Redefining parental leave as a strategic career chapter
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I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Rachael Baker, mother of three and partner at LDC, in a live webinar to talk about how she has made parental leave work while continuing to grow her successful career.
Rachael was wonderfully open and practical, sharing her story and offering advice that would resonate with anyone preparing for or currently on parental leave.
Before taking parental leave: have a plan - set yourself up for success
Rachael emphasised right from the start that, for her, preparation was as much about mindset as logistics. The first time she took leave, she returned to work feeling unsure of herself and without a clear plan for re-entry. The second time was very different: she approached it with intentionality and structure, thinking through what she wanted to achieve and how to manage both her leave and her comeback. “Managing with intent” became a recurring theme throughout our discussion.
I was particularly struck by her decision to work with a maternity coach, something I had not heard about before. The coach helped her design a practical plan for her leave, think about how she wanted to return and, importantly, maintain her confidence in her professional identity.
Rachael explained how she and her coach created a plan that integrated work and home priorities. They mapped out the rhythms of family life - mornings, nursery drop-offs, bedtimes - and aligned them with her workday and her professional goals: visibility, progression and her personal brand.
She also took a bold and structured approach to feedback, gathering 360-degree input from seniors, peers and her team before going on leave. This gave her a sense of her strengths and areas for development in the future. She shared the key themes with the leadership team, setting clear expectations both for her absence and her return. I was genuinely impressed by the courage, confidence and forethought she brought to the process. It was a long way removed from the 'leave things to chance and hope it all works out' approach I certainly took – and by the way, didn’t work out too well.
Another area Rachael approached with intent was her network. She identified the people who mattered most in her professional world: deal team colleagues, portfolio CEOs and advisers, and created a simple plan to stay visible.
She told each of them exactly what to expect: six months of complete focus on family, followed by a structured three-month re-entry period, including catch-up coffees, keep-in-touch days and sharing relevant updates like investment memos and deal sheets.
I thought it was an elegantly simple approach: communicate clearly, manage expectations and stay in control of the narrative at home and at work.
I was particularly struck by her decision to work with a maternity coach, something I had not heard about before. The coach helped her design a practical plan for her leave, think about how she wanted to return and, importantly, maintain her confidence in her professional identity.
Rachael explained how she and her coach created a plan that integrated work and home priorities. They mapped out the rhythms of family life - mornings, nursery drop-offs, bedtimes - and aligned them with her workday and her professional goals: visibility, progression and her personal brand.
She also took a bold and structured approach to feedback, gathering 360-degree input from seniors, peers and her team before going on leave. This gave her a sense of her strengths and areas for development in the future. She shared the key themes with the leadership team, setting clear expectations both for her absence and her return. I was genuinely impressed by the courage, confidence and forethought she brought to the process. It was a long way removed from the 'leave things to chance and hope it all works out' approach I certainly took – and by the way, didn’t work out too well.
Another area Rachael approached with intent was her network. She identified the people who mattered most in her professional world: deal team colleagues, portfolio CEOs and advisers, and created a simple plan to stay visible.
She told each of them exactly what to expect: six months of complete focus on family, followed by a structured three-month re-entry period, including catch-up coffees, keep-in-touch days and sharing relevant updates like investment memos and deal sheets.
I thought it was an elegantly simple approach: communicate clearly, manage expectations and stay in control of the narrative at home and at work.
During parental leave:
staying connected - without overdoing it
When we talked about her actual parental leave, Rachael was refreshingly honest about how she shifted her mindset over the period of leave. She described her first six months as her time to be “fully present” at home, with no guilt, no checking emails, no feeling that she had to “keep her hand in.” As she put it, “I couldn’t do both things half well. I wanted this stage to have my full attention. By communicating this and sticking to it, I felt it contributed to making me a stronger leader.”
After those first months, she began what she called gentle re-engagement - using her keeping-in-touch (KIT) days with purpose. She found small, intentional ways to stay connected: joining a few deal calls, reading investment updates, catching up with her team or HR to hear about organisational changes. It wasn’t work for work’s sake; it was about ensuring she returned with knowledge and confidence rather than walking into a blur of updates on day one.
I was struck by how carefully she managed her energy as well as expectations during this stage. She continued speaking with her maternity coach, especially as her leave drew to a close and doubts began to creep in about whether she could do it. Rachael was clear that she wanted to regain her professional confidence and also protect her personal energy. She had to be honest with herself about what felt manageable, and when she needed to lean on others for help. Rachael fully admitted she had an army of support for her three children and family life, including emergency backup care options, which on some occasions her workplace would pay for.
She reminded us all that “your leadership brand doesn’t disappear while you’re away, it evolves”. That idea really stayed with me.
After those first months, she began what she called gentle re-engagement - using her keeping-in-touch (KIT) days with purpose. She found small, intentional ways to stay connected: joining a few deal calls, reading investment updates, catching up with her team or HR to hear about organisational changes. It wasn’t work for work’s sake; it was about ensuring she returned with knowledge and confidence rather than walking into a blur of updates on day one.
I was struck by how carefully she managed her energy as well as expectations during this stage. She continued speaking with her maternity coach, especially as her leave drew to a close and doubts began to creep in about whether she could do it. Rachael was clear that she wanted to regain her professional confidence and also protect her personal energy. She had to be honest with herself about what felt manageable, and when she needed to lean on others for help. Rachael fully admitted she had an army of support for her three children and family life, including emergency backup care options, which on some occasions her workplace would pay for.
She reminded us all that “your leadership brand doesn’t disappear while you’re away, it evolves”. That idea really stayed with me.
Returning to work:
re-entry and beyond
As Rachael had engineered a gentle re-entry, her return was smooth and effective. She didn’t need to catch up; she came back informed and ready to contribute. We talked about how important it was for her to own the narrative of her return. She scheduled re-entry meetings with the senior leaders and was explicit about her plans and goals. They agreed on immediate priorities, and she explained what support she needed from the organisation that would ensure she hit the ground running.
Her advice to everyone in the room was to come back as a leader, not as a returning parent! These are very different mindsets. Act like you want to be seen, remind your colleagues of your value and illustrate it with your actions and behaviours. Reset perceptions as quickly as possible, and reconnect purposefully with your network.
I wanted to explore how Rachael dealt with some inevitable changes in working patterns, and what advice she would have for others. She recommended having open, practical conversations about what one could and couldn’t do. And if considering part-time, compressed hours or some sort of hybrid pattern, setting clear boundaries rather than trying to fit a full-time job into reduced hours.
She was frank that these arrangements only work when both sides agree on how extra hours are handled and when expectations are transparent. She said that you should fully expect to be paid for any extra hours that you do, and her firm was on board with this when she had a period of reduced working days. There will be many people who are trailblazing these work patterns in their own organisation, and Rachael’s advice was to have the courage to pave the way for others.
We talked a little more about pay and progression, often sensitive topics post-leave. Rachael’s advice was to ground every discussion in data, market benchmarks, peer comparisons and performance outcomes. And to remember that your capabilities haven’t diminished; in many ways, they will have grown. Managing family life requires levels of leadership, planning and resilience that translate directly into professional strength.
Her advice to everyone in the room was to come back as a leader, not as a returning parent! These are very different mindsets. Act like you want to be seen, remind your colleagues of your value and illustrate it with your actions and behaviours. Reset perceptions as quickly as possible, and reconnect purposefully with your network.
I wanted to explore how Rachael dealt with some inevitable changes in working patterns, and what advice she would have for others. She recommended having open, practical conversations about what one could and couldn’t do. And if considering part-time, compressed hours or some sort of hybrid pattern, setting clear boundaries rather than trying to fit a full-time job into reduced hours.
She was frank that these arrangements only work when both sides agree on how extra hours are handled and when expectations are transparent. She said that you should fully expect to be paid for any extra hours that you do, and her firm was on board with this when she had a period of reduced working days. There will be many people who are trailblazing these work patterns in their own organisation, and Rachael’s advice was to have the courage to pave the way for others.
We talked a little more about pay and progression, often sensitive topics post-leave. Rachael’s advice was to ground every discussion in data, market benchmarks, peer comparisons and performance outcomes. And to remember that your capabilities haven’t diminished; in many ways, they will have grown. Managing family life requires levels of leadership, planning and resilience that translate directly into professional strength.
Final thoughts
Rachael was generous in sharing her own experiences, and keen to show how she has put in place a repeatable pattern that anyone could follow: plan, communicate your needs, start your re-entry with a keep-in-touch strategy, re-enter as a leader and with purpose. For her, seeing parental leave as a leadership transition, not a career pause, was fundamental to ensuring a great outcome for and her organisation. She is confident that with structure, communication and intentionality, a new standard can be set to ensure that family and work life can thrive side by side.
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