Don’t leave your career to fate: 3 questions for working mums to ask

‘I can’t believe that they have put her in charge of the team. I’ve been here 7 years, worked my socks off and they go and bring in someone from the outside!’ grumbled Susan, as she shifted agitatedly in her chair. ‘I wasn’t even consulted, or asked if I wanted the role’, she continued. As…

10 tips to get you started if you are returning to work after a break

It’s Monday morning, Harriet sets off with nervous anticipation for work. It is her first day at work. What’s the big deal? Harriet is not a school leaver or a graduate but a 48 year old mother of 3 children. The eldest is 18 and the youngest entered into secondary education this week. Harriet is a…

Ditch the work life balance scales and start integrating

Yesterday I read an article giving tips on work life balance. Whenever I hear the term ‘work life balance’ I think of a set of scales with life on one side and work on the other and people trying desperately hard to keep the scales balanced and getting very stressed. Does one happen at the expense…

If you are happy and you know it…

Yesterday the Office of National Statistics released its findings as part of the inaugural subjective wellbeing survey commissioned by David Cameron in an attempt to chart the nation’s happiness alongside economic data such as GDP. Whilst you may disagree with its subjectiveness, cost of £2m a year and view it as being “candy floss –…

What foundations are you laying for the future?

Yesterday, as I dropped my eldest child off to spend a month with a group of strangers in another continent, I experienced a multitude of emotions from tremendous anxiety and worry to pride. My worries ranged from concerns about her safety, her health and wellbeing, about being so far away from home… to immense pride…

What can you learn about leadership from parenting?

This weekend my eldest child begins her training for her expedition to the Amazon and Andes. It seems like only yesterday that she was a helpless and dependent infant. As I reflect back on my journey as a parent I am humbled by the mammoth learning that I have gained from it and how it…

How are you influencing those who matter to you the most?

It was my intention to write this week’s blog on influence and leadership within an organisational context. However a remark by my eldest child yesterday about ‘not waving her off on her way to school anymore because I am always Tweeting instead’ has made me change my context. As a family, we have a limited…