Wellbeing in Focus - for thriving families, workplaces, and communities

"Manage Like a Mother": recognising the leadership skills gained through parenthood - with Valerie Cockerell

Gabriella Campelli-Ignacz Episode 19

I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring conversation with Valerie Cockerell about how parenthood equips us with valuable leadership skills. Valerie is a consultant, keynote speaker, and author of the book “Manage Like a Mother: Leadership Lessons Drawn from a Mother's Playbook”. After a brilliant career at Disney, Valerie is now part of Cockerell Consulting with her husband Dan, where she facilitates workshops and shares her expertise and methodology in leading teams and delivering outstanding customer service. 

In her new book, "Manage Like a Mother", Valerie brings a simple to understand and easy-to-implement take on leadership inspired by a mother's playbook. As she explains, there are many similarities between how mothers nurture their children in order to bring out the best in them, and how leaders can do the same with their team members.

Valerie encourages everyone to recognise that maternity leave or a career pause due to having children does not have to be a setback. Women gain valuable soft skills through parenthood, and those skills are transferable to the workplace. She advises parents to get back into the workforce with confidence; and companies to give women returners a chance, because they bring valuable contributions to the table. 

To discover more about Valerie's work please visit cockerellconsulting.com or get in touch with her on LinkedIn

Listen to this insightful episode and enjoy 🎙

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us Valerie!

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