By Verena Hefti, CEO & Founder Leaders Plus

When I had my first baby, I was struck by how many people assumed my career as a director would be put on ice. More people asked, “Have you painted the nursery yet?” and “Will you be going back to work?” rather than, “What are your next career goals?” Meanwhile, no one seemed to ask my male partner the same questions.

Now, fast forward to my fourth pregnancy as CEO of the multi-award-winning social enterprise Leaders Plus having done work with individuals across 5 continents, I know that keeping your career going  strong with a baby in tow isn’t just possible—it’s necessary.

Here are six lessons I have learnt to future-proof my career while embracing parenthood.

1. Do It Despite the Naysayers

Society is still structured around outdated expectations, where one parent (usually the mother) is assumed to be the primary caregiver. Even just this week (March 25!) I had people assume that my          (male) partner is the main breadwinner and that I do the lion share of work at home, which is not correct, we share it equally and earn a similar amount.

If you’re ambitious about your career, don’t let external assumptions shape your decisions. The reality is that having a child doesn’t make you any less capable—it simply means you need to approach your career with intention.

Even while pregnant this time round, I applied for a prestigious Investment Committee Role with a multimillion-pound social investment fund to complement my work leading Leaders Plus. Was I doubting myself? Of course I was. But I did it anyway because I knew that too many women are excluded from financial decision making roles and I get joy from the opportunity. Guess what? I got this competitive paid board role despite being sick before the interview and feeling I failed afterwards.

2. Embrace Imperfection

I learnt the hard way that it is impossible to be perfect at both career and parenting, I often tell other working parents I support via Leaders Plus. Working mothers today spend more time actively engaging with their children than housewives in the 1970s,  despite also holding demanding jobs (see Rutger Bergmann’s brilliant book “Utopia for Realists”). If you can’t live up to the ‘Instaperfect’ image of a  woman effortlessly blending homemade organic purée while leading a board meeting, that’s not a   failure—it’s reality. With my fourth baby on the way, I had to learn to let go of perfectionism and focus on what truly matters. The other day, my kids enjoyed their rice cracker and cheese dinner with surprisingly little moaning when I was too tired to cook.

3. Flip the Script: Your Caring Responsibilities Are an Asset, Not a Liability

Too often, working parents are made to feel as though their caregiving responsibilities make them lesser employees. The truth? Parenthood can sharpen essential leadership skills. Managing a baby’s unpredictable demands at 2 a.m. teaches resilience, patience, and problem-solving—skills that are invaluable in the workplace. Many senior leaders I interviewed for the Big Careers Small Children podcast, including Steph Hind, Co-CEO of Tech Firm Heka, credit maternity leave with making them more strategic because of the distance it brings from the day to day drama at work. You don’t sweat the small stuff as much anymore but move forward on the big picture strategic priorities that matter. Your experience as a parent isn’t a weakness—it’s a strength.

4. Own the Narrative and Be Vocal About Your Career Ambitions

Even if your baby’s porridge is still on your jumper and you’ve jumped onto a Zoom call without brushing your teeth, don’t let outdated stereotypes define your career. The 2023 Leaders Plus Career Progression Gap report by found that over 40% of women received comments questioning their commitment to work after having children. This isn’t because everyone is against working mothers, but because old assumptions about what a leader looks like persist. Reset the narrative by being explicit about your ambitions. Let people know where you want to go—otherwise, they may assume you’ve stepped back.

5. Build Your Support Network and Ask for Help
Having a strong support network is essential. This could be a mentor who understands the realities of career progression with young children like the one you get via the Leaders Plus Fellowship, a group of friends who can help with school pick-ups, or an employer who genuinely supports working parents. I found that making friends with local mums during maternity leave was a game-changer—it meant we had a go-to network when work emergencies cropped up. Of course my birth plan in the absence of family nearby includes a number of local friends stepping in at short notice to mind the other three kids while I am busy bringing another human in the world.

Building that support network is also why I started the Leaders Plus Fellowship for Working Parents. If you have a partner, you share with each other not just the tasks but the mental load and accountabilities. I have developed a conversation checklist to help couples work through the mental load together.

6. Set boundaries and let go

As a recovering workaholic, this was a tough one for me initially. Productivity research shows though that long hours does not equal performance, on the contrary. Susannah Hardyman shares in our Big Career Small Children podcast that while in her work as CEO, work never feels “done”, she has learnt that the only way to reinforce boundaries with others is if she sticks to them, for example not accessing email on the weekend unless it is an emergency. No one but you can identify and uphold your boundaries. This also applies to the home. I tell my kids when I am not available and I try to embrace it when my partner who does an equal share of the childcare does things differently, not everything has to be done my way! Although he may argue that I still have some way to learn there! Being pregnant for the fourth time is of course a tiring endeavour, and recognising my own physical boundaries has been key. I found a local teenager who for a small fee will come round to do homework with the older kids for one hour while I rest when it is my day to do after school care: it saves on arguments and allows me to lie down when I need to.

The Bottom Line: Do It Anyway

I’m now expecting my fourth child while running an organisation that partners with major employers like HSBC Internal Audit, the RSPCA, Global Witness and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. Along the way, I’ve interviewed more than 200 leaders for the Big Careers Small Children podcast —board members, judges, CEOs—who have combined ambitious careers with parenthood. And guess what?

Every single one of them felt guilty or overwhelmed at some point. The difference is, they did it anyway. And the most encouraging thing is that leaders like Polly Neate, Former CEO at Shelter, say their children are proud of them for making an impact in
leadership and say they haven’t suffered as a result of their parent’s leadership roles.

Many women fear that having a baby will stall their career. But what if we saw parenthood as a leadership asset instead? When I applied for a prestigious investment board role while pregnant, I questioned myself—but I went for it anyway. And I got it. The key? Ignoring the doubts and owning my ambition. The world isn’t yet set up for working parents in leadership. But that’s exactly why we
need to claim our place. So go after your career goals—not in spite of being a parent, but because of it.

Thank you to all our wonderful Fellows, alumni, Senior Leader Mentors, friends, supporters  and fabulous team who share my vision that you should be able to be a CEO with young children in tow, who inspire me time and time again and who work in their organisations and communities to change the world for other working parents.

You can find out more information about our Leaders Plus Fellowships and Community here, or how to become a senior leader mentor here.