Why I Coach Working Parents: From Personal Experience to Professional Purpose

I was recently asked a question why I decided to start a coaching practice after becoming a parent when it would have been so much easier to go back to my career I had pre-children.

I've always had a passion for helping people discover their strengths and supporting their growth. Throughout my career in HR and people leadership, some of my most fulfilling moments came from watching someone recognise their own capabilities and step into their potential. The change that comes from people finding confidence to lean into their strengths was always something I loved being part of.

But it was my experiences supporting working parents - including navigating this journey myself - that made me abandon the security of an established career and take the leap into creating my own coaching practice.

I wanted to work specifically with people in this profound, challenging, often isolating transition as it is a time of increased need for support. There are so many working parents out there but so few reach out for support. I decided to focus on coaching working parents because I understand the change and constant challenges. Not just professionally, but personally.

Many Parents Deal with the Same Concerns

In conversations with working parents I've been hearing the same concerns over and over:

• "I've lost my confidence."

• "I don't know how to set boundaries."

• "I don't want to look like I don't care about my work, but I'm a parent now with so many more responsibilities. How do I juggle all this confidently?"

• "How do I grow in my career when I have so many new responsibilities outside of work?"

  
  

  

These are often highly capable, accomplished professionals who suddenly feel like they're barely meeting the mark. They are going through a profound transition which is hard to navigate without support.

Your Values Have Shifted and You Gained New Strengths

As a working parent, you suddenly face a new reality:

You often have no choice but to leave when your working hours are up. There's a childcare pickup time that's non-negotiable. You can't casually stay for after-work drinks or the unplanned team dinner.

When your children are sick, you drop everything. The important meeting, the deadline, the project you've been leading—it all pauses to care for them. You try your best to manage both worlds you now live in.

Your life is fundamentally different than it was before children. You're juggling more than ever:

• More logistics

• More emotions

• More decisions every single day

• More guilt about not being enough

The mental load alone is exhausting.

Why This Became My Focus

My journey into coaching working parents was a slow, ten year long process where I found a passion for coaching in my day to day work and started seeing working parents around me face challenges they are often not equipped to deal with on their own.

My Corporate HR Experience

During a decade in HR and people leadership, I supported countless employees through parental leave and then return to work. I saw patterns:

• Parents returning with less confidence despite having the same—or enhanced—skills

• Talented professionals leaving organisations because they couldn't find flexibility or the right support

• The invisible toll of constantly apologising for having boundaries

• The gap between organisational policies ("we support work-life balance!") and cultural reality

• The managers and leaders unequipped to deal with the change in values they suddenly saw in their returning team members

  
  

My Personal Experience

Then I became a parent myself.

Being a mum has been the most exciting, joy-filled time of my life. It's also been incredibly challenging, at times leaving me feeling clueless and exhausted in ways I never anticipated.

I experienced firsthand the identity shift that happens when you become a parent. The recalibration of what matters. The guilt of never feeling like you're doing enough. That's when I realised that I have the opportunity to turn my own personal experience into something positive—to help working parents and their organisations navigate this important transition through providing access to additional support through individualised coaching.

Working Parents Need Support

Through my work and personal experience, I've learned that working parents don't need more productivity hacks or 5am routines.

Working parents start thriving when they get:

• Support to set boundaries without guilt—and strategies to communicate those boundaries confidently

• Access to understanding their changed strengths—including the very real skills developed through parenting (resilience, prioritisation, emotional intelligence, adaptability)

• Support to navigate identity shifts—you're not the same professional you were before children, and that's not a deficit

• Practical strategies grounded in their reality—not theoretical advice from people who don't understand the constraints

• Time for focusing on their own growth—with support of someone who believes they're capable, especially when they've temporarily stopped believing it themselves

  
  

The Core Beliefs That Drive My Coaching

I work with my clients to rely on their strengths to navigate one of life's greatest transitions—becoming a parent and very soon after morphing into an identity of someone who is a parent and has a professional life they are returning to.

It is my mission for parents and their organisations to understand that:

Having boundaries doesn't mean you're not committed. You can leave right at the end of your working hours and still be an excellent employee. You can protect your evenings and weekends and still be dedicated to your work. Boundaries aren't about caring less—they're about being intentional with your finite energy.

Protecting your energy doesn't mean you're not capable. You're managing complex situations. Declining after-work events or asking for flexible arrangements isn't a sign of weakness. It is strategic resource management.

Prioritising differently than before children doesn't mean you've lost your edge. You've gained clarity about what actually matters to you, and you are juggling more than before. A promotion that felt essential before might not align with your current values. The late nights that seemed normal might not be sustainable or desirable anymore.

Your life has significantly changed, so you became clearer about what you want this new stage to look like. This newly found clarity is a strength, not a weakness.

Why Strengths-Based Coaching Works for Working Parents

My approach is based on strengths because working parents don't need another tool, device, or system to support them in their journey.

They need a calm space for reflection, a moment to be heard and supported by someone who can help them see what they're already doing right and grow from there. Once my clients learn to rely on their strengths, they have the tools for finding balance and renewed confidence right with them—wherever they go, no matter what happens.

With experience in corporate HR, I have the knowledge of what's awaiting in the workplace and support both companies and new parents in making this return as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

Who I Support in My Coaching Practice

I support working parents who are:

• Planning parental leave or already away from their job looking after their children

• Returning to work after parental leave and feeling uncertain about the return, their role, and their professional identity

• Navigating career transitions while raising children—promotions, new roles, career changes

• Struggling with boundaries and guilt about leaving on time, saying no, or prioritising family

• Feeling like they've lost confidence despite being more capable than ever

• Seeking better integration between their professional ambitions and parenting values

• Starting their own businesses as parents and needing support through that transition

  
  

You don't need to be in crisis to benefit from coaching. Through our work together, we uncover your strengths, build your confidence, and find balance. My approach is compassionate and non-judgmental: There's no "right" way to be a working parent. My role is to support you in finding what works for your situation, values, and goals.

Why This Work Matters to Me

I choose to focus on working parents in my coaching because this transition matters. It shapes careers, families, and lives in profound ways.

When a working parent finds their confidence again, sets sustainable boundaries, and starts thriving—the effect of that positive change extends far beyond one person.

• It affects their children, who see a parent modelling healthy boundaries and self-respect

• It affects their workplace, which benefits from the work of an engaged, clear-minded employee

• It affects other parents, who see someone navigating this part of life successfully and realise it's possible

  
  

This is the work that energises me. This is where my own strengths, psychology background, HR experience, and personal understanding all come together.

This is why I started my coaching practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What if I'm not ready to return yet? A: Coaching can support you whether you're planning your leave, on leave now, or preparing to return. You can work with me months before your return date to build confidence and clarity.

Q: How is this different from general coaching? A: This is strengths-based coaching specifically designed for the working parent experience. I understand both the corporate environment and the realities of parenting—so advice is practical, not theoretical.

Q: Do organisations work with you too? A: Yes. I work with organisations to create cultures where returning parents feel supported, valued, and able to perform at their best.

Ready to Thrive?

If you're a working parent navigating this transition and these words speak to you, I'd love to hear from you.

Coaching can help you:

• Identify and leverage your unique strengths

• Build confidence grounded in your actual capabilities

• Set boundaries that protect your energy and wellbeing

• Integrate your professional and parenting identities

• Communicate your needs confidently

• Reduce the mental load through intentional prioritisation

• Make career decisions aligned with your current values

• Feel like yourself again—not your "old self," but your current, evolved self

BOOK YOUR FREE 20-MINUTE CONSULTATION

I offer a free, no-pressure conversation where we can explore where you are and where you want to go. This is just a genuine chat about whether coaching is right for you—with no obligation.

You're navigating one of life's biggest transitions. You don't have to do it alone.

About Tereza Tutko

Tereza Tutko is a strengths-based coach in Christchurch, New Zealand, specialising in supporting working parents, professionals navigating career transitions, and individuals seeking personal growth. With a Master's degree in Psychology and over a decade of HR leadership experience, Tereza brings both scientific understanding and lived experience to her coaching practice.