Big Careers, Small Children - Wendy Merricks - How to Work Full Time When You're a Parent & Not Feel Guilty, Why Small Steps Can Get You to the Big Positions & How to Have Self Belief When Under Pressure

Wendy Merricks - How to Work Full Time When You're a Parent & Not Feel Guilty, Why Small Steps Can Get You to the Big Positions & How to Have Self Belief When Under Pressure

07/20/22 • 47 min

"Children are not going to come to any harm because you work full time," says our guest today Wendy Merricks.

Wendy is the CEO and Founder of Jumar, a group of companies in the IT sector and a Senior Leader Mentor on the Leaders Plus Fellowship Programme.

Growing up in inner-city Birmingham in a working-class family, Wendy has worked hard to get to the most senior positions, always believing that she was capable of anything she put her mind to.

A mother of two boys (now in their 20s) born in quick succession, Wendy has always worked full-time whilst ensuring that when she is with the children, she is truly present.

She is a passionate advocate that having children should not be a career inhibitor and her company, Jumar, prides itself on looking out for employees and ensuring workers have a good work-life balance.

We discuss:

Why working full time will not harm your children
Practical tips if you're struggling with self-belief
Why setting goals and taking small steps can lead to big positive changes
IVF and why it's important to engage your employer and ask for support

Find out more about the work of Leaders Plus, including details of our award-winning Fellowship Programme and our latest events by signing up to receive our emails at leadersplus.org.uk/newsletter.

If you’d like to submit a question to the Big Careers, Small Children podcast please record it here https://www.speakpipe.com/BigCareersSmallChildren

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"Children are not going to come to any harm because you work full time," says our guest today Wendy Merricks.

Wendy is the CEO and Founder of Jumar, a group of companies in the IT sector and a Senior Leader Mentor on the Leaders Plus Fellowship Programme.

Growing up in inner-city Birmingham in a working-class family, Wendy has worked hard to get to the most senior positions, always believing that she was capable of anything she put her mind to.

A mother of two boys (now in their 20s) born in quick succession, Wendy has always worked full-time whilst ensuring that when she is with the children, she is truly present.

We discuss:

Why working full time will not harm your children
Practical tips if you're struggling with self-belief
Why setting goals and taking small steps can lead to big positive changes
IVF and why it's important to engage your employer and ask for support

If you’d like to submit a question to the Big Careers, Small Children podcast please record it here https://www.speakpipe.com/BigCareersSmallChildren

Previous Episode

Guy Duncan Neale - How to Have a Big Career, Be Present With Your Kids & Work Regular Hours

Can you work as a senior leader in a fast-paced industry like banking and set boundaries around your working hours? Our guest today is proof you can.

Guy Duncan Neale is Head of Global Internal Audit Transformation at HSBC and leads a team of international senior internal auditors within the bank.

Following a cancer diagnosis, Guy reflected on the priorities in his life and decided he would limit his working hours to ensure he could be present with his family.
He is a real change-maker and is vocal about the fact that whilst pursuing his big career he remains disciplined with his working hours, something that is unusual in a sector known for very long working hours.

In this episode, Guy shares his tips for other working parents, including:

How to practically manage your set working hours
How to set boundaries at work
How to communicate with your line manager and team about your working hours
How to build trust in organisations
How to learn to be truly present with your kids
Why you can't do everything for everybody
Why having work email on your personal phone isn't recommended

Guy is also a senior leader Mentor on the Leaders Plus Fellowship and informs and advises many other working parents on combining a leadership career and family.

Show Notes:

Book - 4000 Weeks and How to Use them (Oliver Burkeman)Podcast - Big Careers, Small Children Episode 38 (Chris Bryant)

If you’d like to submit a question to the Big Careers, Small Children podcast please record it here https://www.speakpipe.com/BigCareersSmallChildren

Next Episode

Alice Kan - Directing the AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Roll Out Whilst Balancing Family Commitments

Today's guest knows a thing or two about working under huge pressure after being headhunted by Wockhardt UK to direct the development of the manufacturing process and facility to produce the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Alice Kan is the Pharmaceutical Director at Kan Do Ventures and one of the UK's Top 50 Women in Engineering. In this episode, Alice shares what she has learned from managing the vaccine roll out whilst balancing her family commitments, including raising two teenage children.
A "recovering perfectionist" Alice cares deeply about working hard, having purpose and making a difference. She speaks passionately about setting boundaries and making choices that work for your family whilst progressing your career.
We discuss:

Finding a job with purpose
Challenging sexism, racism and misogyny in the workplace
Setting boundaries
Recovering from perfectionism and why good enough is okay
Identifying when you're in flow and finding happiness

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Find out more about Alice Kan at www.kandoventures.com
Find out more about the work of Leaders Plus, including details of our award-winning Fellowship Programme and our latest events by signing up to receive our emails at leadersplus.org.uk/newsletter.

If you’d like to submit a question to the Big Careers, Small Children podcast please record it here https://www.speakpipe.com/BigCareersSmallChildren