The Belonging Project

In this episode, Fiorenza Rossini shares personal insights on how becoming a parent has transformed her approach to work and life, highlighting five key changes she has made to become more intentional and mindful.

* Overcommitting (01:40)

* How much to prepare for meetings (02:39 )

* Saying yes too quickly (03:20)

* Trying to prove your worth constantly (04:13)

* Holding yourself to a pre-parenthood pace (04:42)

Tune in for the full conversation!

Key topics explored:

* Impact of parenthood on work habits

* Strategies for better work-life balance

* Building mindfulness and intentionality

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review!

About your host Fiorenza Rossini

Fiorenza started building her coaching business in 2016 while still working in investment banking. When her first child was born in 2019, she knew something had to give. Like many parents, she realised she couldn’t keep growing her career in the same way while also being the parent she wanted to be. Her priorities became clearer, and she chose to leave corporate life to focus fully on her coaching work. Today, Fiorenza supports driven professionals & leaders who are also parents of young children, who find themselves to be at a pivot point - whether that’s returning to work, stepping into leadership, or rethinking what career growth now looks like.🔗 Fiorenza on Linkedin 🔗 Fiorenza on Instagram 🔗 More about Fiorenza’s work

Resilience isn’t just about bouncing back; it’s about how we hold ourselves together when everything flips on its head. In this episode, Fiorenza sits down with author, solopreneur and PR expert Lucy Werner to explore her career and life defined by adaptation.

We dive deep into the disconnect of identity that can happen and be fuelled as we move through big life chapters (health challenges for our parents, health challenges for our own children). After 20 years as a high-profile PR expert in London, Lucy moved to rural France and found that her professional armour (of which her command of language was a big piece) didn't translate. She shares the humbling reality of going from an excellent communicator to something that at times felt like a different version of herself.

Lucy’s story is a masterclass in resilience.

We also discuss how to create a career that actually supports your life, the patience required and why sometimes the most resilient act is to simply go dark and find your own pace.

“I didn't have the mental capacity to be on the grind in the same way as I was when I had the agency”, says Lucy Werner.

Tune in for the full conversation!

Key Takeaways on Resilience

* Major life events [07:34]—including a parent’s stroke and a child born with rare heart malformations—acted as the shake-up that forced a shift away from the grind.

* Navigating the transition from a confident London communicator to a rural introvert who felt she couldn’t speak perfectly. [09:20]

* Moving from a high-overhead agency model (PR land) [06:40] to a flexible micropreneur life that can accommodate unexpected events including childcare.

* The lemon tree philosophy (I loved this metaphor!): redefining resilience as planting seeds for later and being gentle with yourself when growth isn’t accelerating as planned or as you’d like it to be. [14:24]

* Using tools like a physical digital brick to protect her nothing time, which Lucy identifies as the true source of her best creative work.[16:30].

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review!

Connect with Lucy Werner

🔗 Find more about Lucy’s work here 🔗 Connect with Lucy on Instagram 🔗 Connect with Lucy on LinkedIn

About your host Fiorenza Rossini

Fiorenza started building her coaching business in 2016 while still working in investment banking. When her first child was born in 2019, she knew something had to give. Like many parents, she realised she couldn’t keep growing her career in the same way while also being the parent she wanted to be. Her priorities became clearer, and she chose to leave corporate life to focus fully on her coaching work. Today, Fiorenza supports driven professionals & leaders who are also parents of young children, who find themselves to be at a pivot point - whether that’s returning to work, stepping into leadership, or rethinking what career growth now looks like.🔗 More about Fiorenza’s work 🔗 Fiorenza on Linkedin 🔗 Fiorenza on Instagram

In this episode, we dive into a topic that resonates deeply with working mums: the invisible burden of the mental load and the necessity of establishing healthy boundaries.

Studies show women spend an average of 4.5 hours per day on unpaid work compared to 2.5 hours for men, leading to stress and burnout.

"A mother's brain makes over 1000 micro decision daily. There is no job in the world harder on the human brain, not a surgeon, not a politician, not a lawyer. Mothering is the only job where the brain never clocks out, even when asleep." shares Fiorenza.

Fiorenza explores practical strategies to help you reduce this burden, establish boundaries, and create vital space for self-care and creativity.

Key topics explored:

* Defining Mental Load (02:15): It’s the invisible burden of planning, organising, and remembering tasks (from school bags to household chores). It includes the constant thinking and worrying, on top of the execution of the tasks.

* The Mother’s Brain: Fiorenza shares a powerful post from Anna Whitehouse (Mother Puka) (03:42), citing UCL research that a mother’s brain makes over 1000 micro-decisions daily, making it a 24/7 job that never clocks out.

* Sharing the Load - The Big 3 Activity (06:06): A quick exercise inviting you to list the 3 tasks that weigh most heavily on your mind and brainstorm ways to share those responsibilities with your partner or family.

* Practical Strategies for Mental Load Reduction (07:00):

* Communication & Systems: Surfacing invisible tasks and having open conversations with your partner.

* Fair Play Card System: A playful, powerful tool to make the mental load visible and decide who holds which responsibilities. This is a topic from a previous podcast episode with Sam Kennedy Christian.

* Scheduled Check-ins: Conversations should not be a one-off; schedule check-ins to ensure responsibilities remain evenly distributed.

* Establishing Boundaries (08:07):

* Workday Buffer: Create a small buffer (10-15 minutes) at the start and end of your workday to transition smoothly between home mode and work mode.

* Communicate & Prioritise: Be clear about your availability, communicate your time commitments, and practice saying no to tasks that don’t align with your priorities.

* Self-Care & Creative Activities (11:51):

* Separate Self-Care from Creativity: Self-care is about looking after your body and mind (e.g., nutritious food, physical activity like yoga/pilates). Creative activities (e.g., sewing, which Fiorenza enjoys) are for engaging in flow states that boost mental health and often generate ideas for other areas of life/work.

* Prioritise Time: Acknowledge that finding time for creative activities often involves a trade-off, especially on weekends, but keep it on your radar and don’t be afraid to try something new.

* Societal influences, Gender Roles and Expression:

* A study on ScienceDirect suggests that the expression of traditional gender roles (identifying as femme) can influence who takes on more of the mental load at home: not surprisingly, cultural norms often position mothers as the default caregiver.

* Advocacy for policies like shared parental leave helps reduce the gender gap in unpaid work.

* Fostering Belonging: Celebrate small wins, practice self-compassion, and connect with other mums to feel less alone. Community plays a crucial role.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review!

About your host Fiorenza Rossini

Fiorenza started building her coaching business in 2016 while still working in investment banking. When her first child was born in 2019, she knew something had to give. Like many parents, she realised she couldn’t keep growing her career in the same way while also being the parent she wanted to be. Her priorities became clearer, and she chose to leave corporate life to focus fully on her coaching work. Today, Fiorenza supports driven professionals & leaders who are also parents of young children, who find themselves to be at a pivot point - whether that’s returning to work, stepping into leadership, or rethinking what career growth now looks like.🔗 Fiorenza on LinkedIn 🔗 Fiorenza on Instagram 🔗 More about Fiorenza’s work

In this episode, Fiorenza Rossini sits down with Sam Kennedy Christian, an accredited executive coach, coach supervisor, and certified Fair Play Method facilitator at The Float Space.

Together, they explore the often invisible but overwhelming mental load carried by working mothers.

“Sharing the mental load or even just distributing the mental responsibilities can significantly reduce stress and improve mental health. It’s about surfacing those invisible tasks and having open conversations about them.”, says Sam.

From understanding how societal expectations shape household responsibilities to practical tools for reducing stress, this conversation offers actionable insights to foster balance, belonging, and well-being.

Whether you're juggling work, family, or both, you'll find strategies to make space for self-care, creativity, and shared responsibilities in this episode!

In particular, I really enjoyed getting to know more about the Fair Play method!It’s a game-changing approach developed by Eve Rodsky. It's designed to help couples divide household responsibilities more equitably. The method uses a deck of cards, each representing a task, to make the invisible mental load visible and manageable. It's not just about who does what, but about having clear ownership of tasks from start to finish.

Tune in for the full conversation 🎧

Key topics explored:

* (02:15) The concept of mental load and its impact on mental health

* (06:30) Using the Fair Play Card System to Share Household Responsibilities

* (09:45) Setting Boundaries Around Work and Transitions

* (13:20) Introducing the Concept of “Unicorn Space” and Creative Hobbies

* (17:50) How Gender Expression Influences Household Responsibilities

* (21:05) The Role of Community and Small Wins in Fostering Belonging

* (26:40) Recognition of the Mental Load as a Never-Off System and Its Brain Impact

* (30:00) How Mental Load Affects Confidence and Practical Conversation Starters

* (35:15) Protecting Time for Self-Care and Hobbies Like Sewing

* (40:00) Reflections on Community Building and Societal Expectations

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review!

Connect with Sam Kennedy Christian

🔗 The Float Space 🔗 Sam Kennedy Christian - LinkedIn 🔗 Sam Kennedy Christian - Instagram

About your host Fiorenza Rossini

Fiorenza started building her coaching business in 2016 while still working in investment banking. When her first child was born in 2019, she knew something had to give. Like many parents, she realised she couldn’t keep growing her career in the same way while also being the parent she wanted to be. Her priorities became clearer, and she chose to leave corporate life to focus fully on her coaching work. Today, Fiorenza supports driven professionals & leaders who are also parents of young children, who find themselves to be at a pivot point - whether that’s returning to work, stepping into leadership, or rethinking what career growth now looks like.🔗 Fiorenza on LinkedIn 🔗 Fiorenza on Instagram 🔗 More about Fiorenza’s work

In this episode of The Belonging Project Podcast, Fiorenza Rossini deep dives into the impact of motherhood on women’s confidence in the workplace.

She discusses the challenges faced by mothers returning to work, including the mental load, societal perceptions that contribute to a decline in confidence, and the motherhood penalty.Fiorenza offers practical strategies for rebuilding confidence, emphasising the importance of small resets and adapting to new circumstances.

“I am passionate about confidence, not needing big intervention. It can really be about small resets, small little things, small strategies, small tools that you can do on the daily.", explains Fiorenza.

The conversation highlights the need for understanding growth and the evolving definition of success as women navigate their roles as parents alongside professionals.

Tune in for the full episode!

Key topics we explored:

* Confidence Changes After Parenthood (0:33 - 1:30)

* Impact of a change of context and mental load (1:30 - 4:38)

* Practical strategies for Rebuilding Confidence (5:26 - 10:33)

* Growth and Adaptation (9:13 - 11:59)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review!

About your host Fiorenza Rossini

Fiorenza started building her coaching business in 2016 while still working in investment banking. When her first child was born in 2019, she knew something had to give. Like many parents, she realised she couldn’t keep growing her career in the same way while also being the parent she wanted to be. Her priorities became clearer, and she chose to leave corporate life to focus fully on her coaching work. Today, Fiorenza supports driven professionals & leaders who are also parents of young children, who find themselves to be at a pivot point - whether that’s returning to work, stepping into leadership, or rethinking what career growth now looks like.🔗 Fiorenza on Linkedin 🔗 Fiorenza on Instagram 🔗 More about Fiorenza’s work: www.growinnow.com

If you enjoy this episode, make sure to catch our episode with Hannah Douglas, public speaking and voice coach. Here to listen on your platform of choice or on Substack.

In this episode, Fiorenza Rossini welcomes award-winning actress Hannah Douglas who decided to launch LoudHer Voice Coaching (a public speaking and voice coaching business) after becoming a mum.

“After I became a mum, I was talking to so many mums who were feeling like weren’t heard properly at work or were nervous about going back to work or didn’t quite know what their voices were anymore. And I really felt that kind of sense of identity shift as well”, says Hannah.

Hannah’s work use the breath as foundation and not only she gives us practical tips in this episode but she also guides us through a breathing exercise called the balloon breathing, which works great to instantly ground oneself before speaking or stepping into a room.

Public speaking is a big topic in our working life, sometimes a past event is casting a shadow and holding us back, sometimes we fell in a perfectionism trap.

What if we give ourselves permission and choice to be confident with our own voice?

Tune in for the full conversation!

Key topics we explored:

* Hannah’s transition from acting to voice coaching driven by motherhood and personal experience (00:00 - 02:44)

* The deep connection between breath and confidence (07:14 - 08:05)

* Common challenges women face with their voice in professional and personal settings (09:54 - 10:53)

* How societal expectations and internal permission influence speaking up (39:45 - 41:25)

* Practice with us a breathing exercise, the balloon breathing to manage nerves (13:15 - 14:22)

* The impact of motherhood on self-identity and confidence (32:58 - 39:45)

* Navigating the acting industry’s approach to pregnancy and motherhood (17:43 - 21:36)

* The importance of feeling safe and having permission to express oneself (41:25 - 42:16)

* External vs internal permission and overcoming judgments (42:16 - 43:02)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating & review and hit subscribe!

Connect with Hannah Douglas

🔗 LoudHer Voice Coaching 🔗 Hannah Douglas - LinkedIn 🔗Hannah Douglas - Instagram

About your host Fiorenza Rossini

Fiorenza started building her coaching business in 2016 while still working in investment banking. When her first child was born in 2019, she knew something had to give. Like many parents, she realised she couldn’t keep growing her career in the same way while also being the parent she wanted to be. Her priorities became clearer, and she chose to leave corporate life to focus fully on her coaching work. Today, Fiorenza supports driven professionals & leaders who are also parents of young children, who find themselves to be at a pivot point - whether that’s returning to work, stepping into leadership, or rethinking what career growth now looks like.🔗 Fiorenza on Linkedin 🔗 Fiorenza on Instagram 🔗 More about Fiorenza’s work

This season is about working parenthood, the real-life challenges that shape how we show up professionally when life is full, and of course, belonging.

Expect a mix of thoughtful reflection and energising conversation, grounded in the realities of working parenthood, and what sustainable growth can look like in this season of life.🎧 New episodes dropping every other Wednesday!

In this episode of the Belonging Project Podcast, host Fiorenza Rossini sits down with Tim Yeo, chief introvert of the Quiet Achiever. Tim shares insights on how introverts can have an impact at work without pretending to be extroverts.

“Reframe introversion as a strength”, says Tim Yeo.

In this conversation with Fiorenza, Tim opens up on his journey from Singapore to Australia, the cultural differences he encountered, and how he embraced his identity as a quiet achiever.

Thanks for supporting The Belonging Project Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts!

This episode is also super packed with practical tips for introverts to be seen and heard in the workplace. Such as:

* Introducing ourselves to a group

* Small Talk

* What to do when you’re asked something on the spot in a meeting

* Giving yourself permission to speak up even when your ideas are not fully formed

* Networking

* Public Speaking

* How to make remote working more inclusive (aka spend less time speaking in online meetings!)

And finally, one of my favourite part of the conversation with Tim is when we explore how we can make introverts and extroverts coexist in a team!

Episode’s resources

You can find more about Tim on thequietachievr.com where you can find out about his book, The Quiet Achiever and the Quiet Achiever School (which offers courses on public speaking, networking, and more).

👩🏽‍💻 ✨ This podcast is fully self-funded.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please comment below!Any questions or if you’d love to reach out, DM me here or on [email protected]

We’ve all heard the advice: bring your whole self to work.

But recently, two voices made me stop and rethink that message — Amy Edmondson, who reminds us that authenticity needs accountability, and Jodi-Ann Burey, whose book Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work explores how “being yourself” can carry a cost, especially for women and people of colour.

Amy’s post offered a great example: a colleague who interrupts everyone and says, “That’s just how I am.”

Authentic? Maybe.

But not exactly inclusive. Her point: instead of bringing our whole selves, we should bring our best selves — still imperfect, but aware of others.

Then there’s Jodi-Ann’s story: accused of having a “race agenda” two weeks into a new job, even though inclusion was part of her role. It highlights the contradiction so many people face — workplaces say they want authenticity and diversity, but often punish it when it shows up in real life.

For me, authenticity isn’t about exposure, it’s about integrity — showing up in a way that feels aligned and safe. True belonging means both care and accountability, for ourselves and for the spaces we share.

🕰️ Episode Chapters

00:00 – Why “whole self” can be both promise and trap01:30 – Amy Edmondson: authenticity with accountability04:00 – Jodi-Ann Burey: when being yourself has a cost09:00 – Gen Z and shifting ideas of success11:30 – My reflections on authenticity and belonging

✨ Key Takeaways

* Authenticity matters, but so does accountability.

* Being yourself shouldn’t come at a personal cost.

* You don’t owe work your whole self — only your best self.

📚 Mentioned

* Amy Edmondson’s post on authenticity (on LinkedIn)

Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work by Jodi-Ann Burey

👩🏽‍💻 ✨ This podcast is fully self-funded.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please comment below!Any questions or if you’d love to reach out, DM me!67fdd0481070a3063a748759d71f2f2814fe3a0e

In this episode of The Belonging Project podcast, join hosts Fiorenza Rossini and Marie de Champchesnel as they explore the transformative power of curiosity.

Discover how Marie's journey from working in the field of history of art to in the field of coaching was fueled by a relentless pursuit of curiosity, leading to personal growth and a renewed sense of belonging.

Tune in to learn how embracing curiosity can unlock new paths and opportunities in both personal and professional realms.

This episode dives into:

* Exploration of Identity and Belonging: This episode dives into how personal experiences and cultural backgrounds shape our sense of identity and belonging.

* Navigating Career Transitions: Discover insights on how embracing change and curiosity can lead to fulfilling career transformations.

* The Role of Support Systems: Learn about the importance of having a supportive network in personal and professional growth.

* Motherhood and Isolation: Understand the challenges of motherhood, feelings of isolation, and the journey to finding belonging.

🎧 Episode Highlights:

05:00 Marie’s Journey

10:00 Curiosity in Personal Growth

15:00 Navigating Motherhood, feeling of isolation and a search for belonging

20:00 Professional Transformation

25:00 Finding Belonging Through Curiosity

30:00 Key takeaways on the power of curiosity.

🔗 Resources + Links

* Connect with Marie de Champchesnel on LinkedIn.You can find more about her work on her website.

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