What Working Motherhood Taught Me About Confidence
17 Aug 2026
I don't think I can keep up anymore. That's what I said to myself, sitting at my desk after maternity leave.
I don't think I can keep up anymore. That's what I said to myself, sitting at my desk after maternity leave.
This is us this summer, just before Grade 8 starting, hiking with our dog in the mountains. Fourteen years, almost. And two shoe sizes bigger than mine 🤪
You wouldn't believe, but back then, he was a tiny baby, and I was a mess.
Before having him, I was the yes-woman at work. Energy trading, big responsibility, hitting every target.
After? Everything felt different.
My focus was split. My confidence was gone. Even positive feedback only helped for about five minutes before the doubts came back.
Then it changed.
Not because of a book or a course.
A colleague shared her own struggles with working motherhood. Just one honest conversation.
That opened the door to finding other working moms, joining like minded groups, and finally realizing: I wasn't broken. I was just learning a new way to be excellent.
Here's what I wish I could tell my younger self:
↳ Be kinder to yourself (still working on this almost 14 years later 😊)
↳ Motherhood made you stronger, not weaker
↳ Balance isn't perfection - it's what works for your family
The self-doubt is still there some days. It just does not get the last word anymore.
Looking at my teenager now, I see that scared new mom was doing better than she thought.
Happy start of the school to all the working parents out there 😍
What's one thing you'd tell someone going through this now?
PS: Follow what I am building in the midst of motherhood, AI and building a strong mindset: https://www.thechangerepublic.com/#subscribe
The pattern I see in coaching, not just in motherhood
The specific trigger changes: a promotion that outpaces someone's self-image, a career pivot nobody warned them about, a return from any kind of leave, parental or otherwise. But the shape of what happens next is nearly identical every time I see it in coaching.
People often assume the doubt means something is wrong with them. In coaching, it almost always turns out to be something else: they are learning a new version of competence, and the old markers of success no longer apply cleanly. That gap between who someone was and who they are becoming is uncomfortable, and it is part of the actual work, not a sign that something has gone wrong.
What moved things for me was one honest conversation with someone further down the same road. I see this constantly with clients too. Real breakthroughs happen when someone senior enough, or far enough along, admits out loud that they struggled too.
If you recognise this pattern in your own work, I have a free A Child's First Book on Executive Coaching, a short and playful way to talk to your own kids about what you do and why the wobble is part of it. Leave your email here and I will send it over: https://www.thechangerepublic.com/free-resources