The Working Parent Equation
Balancing small humans and big careers
Georgie Rudd
Description
For working parents, it’s a noisy world of opinion and expectation. Friends, family and social media all offer advice that seems credible, but can be contradictory, outdated or unhelpful. Plus there’s that shrill inner voice telling you you’re failing on all fronts…
What if you knew how to turn down the volume and tune into your best thinking? What if you had the tools to ensure your precious reserves of energy were focused on the things that count the most?
Finding your own way to balance the equation of loving your children and your career without losing yourself along the way has never been more important.
In this warm and authentic guide, Georgie Rudd, an accredited executive coach to hundreds of brilliant leaders with the equally demanding job of parenting, puts the power of coaching into the hands of all working parents.
- Practical, easy-to-use diagnostic tools.
- Deep, pragmatic understanding of the real world of corporate work.
- Honest stories highlighting what every parent finds hard and what to do about it.
The Working Parent Equation helps you get clear on what success looks like for you, and gives you the resources to achieve it, sustainably.
Whether you’re making the pivotal return to work after parental leave or your challenging teen is making you doubt yourself, whether you’re talking yourself out of a promotion you really want to pursue or you’re trying to protect your non-negotiables at home, this book has your back.
Endorsements
“An essential read for anyone wanting to be a brilliant parent AND carry on enjoying a stretching career.” – Andrew Hill, Head of Marketing, Marks and Spencer
‘A gift for all parents returning to work, and indeed their managers too.’ – Michelle Parry-Slater, Director of Kairos Modern Learning
‘The clear-eyed, honest guide every working parent deserves.’ – David Harris, Partner and Head of Banking, Baringa Partners
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
PART 1: Redefining Success
CHAPTER 1: A new era: BC to AC
CHAPTER 2: Why bother?
CHAPTER 3: You are the instrument of your success
CHAPTER 4: Guilt, the mental load and letting go
PART 2: Prioritisation: Giant Jenga For Professionals
CHAPTER 5: Balancing priorities
CHAPTER 6: ‘Yes’ and ‘No’: two sides of the same coin
CHAPTER 7: Non-negotiables
PART 3: Choosing Who To Listen To
CHAPTER 8: Noisy voices: the myth of perfection
CHAPTER 9: Thinking traps and how to climb out of them
CHAPTER 10: The inner critic: friend not foe
CHAPTER 11: Sticky systems: sorting out what you need to leave behind
PART 4: Resourcing for Success….your way
CHAPTER 12: A historian, a scientist and a journalist: liberation through evidence testing
CHAPTER 13: Map it out: 3D maps to get you moving
CHAPTER 14: All the feelings: integrating emotion to serve you well
CHAPTER 15: Career smarts: recruiting your own Career Board
CHAPTER 16: Resourcing yourself: running the long race
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Bibliography
Index
Editions
FORMAT / ISBN / PUBLICATION DATE / RRP
Hardback / 9781788608725 / April 28, 2026 / £24.99
Paperback / 9781788608732 / April 28, 2026 / £14.99
Ebook / 9781788608749 / April 27, 2026 / £7.99
Paperback and eBook Bundle / £16.99
Authors
Georgie Rudd
Georgie Rudd is an ICF-accredited Executive Coach with over 20 years’ real-world corporate leadership experience.
After an early career as an HR Business Partner to Banking leaders, Georgie held leadership positions in Learning and Executive Education at Lloyds Banking Group and as Head of Learning and Development for Baringa Partners, a global multi-award-winning Best Place to Work firm. She is founder of Rudd Coaching Ltd and co-founder of Listening Lab. Georgie is a trusted coaching partner to clients including Baringa Partners, Mercedes Formula 1, Kingfisher, Rothschild and Inigo.
Georgie coaches 100s of professionals on leadership effectiveness, confidence, return to work and career progression, helping working parents run the long race.
Georgie is CIPD qualified, holds an MA from Durham University, is an alumna of Henley Business School and is a certified practitioner in psychometrics and research-based coaching approaches. Above all, she is a dedicated parent to two miraculous small humans who remind her daily that the work-parent equilibrium is a prize to be prioritised.
