Can you build a successful career without sacrificing your well-being?  This week, Verena Hefti MBE speaks with Tom Shaw, author of Counterbalance: How to Build Your Career Without Ruining Your Life and a Senior Leader Mentor at Leaders Plus. Tom talks about counterbalance and why it's important to be intentional about what matters most. Together, Tom and Verena explore making difficult decisions, reducing burnout, and thriving in your career without compromising your life. Tom also shares...

When you're a dual career couple, it can be tricky to coordinate schedules and balance work and family life. This week, Verena Hefti MBE is joined by married couple Sally Hamm and Matt Hamm, Occupational Medicine Physicians (who worked together as Air Force Flight Surgeons), who share four children alongside their busy senior careers. Sally and Matt open up about how they have evolved their thinking around combining raising their family and progressing their careers.  The couple share...

In this episode, Verena discusses the importance of allyship in the workplace. She is joined by Brad Johnson and David G. Smith, authors of the book: Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace. As well as discussing what men can do to support their female colleagues, Brad and David discuss ways we can all support members of minorities in order to help everyone thrive professionally. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Show Notes: Good Guys is out on the 13th of...

In this episode, Verena is joined by Tiffany Sauder, CEO of Element Three and mother of four. Tiffany breaks down some of the key factors which have led to her inspiring success.  From prioritising what really matters to the power of networking, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone looking for tangible career and family advice. We hope you enjoy the conversation. This episode is part of our CEO Series, spotlighting parents with young children who hold a CEO role. Show Notes: Connect...

Is the four day working week the future of work, or a luxurious dream? In this episode of Big Careers, Small Children, Verena is joined by Tatiana Pignon, Head of Development at The Autonomy Institute, an independent research organisation that focuses on the future of the working world. In this intriguing conversation, Tatianna discusses Autonomy's fascinating research on the shorter working week and the elements of their discoveries that you could apply in your organisation. We hope you...

In a bid to make a difference and bring more purpose to her work, Polly Neate left her successful career in journalism and joined the charity sector. Nearly twenty years later, she is CEO of one of the largest charities in the UK, Shelter, and a proud mother of two grown up women. In this podcast, Polly discusses her fascinating journey, the sacrifices she has had to make, and why finding purpose in your work is so important. We hope you enjoy the conversation. This episode is part of our CEO...

Job sharing is a powerful tool for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace and has several benefits for both the organisation and their employees. Joining us on Big Careers, Small Children this week are successful job-sharing duo Emily Wilton and Jo Goring, two senior leaders at the UK's largest animal welfare charity, the RSPCA. Emily and Jo share how they make their job share (which they explain is actually a job split) work so successfully, including why...

How can you self promote at work and invest time in building relationships as a busy working parent? Today on the podcast Verena Hefti MBE welcomes Ferzana Bham & Bethany Pearson from PR Mums. PR Mums is a community-led platform which offers former PRs (many of whom have left the workforce after having children) a pathway back into the industry. Ferzana and Bethany share their expert advice and practical tips on self promotion, including how to forge relationships when you're time poor...

Shift work can be especially challenging when you're a parent to young children. This week on the podcast our Leaders Plus Fellow Nathalie Holdstock, a Senior Sister and Emergency Nurse Practitioner, shares how she navigates working shifts in the NHS whilst raising two small children. Nathalie shares practical tips for other shift workers, including why it's important to ask for what you need and what others who don't work shifts can learn from the experience. We hope you enjoy the...

Why are so many women over the age of 38 leaving the workforce and what can we do about it? Our guest today to discuss the future of work is employee experience, culture and communications expert Lucy Kemp. Lucy shares how AI is impacting the workplace and gives practical advice for anyone just getting started with adopting AI to support their work in future. We delve into why workplaces have historically been designed by men for men and what this means for women. We also look at the data...

Are you feeling overwhelmed and burnt out? This week on the podcast Executive Coach and Founder of Wisdom for Working Mums Nicky Lowe shares practical advice on dealing with and preventing burnout as a busy working parent juggling both career and family.  Burnout is something Nicky has experienced first-hand following her return to work after the birth of her first child. She shares her own story, plus how to identify if you are struggling with burnout and fantastic tips on how you can begin...

How can we move to more outcome-based work cultures and how best can managers support this? Outcome-based leadership relates to delivering results and achieving specific, measurable goals rather than being hyper-focused on time spent at your desk. It can enable employees and teams to work more autonomously and flexibly. Our guests today Helen Balcome and Kate Groom, founders of The Health Kollective, believe that work can be and should be a positive force that complements everything else we...

  Verena welcomes Gethin Nadin, an expert in workplace wellbeing and one of HRs most influential thinkers to discuss how to build better employee experiences for working parents. Wellbeing for working parents is a hot topics and Gethin shares insights from his research, including why organisations who prioritise employee health and wellbeing and put people over policy are often more successful and crucially, profitable.  Gethin also shares the importance of taking charge of our own wellbeing,...

Do you struggle to set boundaries around work? Have you ever wondered if you're a workaholic? Would you like to be more present when you're spending time with your children? Our guest today is Dr. Malissa Clark, Associate Professor of Industrial Organizational Psychology at the University of Georgia and author of the book "Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture is Bad for Business and How to Fix It." Malissa outlines exactly what workaholism is and shares why having a 'type A'...

Ahead of Father's Day in the UK, Verena chats to New York Times columnist and founder of The Company of Dads, Paul J. Sullivan. Through The Company of Dads online platform, Paul has created a thriving and inclusive community for 'lead dads' and is challenging traditional norms of what it means to be a father. Lead dads are fully engaged in raising their children, supporting their partner and working to keep the house together and typically work a more flexible schedule than their...

How can you navigate shift work as a parent? This week we welcome Emergency Medicine Doctor Sonia Damle to the podcast. Sonia shares her experience of shift work and how to make it work alongside bringing up children. Sonia has lots of practical advice for other shift workers, including: why knowing what you want is vital to make it workhow utilising your support network can really make a differencehow self-rostering could be game changing in the NHS and beyond Plus, the skills and...

Have you heard of workstyle? Today on the podcast we are delighted to welcome entrepreneurs and changemakers Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst. Together they came up with the concept of workstyle in response to their negative experiences of the traditional '9-5' working week. Workstyle is a new word to describe the complete freedom to choose when and where you work. It differs from flexible working for all, which Lizzie and Alex believe is not the right solution. They invite us to think about...

We're delighted to welcome Denise Wilson OBE to the podcast. Denise is the former chief executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review and has led the UK’s business task force to increase the number of women on boards and in leadership positions. She has made a significant contribution to gender equality in British business and is passionate about empowering women. We discuss: How the UK made such massive strides in closing the gender gap at board levelWhat still needs to change for gender...

Would you like to reduce the number of meetings in your workplace? Joining us this week is workplace culture enthusiast Bruce Daisley. A former EMEA Vice President of Twitter, Bruce is now a best-selling author and hosts the podcast 'Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat', alongside helping organisations build energised and connected workplace cultures. In this episode, we discuss how you can positively change the workplace culture where you work. We share practical tips on reducing the number of...

Has your employer recently called you back to the office? Our guest today is Rosie Hewat, Group Chief People Officer at fintech company Kuda. In 2024, many organisations have begun to pull their workers back to the office. As an experienced HR and people management professional and an advocate for flexible working, Rosie shares practical advice on how you can handle this request. Plus, listen for tips on requesting flexible working and what to do if your flexible working request is...

What do the people who get flexible working requests approved have in common? Today we welcome Elizabeth (Liz) Willetts, CEO and Founder of Investing in Women to the podcast to discuss her work advocating for the power of part-time and flexible working. Liz shares her top tips for getting your flexible working request approved, including when it is best to mention flexible working during interview stages. Plus, why Liz believes the future of work is hybrid. We hope you enjoy the...

Do you ever feel under pressure to be the perfect parent? Verena Hefti MBE chats with Charlotte Boujassy, Director of Talent & Leadership Development Europe for a Japanese pharmaceutical company. They discuss why it's so important to talk loudly about working flexibly at a senior level, how to deal with the pressure of perfectionism when you're a working parent and progressing your career after you have children. Born in France, for the past 10 years, Charlotte has lived and worked in...

Today we welcome to the podcast Thorey V. Proppe, the CEO and founder of Alda, an Icelandic tech company which developed DEI software for workplaces globally. Iceland consistently ranks among the highest countries in the world for gender equality. Thorey shares: What is working for gender equality right now in IcelandWhat we can learn from this success to implement in other countriesWhy data is the best way to improve DEI policies and help close the gender pay gap Enjoy the...

Today we're joined by Brita Fernandez Schmidt, transformational coach and author of the brilliant book Fears to Fierce.  Brita has spent 25 years championing women's rights across the world, and strongly believes that every woman has a fierce power to fulfill her own dreams. We discussed how we can learn to trust our own intuition, be intentional with our actions and manage our fears. Enjoy the conversation. Show notes: Find out more about Brita and her book Fears to Fierce Listen to Mary Ann...