This is such a personal journey that there is no script to follow. There is no right or wrong way of balancing parenthood and professional life. Each person has their unique way of balancing the two, based on their own value system, needs, motivations and aspirations. The only criteria here is that you find your way, you understand your own value system, needs, motivations and aspirations; so that you design the best balance for yourself; so that you can thrive at home and at work!

Here are some tips to help you best navigate these new waters, where you become the queen of juggling and sharing yourself with many! Depending on how soon you return to work, also be aware that typically it takes 9 months for your body to return to normal, hormonally and physiologically.

As the Professional woman:

• More than likely, your role was performed by one or many people in your absence. You wouldn’t be alone if you felt awkward taking back the controls. Start with speaking to those who...

Accompanying the transition to parenthood requires a change in assumptions, beliefs, behaviour and motivations on the part of the parents concerned.

For a woman, it is probably one of the most challenging and exciting transitions; amplified by a great deal of mental and physical changes and unknowns, with associated fears; especially with the 1st child.

Fathers however, are often overlooked during this transition period; despite their conflicting desires to spend more time with family, whilst upholding professional aspirations. So this blog addresses how Fathers can better balance parenthood and professional work.

I remember when my first daughter was several months old, my Mother commented about my husband:

“John is good. He is often home to do the bath and bedtime routine and is a very hands-on Dad.” 

My Mother’s comments highlighted the changes just between our generation; her perception that John was “good” and our perception that John...

Often, as working parents, our focus is exclusively on completing the to-do list in the most efficient way, that our default is to sit down at the desk and work like a Trojan, without stopping or even daring to accept a lunch invitation because you have an absolute deadline – child care pick up at 17:30. It’s not a deadline that can be moved by even an hour or too, not one to be negotiated – you have to meet it.

Our work sees us supporting working parents of young children, often in their thirties and early forties, that the timing is not right to even consider leadership roles or promotion – the common line we hear is “the children are too young and I cannot give the time the organisation needs”.

Such assumptions can be challenged if your organisation is an advocate for having strong leaders who also ‘walk the talk’, effectively making time work and their personal life.

This belief that it’s not possible to have both,...

We recommend that you and your Manager meet or at least speak virtually, ideally on your first day back from your parental leave; so that you can quickly re-orient yourself to the world of professional working!

What is the purpose of this meeting? Ideally, it will cover the following points:

• Practical logistics 
• Update from your Manager on the department & business
• Handover of role & responsibilities

Let’s start with practical logistics

• Has there been any changes to the office, your workstation you need to be aware of, or are there any pending changes?
• If you are a returning mother who is breastfeeding, ensure that you know where all the facilities are, so that this does not create any anxiety. Use this meeting to advise or remind your Manager of your breastfeeding routine so that he or she understands when you will be away from the office space.
• Together, look at the diary for the next six weeks and understand if there are any key meetings planned where...

Is this known as “having it all”? Can you even have a career and family without the burden of guilt, overwhelm and fatigue? There isn’t a text book standard response to this. Why? Because everyone’s definition of “having it all” is unique and it’s based on your own exclusive value system and aspirations.

Step 1: Self-awareness

The first step therefore when considering how to navigate career and family is to have a very good understanding of what is important to you, as a parent and as a professional.

As a parent – if someone asked your child 10 years from now to describe you as a Mum or Dad over the last 10 years, what do you want them to say? Who inspires you as a role model as a parent and why? What do you want to copy from your own parents? What do you not want to copy from your own parents? If you take time to consider these questions over a short period, coming back to them several times, you will soon have a sound awareness of...

Ask any new parent and most will admit that attempting to achieve healthy work-life balance is increasingly challenging.

The fact is there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you did before having a child, and yet for some reason you try to do more. The new parent transition period can often feel hard whilst you adjust your expectations of what is possible and manageable.

The period between having a child and returning to work is a great time to stop and re-assess your priorities. Unless you have an army of nannies, chefs ad cleaners, if you try to continue your previous lifestyle alongside new priorities and responsibilities, you’re on a fast track to hitting burn out and disappointment.

Similarly if you neglect to make the necessary changes to prioritise what is important to you now, it will only result in more stress.

This blog article is my attempt at busting some popular misconceptions with the aim of helping newbie parents find some more useful...