Anna O'Sullivan on Taking a Career Break to be a Full Time Carer to her Autistic Son!

Anna O'Sullivan on Taking a Career Break to be a Full Time Carer to her Autistic Son!

When we become a parent (or in many cases well before that...) we usually know whether we want to be a stay-at-home parent or if we want to be a working parent. But what if we choose the latter but the Universe has a different plan for us? How does it feel to give up on the plan we have had for ourselves? In this episode Anna talks about her personal experience of taking a career break to become a full time carer for her son! and how does it feel to see your child struggle or to be rejected? Also, from a very personal perspective, Anna talks about how does it feel to lose her personal/ professional identity and the judgment and societal expectation she felt on her! And why making this decision mostly defaults to a women? (Do I dare I say always?)

Tracy Gunn on How You Can Progress Your Career Without Sacrificing Family Life and Burning Yourself Out.

Tracy Gunn is a co-founder of Platform55, an award winning HR platform that transforms how organisations supports modern families at work, with solutions for Leaders, Employees and HR.  Tracy was a former Head of Leadership Development for Marks & Spencer in the UK, and has over 25 years of experience in learning and leadership development.  As a Mum of two boys, she is well versed in juggling work and family life, and has supported thousands of parents to navigate family life alongside their career. Originally from Scotland, Tracy has lived in Ireland since 2010.  In this episode we talked about how and why we need to learn to set clear boundaries. Why it is important to be a role model in your organisation in order to create a balanced working culture. And why we need to be more assertive with our language. We also touched on flexible and remote working and new skills that we all need to learn to accommodate the future way of working and not burning ourselves out...! Enjoy :)

Pat Finnerty on Imposter Syndrome (and some other related topics...!)

Pat Finnerty is a psychological coach dedicated to guiding organizations and individuals toward more meaningful and rewarding outcomes in work and life. With over two decades of self-employment, he possesses a diverse skill set marked by self-motivation, enthusiasm, and resilience. As a proponent of lifelong learning, his recent educational endeavors have further refined his abilities, particularly in group dynamics, personal and professional development, and program development and delivery. Pat's focal point is fostering positive work environments and maximizing employee engagement and satisfaction. He collaborates with leaders and teams to identify factors contributing to engagement, employing tailored coaching sessions, workshops, and strategies to enhance motivation, productivity, and retention. Drawing from positive psychology and the PERMA model, Pat aims to promote well-being and optimal functioning, aiding individuals and organizations in cultivating fulfilling lives both within and beyond the workplace. In this episode we talked about: 1) Imposter syndrome- what it is and how we can navigate through our lives without it effecting us, 2) The difference between self awareness and imposter syndrome, 3) The importance of saying 'I don't know'. Enjoy :)

Ian Dinwiddie on Why Supporting New Dads is a Route to Gender Equality!

Ian Dinwiddie is Coach, Mentor and The Founder Of Inspiring Dads. He delivers coaching, presentations and workshops to innovative businesses who put supporting new dads at the heart of their gender equality strategy, recognising the positive impact on equality and well-being of helping dads solve the challenge of “how to be a great dad WITHOUT sacrificing a great career.” An ex-Management consultant, twice a stay-at-home dad and an English National League hockey umpire, he was the co-host of 46 episodes of the Lockdown Dads podcast, where they interviewed politicians, PhDs and an international rock star. He is married to Lisa, a Lawyer and they have two children,  a 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. Ian recently presented to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood – “What’s In It For Me(n)? Leveraging Fatherhood for Gender Equality,”.   In this episode, we talked about the challenges and difficulties new dads are facing and how we (the government, corporations and generally speaking society!) can support them. A very interesting listen and a new perspective on equality!! Enjoy! :)

Ciara Fitzgerald and Janet Lavelle on The Importance of Female Solidarity.

In this episode I was joined by Ciara Fitzgerald and Janet Lavelle, my former work colleagues and now good friends. In this episode we talked about: 1) What does female solidarity mean to us and the importance of female solidarity in work places as well as in private life. 2) The barriers that women were facing and are still facing when comes to building the solidarity between themselves 3) ... and why women working collectively like ants can help equality - yes you read it well :) and now you need to listen to find out more! Enjoy :)