Are you:

• Considering your career options during maternity leave, or after a period away from work?
• Seeking a promotion, career change or a new challenge?
• Looking for ways to balance work life and home life that are right for you?

Becoming a parent is a pivotal time and a real opportunity for transformation, both personally and professionally. Maternity leave offers a new perspective on life and often raises important questions about your career, such as: when to return to work and in what capacity; how to balance work life and family life and how time away from the workplace might impact your career progression.

Maternity coaching is a way of supporting and empowering you as you ask these questions, discover what is right for you, and make choices that will be best for you and your family. You always choose what you want to focus on, which could be anything from confidence, to childcare options, to finding more time for yourself.

BENEFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS

• Clarity and perspective about what you want from your career and family life.
• A supportive and empowering process which builds confidence, so that you make the decisions that are right for you and feel ready for the next steps.
• The opportunity to explore your options for career progression.
• The right level of challenge and accountability to ensure you achieve what you want.
• Time and space to articulate your thoughts and be listened to.

BENEFITS FOR ORGANISATIONS

• Increased retention of employees, and your investment in their knowledge, skills and experience, following leave – with the associated financial benefits.
• Employees who feel more valued and engaged whilst on leave.
• Employees who return from leave feeling more confident, more motivated and more prepared for the impact of the changes to their personal life.
• An important way of promoting gender equality, closing the gender pay gap and minimising the impact of leave on career progression.
• A way of promoting well-being at home and at work, which positively impacts on performance.

My one-to-one programmes are flexible and can be tailored to your needs and requirements. They range from one-off sessions (for example, to help you feel prepared for specific events like an upcoming meeting or interview), to a comprehensive range of sessions which begin before maternity leave and end up to 18 months after your return to work.

Here is an example package as a guideline:

Before maternity leave begins: One or two sessions to help you feel prepared for maternity leave.

During maternity leave: Two or three sessions to help you plan for the next steps, both emotionally and practically.

Shortly after you return to work: One or two sessions to support the transition back to work.

6 – 18 months after you return to work: One or two sessions to review the return to work and consider future aspirations.

For men choosing to take a period of paternity leave (or a number periods of leave), paternity coaching can support you in the practical considerations transitioning between time at work and time at home and between your professional identity and your identity as a father, so that you strike the right balance for you.

Please contact me for more details.

If you are a teacher on maternity leave, you may be interested in the work of the MTPT project, which is supported by a fantastic team of qualified coaches (including myself!). The project offers 3 coaching sessions to teachers as part of their mission to inspire, empower and connect teachers choosing to complete continued professional development whilst on parental leave. 

If your school would like to know more about supporting teachers on maternity leave, take a look at my article for the TES.

If you have been away from the workplace looking after your family for a longer period, I also offer return to work coaching.

Find out more about whether coaching is right for you or your organisation here.