Leading A Startup Team While Pregnant & Parenting in a Pandemic — Episode #176 with Jess Kamada

Leading A Startup Team While Pregnant & Parenting in a Pandemic — Episode #176 with Jess Kamada

by | Jan 23, 2021

What’s it like to run a team of 40 people, in a pandemic, with a 1-year-old, and get pregnant with your second kid? Jess Kamada, VP of Client Services at Bamboo, a top growth marketing firm based in Seattle, joined me for a special episode to talk about how she managed the pandemic and the last year. Jess joined us in the 2020 Wise Women’s Council, and I asked her if she would be open to sharing her story and experience on the podcast, and share some insights into what it’s like to be in the Wise Women’s Council, and why she chose the Group Coaching level.

Reflections on 2020: Growth, Slow Downs, and Surprises — Episode #175

Reflections on 2020: Growth, Slow Downs, and Surprises — Episode #175

by | Jan 10, 2021

Last year my family and I didn’t have childcare coverage for seven months. It was a long, tiring year, and we are starting 2021 in a similar place—we’re home for ten days, without childcare, waiting for the days when we can go back to daycare. I wish that 2021 could magically, instantly be different and that I could snap my fingers for all of us to remove so much of the chaos and uncertainty in our lives. Frustratingly, it looks like the upcoming year will certainly be bringing its challenges our way. In this podcast, I’m doing a highlights reel of the last year, and I want to share some of the key moments from 2020 and the lessons gleaned from the year we had.

We Need Women’s Leadership Now, More Than Ever

We Need Women’s Leadership Now, More Than Ever

by | Jan 8, 2021

We need your leadership from where you are—as you are. We’ve known for a long time that we need much more diverse leadership, that we need women’s leadership, and that we need new models of power. As Elizabeth Lesser says, we need to embrace “power to,” not just “power over.” We need truth telling, and we need new visions. We need you, your work, and your brave new thinking. We need you to show up. We need you to be who you really are, not what an archaic model of power and “leadership” tells you to be. Take care, take the rest you need, take action, and show up. Even and especially as you are.

What We Forget To Say

What We Forget To Say

by | Nov 26, 2020

I wrote a long post last weekend about deciding to stay home for Thanksgiving, and how to talk to your family about hard decisions. The decisions we're making right now are impossible and exhausting. In the Wise Women's Council (a group of 30 women I mastermind with...

Raising Them: Gender Creative Parenting — Episode #174 with Dr. Kyl Myers

Raising Them: Gender Creative Parenting — Episode #174 with Dr. Kyl Myers

by | Oct 1, 2020

Dr. Kyl Myers holds a PhD in sociology and gender studies, and is an award-winning educator and a globally recognized advocate for gender creative parenting. Since 2016, Kyl has been speaking and writing about gender creative parenting and using their own parenting story to help the world learn about and embrace a new type of childhood. Dr. Myers is the author of Raising Them: Our Adventure In Gender Creative Parenting. Join us for a fascinating conversation about parenting, gender, and what we can do as parents to help reduce gender violence, oppression against women and men, and create a more playful world.

Why Are The Stories Of Motherhood So White? — Episode #173 with Nefertiti Austin

Why Are The Stories Of Motherhood So White? — Episode #173 with Nefertiti Austin

by | Sep 28, 2020

In America, the word “mother” is nearly always describing white motherhood. That’s what Nefertiti, a single African American woman and the author of “Motherhood So White,” discovered when she decided she wanted to adopt a Black baby boy out of the foster care system. Nefertiti was shocked by the assumptions people had about what adoption, motherhood, and Black motherhood should look like. She realized that American society saw motherhood through a white lens, and that there would be no easy understanding or acceptance of the kind of family she hoped to build.

Come Gather With Parents To Talk — Community Connect

Come Gather With Parents To Talk — Community Connect

by | Sep 27, 2020

We’re hosting FREE community gatherings for working parents every month. Come gather with other parents and soon-to-be-parents to meet each other and connect. Come as you are, show up in your jammies, with your baby, nursing, hiding in the bathroom, ducking into a car for a meeting—whatever you need to do, by all means. Sounds, noises, messes all welcome.

Areas of Control: A Coaching Practice (Plus, Something To Look Forward To) — Episode #172

Areas of Control: A Coaching Practice (Plus, Something To Look Forward To) — Episode #172

by | Sep 21, 2020

In a year with a pandemic, wildfires, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and more, it can be easy to fall into despair, sadness, or anger. Even if you’re reading this years from now, things can go wrong—and they often do. People pass on, projects go under, businesses are forced to change. Part of the work of being human is reconciling with all that is beyond our control. Here’s a practical exercise to understand what’s within your control, and how to use it.

Micro Schools, Prepping for Q4, and What Businesses Can Do To Support Parents — Episode #171

Micro Schools, Prepping for Q4, and What Businesses Can Do To Support Parents — Episode #171

by | Sep 14, 2020

School is back in session, and parents everywhere are fatigued, overwhelmed, and still in the lurch. Workplaces are less and less forgiving, and yet the problems created by the pandemic are still here. What’s a working parent to do? Last week, Lions + Tigers gathered a panel to talk about specific steps parents can take to strategically plan ahead for the coming year. I hosted a conversation with Brea Starmer, founder of Lions+Tigers, Shauna Causey of Weekdays, and Blessing Adesiyan of Mother Honestly.

Why Is This So Hard? — Episode #170

Why Is This So Hard? — Episode #170

by | Sep 12, 2020

If you’re overwhelmed by everything, you’re not alone. There’s a lot happening right now. All of the things happening right now—a pandemic, job stress, health worries, lack of childcare, natural disasters, uncertainty about the future, an election year—can conspire to take a toll on our mental health. The environments we are in and the way the stress affects us is real. If you’re feeling stressed and close to burnout, you’re not alone. This is a struggle, and I’ve got a few tips for you to stay compassionate to yourself and help make all this stress just a little bit lighter.

Consistency, Batching, and Productivity: Why I Take An August Sabbatical

Consistency, Batching, and Productivity: Why I Take An August Sabbatical

by | Aug 4, 2020

A few years ago, when we first had children, my husband talked to his workplace about parental leave. He knew that while he’d like to be home during the first few weeks during and after the birth, he was also interested in being able to be around with his kids while they grew up. So, the summer after our first kid was born, he shifted his schedule to work from 8am to 4pm. From there, he advocated for taking a four-week leave every summer to spend time with his kids. We’re not taking a full sabbatical this year because of the pandemic, but we will still push pause on a few things where we can.

Giving Birth All Alone — Episode #162 with Megan Hale

Giving Birth All Alone — Episode #162 with Megan Hale

by | Jul 20, 2020

When coronavirus first happened, many of us were adjusting to figuring out the shut down. How long would it last? Would this just be a week or two? What were the next steps? For many of you reading this blog and listening to the podcast, you have also been trying to figure out your birth plans. How do you give birth in a pandemic? What do you plan for, when everything keeps changing? Here’s what Megan Hale did when she found out her husband and mother both tested positive for the flu the week before she was due to give birth.

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