How long until you reach your goals if you change nothing?

Systems love replication. 

They hold tight to what is comfortable, familiar, and predictable. But true leadership doesn’t happen in the comfortable spaces.

At Massively Good Leadership, I engage with you to:
- deliver best-in-class executive coaching 
- organization wide enablement
- learning design programs 
and human-driven AI for managers.

Two decades enacting sustainable change in systems across roles and scope, with budget constraints and myriad collective bargaining agreements—> moving from silos to interdependence with results.

I collaborate.
I amplify.
I ignite. 

Let’s stop waiting for the system to take its course.

Let’s make the bold, strategic moves that your leadership legacy demands.

Ready to dive in? 

💬  Connect and message me
💻  Book a quick call 
📨. Email me to ignite the massively good change you’ve been waiting for at cheryl@pulsehive.com 
🛜 www.pulsehive.com

Cheryl Agrawal

Dr. Anne Welsh

Most companies aren't doing enough to support working parents.

So typically they leave.

If you work for a company where this has happened, I imagine you know the financial costs, cultural impact, and institutional knowledge that's lost.

In order to truly support working parents - especially women - we need to address caregiving.

And as a qualified RETAIN Parental Leave consultant (the first evidence-based and systematic teaching method for the growing field of parental leave coaching), I know exactly what we need to do.

The results of this work make an impact company-wide.

For example, a large retail company in Australia found immense benefits for everyone involved in the program - including:

• 100% were retained as employees

• 85% had an increased ‘sense of being valued by the organization’

• 77% reported increased confidence in work-life integration

• 69% reported increased productivity, health and well-being

All of them found the program helpful.

So, what does a RETAIN program look like for your team?

1) First we assess what your current policies are around working parents and where we can make meaningful, researched backed, changes.

2) Then I provide training to managers and leadership on the best ways to support working parents, including cultural change and mindset work.

3) Finally, I follow up with coaching to support working parents and those that are becoming parents.

You cannot afford to lose your working parents and new parents.

This is your chance to get ahead of the curve and become a top place for parents to work.

Ready to help your organization thrive and become magnetic for more top talent?

Send me a message today or check out more information here: https://www.drannewelsh.com/parental-leave-coaching

Leadership Consultant

If you're a working mom reading this, I imagine you probably want to...

- Gain clarity on what you want for yourself

- Shed perfectionism while embracing ambition

- Move from constant overwhelm to intention & presence

- Feel confident in all your roles while allowing connection & joy

- Create a plan to find a fulfilling career that works WITH your personal life

Hi, I'm Anne, & helping women find an aligned way to fulfillment & presence is my specialty 👋

I've supported clients in clearing the clutter of external voices, so they know what they truly want… AND confidently ask for it.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution in my work. We find what works for YOU...

Just like how I did with my client Liz.

Liz is a mom of 2 young kids and works remotely for a company in a job that felt blah.

When she came to me she:

- Knew she wanted more, but didn't know WHAT

- Was overwhelmed about balancing work & her family

- Felt unfulfilled…but didn't think she had capacity for more

She thought of herself as a failure.

By the way, if you feel like this too - you're not a failure.

How do I know this?

Well, it's because there are lots of systemic issues at play that keep most working moms feeling trapped. That's why it feels hard. It's because it IS hard - not that you're doing it wrong.

Once Liz saw this, we started to separate out the external voices telling her what she “should” do/want, & identify her own.

Then we took action:

+ We explored her values and strengths

+ She started looking at career options, getting help at home and with the kids

+ She started listening to and trusting her inner voice.

She made more progress with me than she had in years.

Remember: self-blame & criticism don't work.

Instead, we have to get quiet & access the YOU underneath it all.

Just like Liz, who found a new role for herself and now feels fulfilled and challenged as she moves up in her career & continues to show up as a wonderful mom.

Ready for change like this too?

Clinical Psychologist & Executive Coach

Harvard University

Clinical Psychologist

Cambridge Eating Disorder Center

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of New Hampshire

Clinical Psychology Intern

I'm so glad to see you here. I support women in their leadership journey and in the transition from a working person to a working parent.

I do this in two ways:

1️⃣ Coaching for busy or ambitious working moms

If you're feeling overwhelmed at work and home, having invested into your career but still feeling unfulfilled, or coming back after a pause and unsure of how to do it all,  you've landed on the right profile.

I imagine it feels like everyone else has figured this out.

They are getting promoted, throwing perfect kid’s birthday parties, and seem to enjoy it all.

So in an attempt to "be better", you might have tried...

— Productivity hacks - but the to-do list just never ends
— Taking vacation time - which provides temporary relief
— Venting to friends - which feels good, but somehow they don’t have the same struggle

Maybe this is all there is? Maybe the reality is that being a working mom or a woman in leadership is just miserable?

You start to wonder if you’re the problem. (Hint: You're not).

If this resonates with you, please know you’re not alone.

Instead, what you need to do is:

✨ Get clear on what YOU truly value ✨

Suddenly it becomes easier to evaluate your current situation and make necessary changes. You start to feel motivated again with a renewed sense of self and goals that align with your priorities.

My clients experience all of this and more...

❤️ “I have finally started completing my [work] on time. Using positive reinforcement rather than guilting and shaming myself.... setting boundaries with my time.... it was a big change!"

🪴 "Prior to working with Anne, I was feeling like I was lost and unsure of myself. Anne worked with me to identify a path forward and feel more confident."

🌊 "I found this extraordinarily helpful! I can’t believe how much of a shift I have made in my thought pattern.”

======

2️⃣ Consulting with companies around women's leadership development, working parent policy and culture improvement

I do this by creating a self-reinforcing culture of care that values caregiving and employee’s life outside of work resulting in:

- better loyalty

- higher retention

- attracting top talent

I also offer parental leave coaching, leadership development workshops, & group coaching for women in leadership through their employers. 

======

If you're a working mom or at a company that wants to support women & working parents, then let’s connect.

Send me a DM or book a time with me here: https://calendly.com/drannewelsh/connection-call

Anne Welsh, PhD, PMH-C, RPLC, ACC

The 5 best mistakes I’ve ever made:

1) I had a baby in the middle of my intern year- the most intense year of my clinical training. I learned that there is never a perfect time to have a baby- careers and kids are ever evolving. Dive in.

2) During that year, I (somehow) survived a 65-mile commute, pregnant and then with an infant in the car seat to a day care near work. I learned just how tough (and stubborn) I am. I also learned that not all babies love the car seat. Never make assumptions about the kind of kid you will have!

3)I didn’t hire childcare in the early years of building my business. I told myself it was temporary, that I could manage. I learned that willpower isn’t the same as sustainability, and that not asking for help isn’t fair to myself or those around me.

4) I didn’t join any mom-and-baby groups because I was working. I told myself I didn’t need that kind of connection. I learned that even when your work is meaningful, you still need community, the kind that meets you in the mess and says, “me too.”

5) I tried to be the “perfect” mother and the perfect clinician. I learned that perfectionism is a form of fear, and that compassion (for myself and others) is a much better motivator.

I used to think ambition meant climbing higher. But sometimes climbing was a mistake.

Now I know ambition isn’t a ladder, it’s a web.

And the richest seasons of my career have always been the ones most deeply connected to my life outside of it.

16 years, a PhD, 4 kids, and now a business supporting ambitious working moms and organizations to improve their parental leave support, here’s my takeaway:

You don’t have to get it all right to grow.

You don’t have to choose between being a great mom and a great leader.

And every so-called mistake might just be the making of you.

In my group, Ambitious Mothers Mastermind, we don’t measure success by how little we stumble, but by how honestly we learn.

As I have been telling my kids for years, “Mistakes mean you’re learning.”

What’s one “mistake” that taught you something essential about who you are?

Anne Welsh, PhD, PMH-C, PCC

Executive Coach, Clinical Psychologist, Working Parent Consultant, Speaker | Helping women go from perfectionism → to focused & confident leaders | 100s of empowered & aligned women now thriving at work & home

McKinsey & Company calls it an ambition gap. The reality? It’s a support gap.
Calling it an ambition gap is convenient.

It lets workplaces ignore the support gap they created.

Because the newest Women in the Workplace report from Lean In and McKinsey & Company landed this week with a headline-grabbing finding:

Women are reporting lower ambition for advancement than men for the first time.

But buried in the report is the part too many people are skipping:

When women receive the same support as men, the ambition gap disappears.

Not shrinks. Vanishes.

So the issue isn’t women’s ambition.

It’s the erosion of the structures that make ambition possible.

Over the past year, organizations have rolled back the very scaffolding that helped women rise:
 • Flexible work
 • Sponsorship programs
 • Manager advocacy
 • Clear advancement pathways

And entry-level women remain half as likely to have senior sponsors. The people with enough influence to open real doors. 

Without access, ambition has nowhere to go.

And men have a critical role in shifting this.

The research is clear: when men move from passive encouragement to active sponsorship — opening doors, advocating in rooms women aren’t in, naming and countering bias — women advance faster and stay longer.
Allyship is a leadership competency, not a nice-to-have.

As a psychologist, I also see another painful truth:

When women repeatedly hit walls. When the experience a lack of sponsorship, inflexible cultures, assumptions about motherhood... they begin to believe there’s no viable path forward.

Not because they lack capability, but because they lack access.

Which is why I keep saying:

She didn’t opt out. She was pushed out.

Not by one big decision, but by a thousand unsupported moments.

This isn’t an ambition gap.

It’s a support gap. A sponsorship gap. A systems gap.

What’s one support, at work or at home, that would instantly make your ambition feel more possible?

Anyone else notice that the leadership skills working mothers use every day almost never make it into performance reviews?

- The emotional regulation required when your toddler melts down at 7:13 a.m.
- The decision-making under pressure when childcare falls apart.
- The empathy and presence you bring to your team after navigating your own family’s needs.
 - The adaptability you’ve mastered simply because life gets lifey.

We talk about these skills like they’re personal.

But they’re leadership.

That’s the reframe that stayed with me even one month after the Women at the Top Working Parent Summit, where I had the privilege of leading the conversation with women who lead companies, teams, and families all at the same time.

Their stories were a reminder of what so many workplaces still miss: 

Motherhood isn’t a liability to ambition. It’s a source of strength.

I wrote more about this in a new article I’m sharing today.

It’s a reflection on the hidden leadership skills working mothers practice daily, why they matter, and how organizations can finally start recognizing them.

 (And a big thank you to Emily Klingbeil for helping create the space where these conversations could happen so honestly.) You can also read more on the Phoebe blog here: https://lnkd.in/eqWJgwTr

When mothers thrive, teams thrive.

And when workplaces make space for the full humanity of working parents, everyone rises.

What’s one leadership skill parenting has strengthened for you, even if no one ever names it out loud?

What many organizations call the vital skills of modern leadership, (empathy, emotion regulation, change management, an ability to pivot quickly)...wo

Open article: The Hidden Leadership Skills Working Mothers Practice Every Day by Anne Welsh, PhD, PMH-C, PCC • 3 min read

The Hidden Leadership Skills Working Mothers Practice Every Day

Ever notice that the women who seem the most “together” are often the ones quietly wondering if they’re falling behind?

That’s exactly what we unpacked on So Much to Say, and I have to tell you, this conversation with Megan Senese and Jennifer Ramsey was one of the most grounded, honest, and human discussions I’ve had on perfectionism in a long time.

In this episode, we explored a pattern so many high-achieving women carry silently: the perfectionist trap.

The cycle of overpreparing, overperforming, and still feeling like you’re not doing enough, at work or at home.

We talked about:
- why high-pressure workplaces intensify self-doubt
- the emotional load women carry without acknowledgment
- the difference between healthy striving and fear-driven perfectionism
and why ambition often needs a complete reframe (ambition isn’t a ladder — it’s a web)

If you’ve ever thought, “I should be doing more,” or wondered why keeping up feels impossible, this episode offers clarity, context, and a gentler way forward.

Listen to Episode 4: The Perfectionist Trap here:
https://lnkd.in/ebE9C76C

And a huge thank you to Megan and Jennifer for creating a space where these conversations aren’t just allowed, they’re welcomed. The work they're doing on So Much to Say is exactly what so many women in the legal world (and far beyond it) need right now!

There’s a moment that happens in so many conversations I have with high-achieving women. She’ll tell me her credentials, her commitment, her long list

Open article: The Perfectionist Trap: Why High-Achieving Women Feel Like They’re Failing by Anne Welsh, PhD, PMH-C, PCC • 4 min read

The Perfectionist Trap: Why High-Achieving Women Feel Like They’re Failing

Leader: We want to support parents, but we can’t give special treatment.
Me: What if the goal wasn’t special treatment at all, but better standards?
Leader: Explain.

Me: Set norms that apply to and benefit everyone, then measure outcomes.

Fewer after hours meetings
Clear coverage during leaves
Defined no meeting blocks
Predictable deadlines
In-office time that is meaningful and well used
Flexibility that allows for life

When you move from individual favors to equitable design, the culture shifts.

It stops relying on heroes.
It starts relying on systems.
Parents benefit.
Non parents benefit.
Performance improves, so the business benefits too.

Support isn’t special treatment.
It’s smart design.

(Tagging Emily Klingbeil because this mirrors so many conversations we’ve both had.)

When workplaces design for human sustainability, performance rises. People use their energy more efficiently. Teams make better decisions. Organizations spend less on turnover and burnout.

If you want to explore what sustainable norms could look like in your organization, reach out. I help leaders shape policies that actually work for their people.

Which norm would change your team’s stress level this month?

Ask any working mother. She’s heard at least one of these.

“I’m surprised you’re still working — doesn’t your husband make enough?”

“I can’t imagine letting the nanny raise your child.”

“So you must be counting down the days until you can quit, right?”

“You don’t need the stress of that promotion — focus on your family.”

“Hope you enjoyed your ‘vacation’ on parental leave.”

“It’s always something with you — your kid is always getting in the way, sick or a day off or something...”

Part of me still can’t believe these are said in 2025.

The other part of me knows exactly why they are.

Because the old story about motherhood and ambition being at odds is still alive, even when women are proving every day that it’s simply not true.

And yet comments like these land hard, not because they’re accurate, but because they poke at the guilt so many mothers already carry.

Guilt for caring.
Guilt for wanting.
Guilt for trying to be both/and in a world that still expects either/or.

This is why naming these comments matters.

Not to dwell on them, but to understand their impact.

When you’re already stretched thin, already navigating decision fatigue, already carrying the mental load at home and the expectations at work... 

These comments can make you question your path, your ambition, even your worth.

But in almost 20 years of researching and working with mothers, I know:

Motherhood doesn’t weaken ambition.
It sharpens it.
It focuses it.
It fuels it.
It brings clarity to what matters.

It accelerates empathy, leadership, and resilience.

It teaches healthy striving: aligning with what matters most, instead of doing it all.

We all old coexisting, complex identities- overlapping, informing, and strengthening one another.

The problem isn’t women’s ambition.
It’s the outdated narrative around it.

And the more we name that, the more we shift what’s possible, not just for mothers, but for the organizations and communities they lead.

What’s the comment that stayed with you about your working motherhood?

If you looked inside a working mother’s mind, it would look like a browser with 47 tabs open.
And this time of year? Add twenty more… and at least three are frozen.

Some of the holiday tabs might sound like:
Tab 1: Order the teacher gifts
Tab 4: Find the mitten that disappeared into another dimension
Tab 7: Who is in charge of the class party? No really, who?
Tab 9: Buy the holiday pajamas/sweaters/school spirit accessories etc.
Tab 12: Check shipping deadlines. Panic. Check again.
Tab 14: RSVP to the holiday concert you definitely did not know about
Tab 17: Hide the gifts in a place you’ll absolutely forget (every year I do this!)
Tab 19: Replace the tape you lost while holding it
Tab 22: Meal plan for guests. Remember allergies, traditions and all the food things.
Tab 25: Donate the toys. Then mourn the mess.
Tab 28: Prep for school break… emotionally
Tab 31: Mail the cards (or decide that this is the year we skip them)
Tab 34: Book childcare, somehow, during the week no one works
Tab 40: Keep normal life running, because we still have regular life
Tab 47: Smile and “make it magical”

It’s a lot. Not because you’re doing it wrong, but because it is a lot.

The holiday mental load isn’t just about more tasks.

It’s about more expectations layered on top of an already full mental calendar, along with an extra dose of "enjoy it" and "relax" when you are the one keeping everything running.

If December feels like a spreadsheet and a scavenger hunt had a baby, you’re not imagining it.

Which is exactly why I'm sharing a small tool to help lighten the holiday mental load for my newsletter subscribers this week on Wednesday.

Want early access to it? Join my email list and I’ll send it straight to your inbox: https://lnkd.in/ev_QiHKN

So, what’s one holiday tab open in your mind today? Or what's one you want to click "close" on permanently?

Open article: You don’t have to choose betweenyour purpose and your peace. by drannewelsh.kit.com

You don’t have to choose betweenyour purpose and your peace.

I need your help again!
I’m creating a new set of scripts. Practical, research-backed guides for the conversations that keep so many of us up at night...and I’d love your input.

I’ve already written two:

1) How to talk to your partner about the mental load at home

2) How to negotiate parental leave when your company doesn’t have a policy

Both came straight from real coaching conversations and moments when someone said, “I know what I need to say, but I have no idea how.”

Because that’s the tricky part, isn’t it?

It’s not that we don’t know what’s true.

It’s that when emotion, identity, and power collide, the words disappear.

Research shows that when stakes are high, our nervous systems shift into self-protection mode. We either go quiet (people-pleasing) or go on the offensive (control). The result? Disconnection, not dialogue.

That’s why I believe scripts matter. Not to make things easy, but to make them possible.

So I’m turning back to you- this incredible LinkedIn community of smart, thoughtful humans navigating work, leadership, and life.

What conversation do you wish you had a script for?

Drop it in the comments (or DM me if you’d rather share privately).

Because sometimes, the hardest part isn’t knowing what’s true.

It’s finding the words to say it out loud.

It’s a particular kind of loneliness when you love your kids, love your work, and can’t find anyone else who admits to both.
My client used to wonder if she was the only one holding that tension... the only mom who felt deeply fulfilled by her career and fiercely devoted to her family.

The only one proud to contribute financially and emotionally, yet quietly judged for both.

In her community, most mothers weren’t working. She respected that deeply. But it made her feel invisible, like the part of her that thrived at work had to stay hidden.

When she joined The Ambitious Mothers Mastermind, that changed.

She found a community of women who valued ambition and motherhood as parts of one whole life.

She told me, “This program gave me permission to invest in myself, and that investment paid dividends for my whole family.”

That permission wasn’t about money. It was about giving herself space to grow, to feel seen, to stop apologizing for wanting both.

And when she did, everyone around her benefited.

If you’ve been craving that kind of connection, with women who get it, who hold ambition and care side by side, the next cohort of The Ambitious Mothers Mastermind is forming now.

Six months.

Clarity. Courage. Community.

Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eCfjfzar, or DM me for details. I’d love to tell you more.

What is your version of both/and in career and motherhood right now?

Open article: Ambitious Mothers Mastermind — Dr. Anne Welsh | Executive & Leadership Coaching and Therapy in Cambridge, MA by drannewelsh.com

Ambitious Mothers Mastermind — Dr. Anne Welsh | Executive & Leadership Coaching and Therapy in Cambridge, MA

She was a phenomenal doctor. She loved her kids.

And she was exhausted...at her core, on a bone-deep level.

Her work was meaningful. Purposeful.

The kind of career that shapes not just what you do, but who you are.

But somewhere along the way, that meaning started to blur under the weight of everything else.

She was caring for everyone. Her patients, her team, her family. And, she was running on empty.

Quick to lose her temper at home.
Constantly overwhelmed at work.
Always trying to hold it all together.

When she saw me speak at an event, she told me later, something clicked.

She didn’t need to do more.
She needed to do it differently.

She joined the Ambitious Mothers Mastermind and began to find her way back.

She started setting small boundaries with colleagues, with extended family, and even with herself.

She learned how to pause before saying yes.

She started choosing with intention, bot with what to do, and just as importantly, what not to.

And over time, something shifted.

She began to enjoy her work again.

She began to enjoy her children again.

The to-do list is still a mile long, but it no longer defines her worth.

She’s no longer trying to do everything, just the right things.

With presence. With purpose. With compassion.

Because healthy striving isn’t about having it all, It’s about aligning with what matters most.

If you’re ready to find your version of that alignment, and to feel grounded in your work, your motherhood, and yourself...

the next cohort of The Ambitious Mothers Mastermind starts in January and I have 2 spots left.

A space for women who love their work and their families, and are ready to stop feeling like they’re failing at both. I'd love you have you join us- DM for more info or check out the website above.

If you paused before your automatic “yes,” what might you choose differently this week?

“Most days I feel like I’m failing everywhere.”

A client said this to me as she sat in her parked car between daycare pickup and a late-afternoon meeting.

She wants to do well at work.
She wants to show up for her team.
She wants to be a present, calm mom.

But every direction she turns, she feels like she’s missing something...a deadline, a moment with her kids, a chance to breathe.

She told me the enjoyment of her life felt thin.

Not gone… just stretched.

Like she was only half in each moment because she was already worrying about the next one.

If you’re a working mother, you know this place.

It’s the quiet ache of trying so hard to hold it all and still feeling like you’re not holding enough.

What she was describing is something I see over and over again: the Ambition Paradox.

The tension of wanting to grow in your career and be deeply connected at home… and feeling like both matter too much to choose.

But here’s what shifted for her.

Inside our group, she finally had space to slow down and name what actually mattered. Not the expectations, not the “shoulds,” but her real metrics:
her needs, her wants, her values.

For the first time in a long time, she could see where she was already succeeding.
 
She could see the places she was overworking out of fear.

And she began to put effort where it truly counted- not everywhere, just where it mattered most.

She told me, “I’m more present with my kids. I’m clearer at work. And I’m not carrying this alone anymore.”

With support, she learned to set boundaries that fit her life and still made sense in her organization.

She stopped trying to prove her worth in every domain.
She started to feel more like herself again.

And the best part is that this permission is contagious.

One woman names her needs… and suddenly others in the group feel braver to name theirs.

One woman practices a boundary… and another realizes she can, too.

That’s what I love most about this work. The growth is individual, but the momentum is collective.

Enrollment is now open for the January cohort of Ambitious Mothers Mastermind.

If you want next year to feel more aligned, more grounded, and more yours, then this is your space.

Grab your spot and start the new year with support, clarity, and permission to build a life that actually fits.

Send me a DM and I’ll share the details.

If you had permission to make one small shift right now, what would you give yourself permission to do?

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Anne Welsh, PhD, PMH-C, RPLC, ACC

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