122. COMEBACK – Rakhi Sachdeva – Microsoft – missing work on maternity leave – stretch in your career before you feel ready – “hype me” folder – self advocacy

Ask me a Q Hello Bright Minds, My guests today are Hazel and Lucie from Tyler Grange, a landscape and town planning firm where everyone works four days a week and gets paid for five. Women, working parents and the wider employee population are thriving at Tyler Grange and they’re very worthy winners of a Times Best Places to Work Award 2026. Hazel Murrells is Regional Ecology Director for the north and started as a senior ecologist back in 2016. She’s mum to two crazy boys – her words not min...

Ask me a Q Hello Bright Minds, today I’m with the woman who helped me improve my mood, sleep better and feel more like myself again last year. Dr Fionnuala Barton got me on the HRT I needed and as is often the way when I spend time with a bright, open women I got her talking about her career and discovered the work she does today came about after burnout and space to think on maternity leave from her role in the NHS. If you’re seeing signs of burnout in yourself you’ll find this an uplifting,...

Ask me a Q Hello bright minds, my guest today is Maria Hvorostovsky, an executive headhunter who suddenly had to drop everything to have major heart surgery age 42. She’s a mother of two young children who knows herself more now than she did before the surgery and is very, very clear that how she spends her time is tethered to how energising or draining a particular activity is for her. The time away from work has changed what she wants from her career and she’s being very proactive about mak...

Ask me a Q Hello Bright Minds, today I’m with a super fan of the podcast, Lou Khan, Ecommerce Media Director at Nectar360. Coming back from maternity leave stoked her ambition and we talk about the role of coaching, a highly supportive line manager, being more audacious at work and how a true partnership at home has fueled her rise. LINKS to things I mentioned in the episode: My newsletter PivotalThe "Visible" masterclass you could win for your organisation when you review COMEBACK COACH betw...

Ask me a Q Hello Bright Minds, this episode will give you nine tactics for raising your visibility at work that have helped coachees get access to growth opportunities and promotions. LINKS to things I mentioned in the episode: Raising & Rising (leadership career retreat for mothers in senior roles)My newsletter PivotalThe "Visible" masterclass you could win for your organisation when you review COMEBACK COACH between 26/8/26 and 31/12/26.Washington Post article.My e-mail address: jc@tale...