Are you a mum AND a leader? ... or an aspiring leader?

Do you want to role model something different for leadership? Something aligned to what you believe motherhood and leadership is?

Do you want to challenge yourself to be a great leader?

Every experience of motherhood and leadership is different and what every mother/leader needs to lead successful and meaningful lives in work AND life is different.

But there is something so powerful in sharing our experiences and collective wisdom in a safe and supportive space and defining for YOU what it means to be a mother and a leader.

These 1.5 hour monthly sessions are a space to do just that.

These are an opportunity for

• Connecting regularly with other mums/leaders going through similar, and different, experiences.
• Learning from each others experiences and feeling equipped to go forth into the world with more strength and conviction around what you need, and ability to push back on what you don't.
• Recognising some of the norms and assumptions that surround being a mum AND being a leader and consciously choosing what you want to challenge.
• Building your toolkit of strategies for managing expectations, putting in place boundaries, and taking ownership of your life and career.
• Deepening your awareness of your motherhood and leadership experience and feeling supported to do so.
• Developing your own power and identity as a mum and a leader and feeling proud of, and empowered by, your journey.

These sessions are an adaptation of the focus groups that Amanda Sterling did during her PhD data collection in 2020. They resulted in some pretty powerful conversations.

Women left these sessions with

• The confidence to go to their new employer and ask for the hours and working arrangements they needed.
• A greater awareness of their boundaries around presence and availability
• A feeling of empowerment, to take action and role model a more inclusive form of leadership
• Clarity around what their next career step will be and what they want out of it
• A sense of solidarity and connection with other women
• An appreciation of different journeys and experiences
• The courage and support to challenge their internal narratives and the expectations placed on them
• A recognition of the strength it takes to me a mother and a leader

How these sessions will run

We're not here to tell you how to do motherhood or leadership. This session is based on shared experience and collective wisdom. Because of this there is no set format per se. The topics and discussion will depend on what you bring and what you want to get out of it

There is no judgement here. This is a safe and supportive space for you to share your stories and experiences of motherhood and leadership, as well as engage in curious questioning and support.

As well as setting up and holding a safe space for you to share, your facilitator, Amanda, will bring in insights from her PhD research into Motherhood and Leadership, questions to guide the discussion and deepen your reflective experience and tools from her 15+ years leadership development experience to frame and focus the discussion as needed.

Logistics

You are welcome to bring babies / toddlers / young children with you. There is no additional charge. Please just let us know so we can make sure you are supported to do this.

Morning tea will be provided. Please let us know if you have any particular dietary restrictions.

Coffee is included in the price. You can pick this up at the cafe, just let them know that you are attending this event. The environment thanks you for bringing your own reusable coffee cup, or ask the cafe to put it in a mug for you.

Parking is available on the surrounding side streets.

Cancellations and refunds

We understand that kids get sick and you are juggling many balls. We don't want you to be disadvantaged by that.

A refund of your ticket (less any eventbrite fees - because we have to pay them) is available if you need to cancel for any reason. Even if it's on the day of the session.

Similarly, if we need to cancel the session due to a Covid level change, you will receive a full refund (less any eventbrite admin fees - again, we still have to pay to use this service). These sessions will only go ahead if we are at Covid alert level 1.

We just ask two things.

• Please let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to make it. Places are limited and we'd love to offer your place to someone else.
• If you're cancelling because you're feeling overwhelmed with everything you need to do please consider still coming. Taking some time in the support of other amazing women might be just what you need to reset and recharge.