Where do I fit? Carving out space as a leadership coach for mums in construction.

There is a question that I have come back to time and time again since becoming a mum - "where do I fit".

It is a question many mums ask themselves. In fact we know from research that a key time for this to happen is between 9 and 12 months after returning from maternity leave. As they navigate the dual demands of ambition and caregiving, career progression and those dreaded nursery germs,

It is also a question I have asked myself professionally as a leadership coach working in construction. I have never fit the "boots on site" mould of women in construction, my fascination has always been with the people side of the industry. My purpose is to make things better for the people who keep the industry going.

When I launched INSIDE coaching - I had spent months thinking about who I most wanted to help. After coaching, listening, researching and learning I realised there is a glaring gap in bespoke support and leadership development for women returning to work after starting a family. It is one of the big reasons we have a mum-sized gap in middle management.

It is a gap that is even more pronounced in industries like construction where cultures and structures haven't been designed with motherhood in mind. We've started to make some positive shifts with organisations providing maternity return coaching and more flexible working. We are seeing more parents networks. But no-one is talking about the magnificent benefits that mum brain brings to the industry. Improved communication, better risk management, high quality relationship building. Everything we need in our leadership pipeline is right there - if we provide the right support to mums as they navigate that messy middle of working motherhood.

That is where the INSIDE leadership programme was born. It is an immersive, supportive experience that helps mums in construction to lead with confidence, clarity and purpose, without sidelining the reality of their life right now. I am thrilled that this has CITB funding available - making it affordable as well as accessible.

This work isn't just about confidence or mindset shifts (though we see plenty of those too. It is about changing the structures and stories about who gets to lead and how. In the last few months I have had:

• Senior leaders ask how they can better support their talented mums and help to bridge that broken rung into middle management

• Allies step in and pitch INSIDE Leadership to their boards

• Aspiring leaders and brilliant mums start to have discussions about what leadership can look like.

Where I fit is in those rooms, facilitating those discussions. Supporting the industry to make changes so that more brilliant mums in construction can find their space. Whether that is in boots on site, or behind the scenes keeping everything running smoothly.

Right now, behind the scenes I am building something else - a membership community for mums in their first year back at work. The very thing I wish I'd had earlier in my own journey. It is a place for mums to reconnect with their strengths, values and ambitions even in the chaos of that first year. A place to explore a new identity, new superpowers and even greater potential - without pretending that nothing has changed.

If this sounds like a space you want to join - or you want to save a space for someone in your team - email me: suzanne@inside-coaching.co.uk with the subject line "It's an INSIDE Job"