Episode 39 - Lyndsey Oliver A.K.A The Chief MsChief Maker

Today’s guest is Lyndsey Oliver, AKA the Chief MsChief Maker Lyndsey is the founder and director of M4 Coaching and creator of Back to Work without a Bump® and Making MsChief®, the groundbreaking programmes designed to help retain, support and unleash the true potential of all human beings regardless of their labels. Lyndsey is a champion of working Mums and an advocate of gender balance in the workplace. She’s passionate about helping parents (both male and female), female leaders and female business owners become the best versions of themselves, both in and out of work. I was introduced to Lyndsey by a former colleague and listener to the show who had worked with her through their parental leave and said that I had to get her on the show. The challenges that Lyndsey helps Consultants with are ones that many people in our industry deal with every day but ones that rarely get the attention they deserve. Knowing the positive impact that Lyndsey had had on this listener and others in my network I knew she’d make a fantastic guest and she certainly didn’t disappoint. We cover some really deep topics in this interview including: The barriers that hold women back from climbing the career ladder - both structural and self imposed - and what Consulting firms and female leaders themselves can do to break through these. The relationship challenges that can face some Consultants as a result of the job and the conversations you should be having with your partner to ensure you’re able to manage them. The challenges that parents face when it comes to building a career in Consulting and what their firms and they can do to manage these to help them achieve the balance of home and work life they’re looking for.  And finally, What those of us who are white men, like me, can do when it comes to diversity and inclusion in Consulting and how we can help improve it. This was a fantastic interview and we go in to detail on all of these topics. So much so we got carried away after the interview and kept going. As you’ll hear towards the end of today’s episode I’ve actually put some of our post interview conversation back in because I thought it was such an important topic for you to hear. For any regular listeners you’ll also know that I often ask my guests for resources that they’d recommend you check out if you want to work on any of the things that we discuss. To help you with this Lyndsey has created a free workbook that you can use to help you identify your own biases - both conscious and unconscious - and start to think about how you can make positive changes to reduce these in day to day live.  Whether you’re a senior leader who is looking to be the best role model they can be or a junior consultant looking to understand more about themselves I’d highly recommend checking this out.  If you want to download the workbook you can find it on Lyndsey’s website - www.makingmschief.com/free-workbook and I’ve put the link in the show notes for you. You can get in touch with Lyndsey through her LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsey-oliver/ Or check out her website - www.makingmschief.com This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.