could prepare him for having to share his news in the workplace. 

There are no links for this one, so all that’s left for me to say is thank you for listening or reading along this series. I hope the stories you’ve been introduced to have brought everything from reassurance to fresh thinking!

Today I’m joined by Andy Nichols, someone who I know kind of by accident because our worlds have overlapped this year!

Andy became a parent through adoption, and I’ve had the absolute privilege of hearing about his family’s experiences for a little while now, so I was thrilled when he said he’d come and chat to me on the podcast. 

We delve into the misconceptions he and his family have faced, the boundaries he’s needed in place, the surprises along the way and of course we took some time to delve into what employers can do to support parents no matter what their route to expanding their family is. 

Andy is one of those people who makes managing boundaries look effortless - I don’t know if that is his reality but I’m in awe of what he stands for. We covered the importance of recognising when it’s someone else's story and not reaching for those pieces of unsolicited advice, some of the myths surrounding adoption and where we need to forge ahead in policy support. 

You’ll hear a phrase from Andy that you might have come across from other people in this arena, and that is creating workplaces where people can parent and care out loud. This is something I would happily have on a t-shirt, billboard, notebook and coaster! I hope you enjoy listening as much I did recording the conversation.

When your friends and work collide, it’s always a treat! In this episode I caught up with Sophie aka The Joyful Coach and boy did we cover some ground. 

In no particular order, Sophie is a positive psychology practitioner, a coach, an author, a podcaster, a mum and the queen of book recommendations. Sophie’s gorgeously squiggly career working with organisations like Disney and Hallmark led her to shape her own business that practically reconnects people with the power of finding your joy both personally and professionally. 

We covered how we treat our time, what’s happened to her ego since becoming a parent, the value in re-assessing what’s important to us and our own definition of ambition. We talked a lot about personal values and how plans aren’t one time line - immediacy doesn’t always need accommodating! Sophie shared some of the misconceptions she’s faced since starting her business (and how she faces into them) as well as finding joy as a parent and she kindly fitted in 3 practical things line managers and organisations can be doing to encourage workplaces to positively challenge their relationship with joy. 

You can find out more about Sophie and her work through her website, instagram and Linkedin.

Jennifer is a career and fertility coach, after going through her own personal experiences of recurrent miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and fertility treatment in the workplace, she knew there was more support that needed to be offered.

Her employed career saw Jennifer navigating the world of marketing, working with a few familiar brands including BBC, ITV and News UK. Jennifer consults for media, tech and fertility companies on brand and marketing strategy alongside her pioneering work to support women navigating how to blend fertility issues and treatment with their career. 

In this episode I heard a phrase that will never leave me - ‘we coach from the scar, not the wound’. Oh I wish I’d have had a mic to pass to Jennifer so she could have dropped it! We also talked about how important language is (and Jennifer shared one of her personal pet hates), the impact on timing when it comes to coaching people going through fertility challenges and the boundaries she holds. 

Jennifer also generously shared her tips for workplaces - policies get a mention, but so does the importance of generally being a good person and listener too. There’s a question all line managers can ask thrown in for good measure too. 

What I loved about this chat (and hope you will too) was Jennifer’s own personal story alongside what it means to support people who want to become a parent whilst juggling the workplace. 

You can find out more about Jennifer’s work by visiting her website or connecting on LinkedIn or instagram. She also shared with me after the conversation that the IVF network are launching a template policy for employers too - so here’s a link to their website.

Lisa is all about spreading kindness in biscuit form! One of the founders of The Biskery, Lisa and her business partner Saskia have an enviable client list of brands including KPMG, Amazon, Fendi and L’oreal to name a few. You might know them from their days as Bloom Bakers (established in 2016), or perhaps their wonderful posts and content they share on Linkedin. 

What I love about the entire Biskery team is that they well and truly parent out loud while running their business. Part of their mission is about removing the stigma associated with working mothers, running a business packed with purpose to help others combine careers and motherhood.

Lisa shares some behind the scenes insights of how they enable their company culture - including, but not limited to harnessing the power of the female cycle. Here’s the link she mentions to the chart in the episode.

We also covered off the value that they add as a supplier and why they won’t ever wash down their quality (here here!), Lisa’s reflections on the relationship between business growth and personal growth and the importance of knowing what your valued team members love and are driven by. 

You can find out more about The Biskery on their website and I strongly encourage you to give Lisa and Saskia a follow on LinkedIn.

What a guest to open up the new series!! 

Today I’m joined by Genelle Aldred - communication strategist consultant, broadcaster, author, deputy chair of Women In Journalism, previously a journalist for BBC/ITV/ ITN, a golfer and an ambassador for the charity SANDS.

In her book, Communicate for Change (and pretty much any interaction you have with her), Genelle asks the questions we should probably all be curious about. But, unlike a lot of reads, Genelle doesn’t fill the space with infinite answers. She sparks curiosity, vulnerability and rallies the importance of listening, mixed with practical insights and anecdotes. 

One of the lines I hold really close to my heart of Genelle’s is ‘clarity is kind’ so I was grateful that we covered this off for the realities of the corporate world. We openly explored that nuance is necessary but not easy to give, the reality that there is no silver bullet but there is a first step and there was some golf analogies thrown in for good measure! 

Genelle has a unique and empowering style about her and I’m incredibly grateful to have gotten to know her and her work a bit better over the last couple of years. This is a conversation I’d love as many people to listen in on as possible, because her incredible experience shines a light for individuals and companies about the power of better communication. 

You can find out more about Genelle on her website and LinkedIn.

Today I’m joined by Shivani, founder of The Wallflower Academy - creating workplaces where everyone can be themselves by partnering with businesses to drive the equality agenda and optimise employee wellbeing. Shivani sums up how her mission is ‘to accelerate equality by driving sustainable culture change which unlocks an individual's full potential.’ 

Shivani’s CV includes roles in huge businesses (including Sky, PWC and Tesco) where she has inevitably gathers her impetus and experiences to bring the Wallflower Academy to life.

I came across Shivani after her recent LinkedIn post covering the eye watering stats on the widening gender pay gap but it did have a list of practical ways employers can invest in the progression and retention of women in the workplace that made my heart sing - and there was plenty to chat about in the recording!

We covered the importance of belonging, the exhaustion of trying to fit in, why we need to address the route cause of challenges and not paper over the cracks, and how to separate self-promotion from bragging. It was packed full of ideas for employers and parents in equal measure.

You can find out more about Shivani on her website and LinkedIn.

Donna’s story is up there with something many of us would say happens in books and films. After returning to the workplace following maternity leave, Donna was in the thick of being gaslit, set up for failure and totally let down by her employer.

Imagine returning to a full-time job on part-time hours and constantly being told ‘you can do it’ - not from a place of flattery, but something far more damaging that left her feeling awful. The impact of roles being offered and never materialising, and feel shut down of options because you’ve dared to procreate.

The headlines share the end result that she got a payout after after legal action where she represented herself. But there’s months of turmoil, horrific practices, the toll on her mental health and cross examining people she’d worked alongside sit behind those headlines. 

Donna is through the other side in many ways and has heaps of new plans for the future, and I’m thrilled she’s sharing them with us today! We also covered some of the expectations she was carrying when she became a parent in the workplace, alongside some of the feelings of not being valued and the silent eye rolls. 

Donna shares first hand examples of what COULD have been done so much better to stop it getting to the stage it did - so employers out there you could walk away with some incredible value add suggestions (that I promise won’t blow your mind and will feel accessible to all!).

You can find out more about Donna through the Lets talk work instagram and her new website.

In this weeks' episode I’m talking to Litsa Smith, the founder of Unscramble Me - the home of mentoring programmes and workshops to help people get organised, feel in control and combat stress. Litsa is all about supporting people with their wellbeing and operational effectiveness and after 20 years of leading high achieving teams she’s putting her experiences into supporting individuals blending work and home life.

I love Litsa’s reframing and practical tips that allow for guidance but don’t leave you feeling like a cookie cutter approach has been applied. Her recent newsletter came with the title ‘how not to feel crap about all the stuff that stays on our to do list forever’ - which is my kinda reading.

We covered how Litsa works with organisations, how she really feels about the definition of ‘productivity’ (spoiler: she doesn’t like it) and a timely reminder about protecting our wellbeing in the remaining part of the year. We talked about every single person in an organisation having something to bring and add value, the power of reflection on what gets our focus and attention and a reminder of applying the 80:20 rule…we covered a lot in just over half an hour! Litsa mentions a blog post when we’re chatting, you can read it here.

You can find out more about Litsa on LinkedIn (she has a cracking newsletter) or through Instagram.