Returning to lead after maternity leave

Returning to work after maternity leave is a big deal on its own. Returning to a leadership role makes it much more complex.

You’re not just re-establishing your presence; you’re also recalibrating your influence over a team, a strategy, and a culture. All on top of adjusting to life with a new baby.

The question is, can you do it all? Absolutely! And chances are, you’ll bring strengths to the office you didn’t have before.

Here’s how you can return to the workplace and make an impact as a female business leader.

Start before you officially return

Many returning female leaders make the mistake of expecting to hit the ground running at full speed from day one. You’ve been away, and much may have changed in your absence.

The most critical step to ensure your return is as seamless as possible is to arrange a handover meeting with whoever covered your role. Ask for updates on key projects, team dynamics, and any strategic shifts. What’s changed? What’s stayed the same? Where are the pressure points?

If possible, arrange an informal meeting with a few key team members prior to your official return. This can be as simple as a Zoom call or a casual catch-up over brunch or coffee.

These interactions don’t need to be strictly professional. Personal rapport is an essential soft skill for leaders, and you want to remind everyone that you’re returning not just as “the boss” but as a person who values relationships.

Set realistic expectations for yourself and others

There’s a quiet pressure that many women feel when they return from maternity leave. The urge to show everyone that nothing has changed. That you’re just as sharp, just as available, just as across everything as you were before.

Reality has a way of humbling you, so be kind to yourself. You’re balancing work with a new baby, and who knows what else. None of that means you can’t do your job. You can, of course, but it does mean that you have to be honest about your current capacity.

That applies outwards too. Your team and key stakeholders will work far better with you if they understand how you’re working, when you’re available, and what your priorities are right now.

Reconnect with your team

Your team may have adapted in your absence. Some people may have taken on new responsibilities. Others may have grown enormously in your absence and thrived. Rather than assuming things will simply slot back into place, take time to reconnect one-to-one.

Listen more than you speak in these conversations. If you’re managing a large team, prioritise meetings with key personnel first.

Be prepared for the possibility that some dynamics have shifted. If someone stepped up brilliantly when you were away and is now struggling to hand back responsibilities, handle it with grace and extra care.

Recognise their contributions explicitly, and work with them on what their new role looks like now, rather than simply reverting to how things were before.

Getting the lay of the land properly in your first couple of weeks will make everything that follows considerably easier. And don’t forget to take the time to acknowledge everyone’s effort during your absence. A simple “thank you for holding things together” matters more than you think.

Rebuild your confidence

Research says that only 17% of women feel confident as they re-enter the workplace after maternity leave. And even the most capable, experienced female business leaders can find their confidence shaken following a lengthy leave.
Imposter syndrome, the sense that you’re somehow less qualified, affects women more than men. In fact, 3 in 4 female executives have experienced it at some point in their careers, according to a Women’s Leadership Summit Report.

If you notice this happening, try not to let it drive you into overcompensating, such as working longer hours, taking on more work, or being overly critical of yourself in front of others. These things will only exhaust you faster.

Instead, aim for small, early wins. Choose a project or initiative where you can make a visible, positive contribution fairly quickly. Reconnect with your professional network, who can offer you a sounding board for your transition.

Set boundaries and stick to them

This is perhaps the most important practical piece of advice, and the one most likely to be overlooked in your return. You’re now managing both your leadership responsibilities and a new baby at home.

Employees returning from maternity leave have the right to request flexible working arrangements, and employers are required to consider these requests seriously. Use that right if you need to.

If you’re the employer or business owner, you’re designing them for yourself. Be clear (with yourself first, then with others) about what your working hours look like, what your availability outside those hours is, and what adjustments you need to do your job well.

That said, you need to respect your own boundaries, too. If you’re sending emails late at night or responding instantly at all hours, your team may feel pressure to do the same, even if you don’t explicitly expect it.

Acknowledge what’s changed, including you

Becoming a parent changes you. Your priorities, perspective, and often the way you relate to people.

A study found that many women find that motherhood transforms the way they lead. You might find you’re more empathetic, more inclusive, more decisive, and better at tolerating uncertainty.

That psychological growth isn’t something you only feel internally. It also shows up externally. It’s a professional asset you can bring back to the workplace, especially in how you treat and support your team, make decisions, and handle pressure day to day.

At the same time, it’s worth giving some thought to what your goals look like now. The leadership ambitions you had before your maternity leave might be exactly the same, or they might have evolved. Neither outcome is wrong, so take stock of where you want to go.

Address your guilt

It would be remiss not to mention it, because almost every working parent feels it at some point: guilt.

And there are different kinds. Guilt about being at work when you’d rather be at home, or guilt about missing your baby when you’re actually enjoying being back at work. Guilt about leaving early to collect them, or guilt about staying late and missing bedtime.

You’re not doing anything wrong. It just means you care about more than one thing, your family and your work, and that you’re trying to do justice to both.

The most useful reframe is this: your children benefit from seeing a parent who works, leads, and has purpose outside the home. And your team benefits from having a leader who knows something about resilience, patience, and keeping things in perspective, all of which parenthood teaches in abundance.

Delegate strategically

As a business leader, your value lies in your vision and decision-making, not in the minutiae of every task. The honest truth is that your time and energy are now more finite than they were before, and that constraint is an invitation to lead better.

Upon your return, you may find that the “doing” parts of your job, such as the administrative tasks or granular project management, are the biggest drains on your limited time. This is the perfect time to audit your role.

What actually needs your input, and what doesn’t? What high-value tasks require your experience? And what can be permanently handed over with the right guidance? Shifting from a “doer” to a “facilitator” is often the key to sustaining a leadership role alongside motherhood.

There’s also a longer game here worth considering. Many women who return to leadership after having children find that the act of delegating more intentionally doesn’t just help them cope, it actively develops their team.

When you stop being the bottleneck on every decision, people around you grow into the space. They make better decisions, take more ownership, and become more capable. That’s good for them, good for your business, and good for you.

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