Big Careers, Small Children Leaders Plus

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 partner.
Paul shares how he became a lead dad, why he is passionate about parenting out loudly and why it's so important to parent through your calendar (e.g. be honest about why you're leaving work and diarise it) because of the profoundly positive impact this can have at your organisation.
We hope you enjoy the conversation.
Show Notes:
Find out more about The Company of Dads.Find out more about the award-winning Leaders Plus Fellowships.

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 experience we can take from shift work (eg. compartmentalising) and apply to more traditional working hours.
We hope you enjoy the conversation, do get in touch if you have any thoughts or feedback.
Show Notes:
Applications for the award-winning NHS Fellowship close 18 June. Find out more: www.leadersplus.org/nhsfellowshipAccess further resources for parents working in the NHS: www.leadersplus.org/resources/parental-leave-toolkits

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 our own workstyle and how we can achieve what we need in a way that works for us. Plus, they share the evidence behind workstyle and why it works, including how it can level the playing field and help to create true inclusivity and accessibility in our society.
We hope you enjoy this thought provoking conversation.
This episode is part of the future of work series, where we explore how work will change in the future to help everyone thrive and progress their careers equitably regardless of circumstances.
Show Notes:
Find out more about Hoxby and the Workstyle RevolutionJoin the Workstyle Revolution Slack Community Find out more about the Leaders Plus Senior Directors Fellowship

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 equalityHow to get to an Exec Director positionWhy as a parent everything doesn’t need to be perfect but “good enough”
We hope you enjoy the conversation.
This episode is part of the future of work series, where we explore how work will change in the future to help everyone thrive and progress their careers equitably regardless of circumstances.
Show Notes:
Connect with Denise Wilson OBE on LinkedIn.Download the latest FTSE Women Leaders ReviewDownload the Leaders Plus Mental Load ChecklistFind out more about the Leaders Plus Senior Directors Fellowship

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 meetings in the diary, the super powers of productivity and a look at the future of work, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence (AI).
Enjoy this thought provoking conversation.
This episode is part of the future of work series, where we explore how work will change in the future to help everyone thrive and progress their careers equitably regardless of circumstances.
Show Notes:
Find out more about Bruce Daisley via his website at www.brucedaisley.comDownload the Leaders Plus Career Progression Gaps: The Next Frontier report.Discover the Silent Meeting Manifesto

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 rejected.
Enjoy the conversation.
Show notes:
Find out more about Rosie at www.rosiespeople.com Find out more about the award-winning Leaders Plus Fellowships www.leadersplus.org/fellowship