Returning to work after a career break? Here's what stay-at-home moms get told: the years home don't count, you'll come back at a lower title, and you should take whatever salary is offered. Leah Tilstra rejected all three — and walked back into engineering at Abbott with a senior title and a sign-on bonus after twelve years raising four kids.

How did she pull it off? She refused the apologetic part-time re-entry, used one old work relationship to land the right R&D team at Abbott, and walked into salary negotiations with a clear number and the willingness to be told no. The mantra she carries into every high-stakes interview: "They didn't know me yesterday, but they'll remember me tomorrow."

ABOUT GUEST: Leah Tilstra is a mechanical engineer and senior R&D engineer at Abbott, working on artificial heart valves in the TAVI space. Early in her career, she climbed quickly through medical device roles then made the intentional decision to step away for twelve years to raise her four children and support her family's move from Texas to Minnesota. During her career pause, she didn't just stay at home. Leah ran a nonprofit preschool, built a sewing business, coached middle school athletes, and led a moms' community group.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• [00:14:10] The pharmacy wake-up moment that pushed Leah from "testing the waters" to returning to work full-time
• [00:21:29]The networking move that helped a stay-at-home mom return to engineering after a 12-year career break
• [00:37:13] How to negotiate salary and a sign-on bonus after a long career pause — even when the company offers less
• [00:38:57] The one-line confidence script she repeats before any high-stakes room or interview
• [00:27:10] The "Sift My Wife Does" Google Doc that names the mental load every working mom is carrying

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• Facebook:@illegallyblond
• LinkedIn:Leah Tilstra

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• Facebook @Her Intentional Reset.co
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[00:00:05] And as long as you carry yourself with confidence, like it carries so far. You just have to know that you are worth it. You know your worth, and you just have to stand behind it.

[00:00:17] Hi there. This is Her Intentional Reset, a podcast for women in midlife curious about whether the career they chose 20 years ago still fits. Hear from women who have made pivots big and small, discuss the practical realities, the trade offs, and whether the change was worth it. I'm your host, Molly Wipperferth, and if you're new here, welcome.

[00:00:56] Meet Leah Tilstra, senior R&D engineer at Abbott, located in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Leah is a mechanical engineer, senior research and development leader, and mother whose career reflects the power of taking an intentional pause and returning with clarity, confidence, and purpose. Early in her career, Leah built deep technical expertise across project management, product development, and quality roles at leading medical device companies, including Abbott, Zimmer Spine, and Boston Scientific, where her work contributed to FDA submissions, global product launches, and patented technology.

[00:01:45] During that intentional pause, Leah didn't step out of leadership. She simply applied it differently. She served as president and program director of a nonprofit school, ran small businesses, coached middle school athletes, and strengthened the organizational communication and emotional intelligence skills that are often invisible on a resume, yet critical in leadership roles.

[00:02:28] She is passionate about reframing career pauses as intentional seasons of growth and helping women recognize that stepping away does not diminish professional worth. It reshapes and reprioritizes it. I'm so glad to have Leah here. This is Her Intentional Reset.

[00:02:46] Career Pauses Matter

[00:02:49] So happy to be here.

[00:02:51] Before we dig in, Leah, I want to underscore one line from your bio because it's the whole reason that this conversation matters. And what you wrote is that you believe career pauses aren't gaps. They're intentional seasons of growth that reshape professional worth and not diminish it.

[00:03:35] And no pressure, Leah, but I walked away from our prep meeting so jazzed and fired up. Everyone listening, I hope you walk away knowing your worth and with the confidence and maturity that Leah brings to this situation that she'll share with us today, and that's what I'm excited for-

[00:03:54] Great.

[00:03:56] Engineering Life in Texas

[00:04:11] Sure. So I was working down in Austin, Texas, as a product development engineer at Abbott Spine.

[00:04:43] So I was bound and determined. I was like, "I am gonna make it to the top." My husband, he was doing grad school. He was gonna get his master's, his PhD, so I had plenty of time to start my career and really launch it to where I wanted to get it. And we started our family a little bit sooner than we were anticipating.

[00:05:20] I was working. I was doing all the things.

[00:05:22] And you know, I kinda looked at that life and was like, "Okay, both of my kids are in daycare," and I was feeling guilty. I was feeling like, "What is the point of having kids when they're being sent to this daycare?" Which I loved the daycares. I love that there's options out there for people that have to do that.

[00:06:01] Both of our kids- Mm-hmm ... were getting to that point where I really wanted to spend time with them, and we needed to make that decision. He was gonna be looking for jobs, so we were like, "Okay, where do you wanna go next?" I basically am okay stepping back if he wanted to launch his career, 'cause I felt like I got to that point in my career where, I was working my way up at Abbott,

[00:06:48] Like, that's project management 101.

[00:07:08] That was not something that I ever dreamed of doing. Mm-hmm. But in that moment, after having those kids, like, I really, really felt bad every day, sending them to daycare, and I really- wanted to be there for them, and I was like, "You know what? This is okay. Like, I just need to take it step by step."

[00:07:36] That was the original plan.

[00:07:45] So then what happened to the original plan?

[00:07:48] I mean, the original plan ended up being extended many years, but, in the time that I was at home, I didn't actually just, like, stay at home with my kids. after the move here, I mean, that transition itself, like just buying and selling a house out of state, in and of itself was a full-time job.

[00:08:26] So anyway, lo and behold, here I am now running this preschool and I did that for a few years, and I felt like that was the work itch that I needed. So it fulfilled- Okay ... that bucket of work that I needed to keep me motivated, and it also- Yeah ... like, benefited my kids, right? Like, my kids were attending this preschool.

[00:08:55] But

[00:09:05] I have no idea how to do this. I'm an engineer. I don't know how to do any of this stuff. But I took it as a job, right? Like, this is what I did. I was staying at home, and I took it seriously.

[00:09:33] Yeah.

[00:09:38] I have four kids total, so I, at the time that I was at the preschool I only had two kids, but then I was- ... pregnant with my third. When I was operating the preschool, I

[00:10:03] But also, moving into a new community I felt like I didn't know anybody, and- When you leave corporate America and all you know is people at work, there's like a loneliness that sinks in. Like you move- Mm-hmm ... to this community, you have these two kids, you're pregnant. Like you just want connection and-

[00:10:41] There's a community center that's in Shoreview, and I would go there literally every single day, and I'd try to go the same time every day, and that's where I started meeting a bunch of people. And I would- ... you know, I, I started this other group called, like Mom's Night Out. Like so I would plan something once a month for- Yeah

[00:11:17] Sensory Underwear Side Hustle

[00:11:20] 'Cause I think this shows a lot of your personality and your drive e- where you stepped away from your career, but I see it being channeled in all these other avenues. What was that other business that you started while you were at home?

[00:11:51] So underwear, for example, would really bother her 'cause those seams on the inside would just drive her bananas. So I ended up started making underwear for her, and I would actually sew the underwear inside out so that the seams wouldn't touch her. So I ended up starting a business making underwear, it started with just making them for her, and then I started making my own underwear because I was sick of Victoria's Secret.

[00:12:37] And right now I'm sad that I don't have time for it. I still will- ... on occasion sew for people. And eventually, when my kids got a little bit older, I let them be part of it, and they would help me cut, and they would help me sew when they got old enough.

[00:12:51] When the Return Kept Delaying

[00:12:57] So after I would say five years, I did consider going back to work again. But I will say I started looking into different companies, and it wasn't engineering, but it was more like technical report writing. But that's when I did find out that I was pregnant with my fourth. So I, I kinda just like succumbed to, okay, I think this is gonna be another five years.

[00:13:39] Like it seems like everybody's coming back home. I don't need to be doing this to my husband at this point. A whole life transition with me and him and all the kids back at home, like, it just sounded terrible. So it extended our life a little longer, so it was two more years after that that I finally transitioned back to work.

[00:14:10] Pharmacy Job Wake Up Call

[00:14:20] I was working at a pharmacy, and I was literally just pill counting, And before I left work, I was an R&D engineer. So before I had that role though, I also was a process development engineer. I was in the clean room a lot, so I knew a lot of clean room like ins and outs and whatever.

[00:14:59] So I started kinda consulting with them just very briefly just like, "Hey, this is, what I do know." And then I was like, "Oh," that just opened up the wound of like, "Oh, maybe I, maybe I actually do wanna work. ... and now I'm like getting- Paid, like, as a pharm tech to count pills, but I'm really, like, thinking about this clean room, how do we set this up?

[00:15:29] I really was only there for a few weeks until I was like, "Okay, I need to actually go back to work full-time." So I started doing the interview process again, and I gotta back up the train just a smidge.

[00:15:42] So when I- Mm-hmm ... was interviewing two years prior-

[00:15:48] When I was thinking about going back, that's when- I was doing some interviewing with big- ... corporations, and I was interviewing for full-time jobs, but I was also being very forthcoming saying, "Hey, I'm available, but I'm only available 70%."

[00:16:18] So- I wanted to be fair to them, and I also knew what I was worth. So I was interviewing for these jobs and saying that I wouldn't work full-time, but I, I was available part-time. And I was rejected for six different jobs, and I had never in my life been rejected for a engineering job ever.

[00:17:01] So I just knew, you know, fast-forward now to the 12-year gap, I'm like- Yeah ... "Okay, I need to go in, and I just need to rip that Band-Aid and just go full time," and just-

[00:17:17] Yeah ...

[00:17:20] Back at Abbott in Distribution

[00:17:38] you follow a process, you enforce the process. so I felt like I could really, get into that and be super effective right away. So I ended up landing a job full time at Abbott, and I really wanted to work back at Abbott 'cause I left Abbott and I was, really happy with the company itself.

[00:18:16] I mean, it's like imagine, like, an Amazon pick, kinda pick center that-

[00:18:21] people are picking and sending it. And so being a quality engineer at this distribution center is like being the Grim Reaper. Like every time- ... I stood up, they were like, "Ah, here she comes. Here comes quality." Like, "Oh my gosh, what's wrong?

[00:18:59] I knew that getting back in with Abbott, I just needed to get in the door, and I knew... I had quality skills on my- rap sheet. I

[00:19:07] Yeah. I mean, we know that you have quality skills, but- quality engineering- Just for listeners who are following along. okay, so you had the qualifications, but I mean, you knew that you were getting your foot in, and you were there for two years. Yeah. Um, it sounds challenging environment, fast-paced environment,

[00:19:31] Feeling Alive at Work Again

[00:19:36] Honestly, I felt alive again. I truly felt like, oh, like, I have a sense of purpose, I mean, after being at home for so long, those last two years of being at home,

[00:19:55] and cleaning and whatever. There was some, like, depressant in that where I was like, "Okay, I know that I need to do more for myself." Yeah. My own self-worth. Yeah. I couldn't... I wasn't getting that by vacuuming my steps again. Okay. Like, I wasn't getting that by even going for a walk. I was not getting that.

[00:20:18] we work. That's just how we grew up.

[00:20:22] So yeah. So I loved it, and I loved going to work every day. I loved talking to other humans every day and just, like, when you're out socially and people are like, "Oh, what do you do?"

[00:20:52] There's so much that you could learn from somebody. Yeah. But it does kill a lot of conversations, which is sad. And now it's like- Yeah ... oh, I feel like I say something. Like, "Oh, I work at the distribution center. Let me tell you all these fun stories," you know?

[00:21:09] And again, you weren't... Even though you were staying at home, you were running a nonprofit. You

[00:21:15] had this, innovative sensory-orientated- Yeah ... underwear business. You're raising four kids.

[00:21:22] You know? I mean, there's so much to it, but I agree that there is a societal stigma-

[00:21:29] Networking Into the Right Role

[00:21:38] Yeah, sure. The distribution center, as I was saying before, is a super dynamic place, and by the time you're at work at 6:00 AM, 7:00 AM, there's already 100 emails of different business units yelling at you.

[00:22:10] So this guy used to be on some of my project teams in Abbott Spine back when I was in Texas, and we were cube neighbors. So I was like, "Ah, is that really him?" So I message him. I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, is that really you?" So when I left Texas, he also left Texas, went to a different state. I went to a different state.

[00:22:48] I don't even know if I wanna be working right now." Like, I just came back to work out of retirement, 'cause he came to my retirement party, in 2000-

[00:23:01] And he's like, "Well, you need to get out of quality." So he knew my skill set. He knew everything I had done at Abbott Spine, so he was like, "No, your skill set is getting underutilized there. I need you to be coming back into research and development. I need you in my team, somewhere in my org or somebody else's org where they can utilize your talent."

[00:23:29] Yes.

[00:23:42] Like, I love- that I have this sense of purpose. I love going to work. And now it's not as crazy as the distribution center, but I feel like- ... the distribution center kind of, geared me up for work life. It was that Band-Aid. You had to rip it off, and it hurt right away- but it kind of set the tone for like, what does it look like for mom at work, you know? And it had to be that way.

[00:24:06] Like, my husband and I had to shift our schedules, where he had to go to work super early. Mm-hmm. I went to work a little bit later, and then he'd come home early, and I'd come home later. So I told him- There's one thing I will not do anymore, and that's cook dinner. Like, I will do everything else, but I will not cook dinner, and I want somebody home when the kids get on the bus, and I want somebody home when kids get off the bus.

[00:24:46] His is getting a little less flexible because he's working his way up at 3M, but my time at home was so valuable also for him. Like, he was allowed to do everything he wanted in his career 'cause he had the freedom to come and go whenever he wanted. He could work long hours, he could work short hours, he could do whatever he wanted because he had the benefit of me being home.

[00:25:18] Yes. So that was a great segue to talk about some of those practical considerations or those other considerations, and let's start with that family impact, and you painted a really good picture.

[00:25:39] I would say that everybody kind of had a smooth transition. For him, it was maybe a little bit more of a struggle because there was a little more stress put on his plate.

[00:25:57] Yes.

[00:26:09] So I think the biggest transition was probably for him. The kids- ... I feel like, they're malleable, and I feel like because there was always still somebody there- it was easier for them. I will say, though, over the summer it's a little bit harder because, they are so used to me being home the entire time.

[00:26:41] I feel like they transitioned a little bit easier.

[00:26:45] Thanks for sharing that. And I agree. The 12 weeks at home, I work from home even prior to this when I wasn't traveling and- It's awful.

[00:26:56] It's

[00:26:57] It's so hard, yes. One last thing about the transition. You had a document that you made, and I feel like maybe that helped level set things.

[00:27:10] Yeah, so if you allow swearing, it's called Shit My Wife Does- ... For When I Die. It was kind of out of rage. I felt like there's so much stuff that's in my head, and my husband wants to help, so he's constantly like, "If you write it down," or, "If you, like, let me know, I'm happy to help."

[00:27:47] I try to put almost everything that I have done in that month for him just in the event that I ever died or whatever, or I just don't care anymore and he needs to step up. But yeah, it's called Shit My Wife Does in the Event I Die. Good luck.

[00:28:33] But a lot of times it is that mental load. And isn't it great that our spouses want to help, but we just have to tell them what to do, which defeats the purpose. But what I love about that is you actually took the time to write it out. Yeah. And I think that speaks volumes.

[00:28:49] Let's talk a little bit about what re-entry looked like after stepping away from corporate.

[00:29:04] I will say, it was really hard to re-enter. First of all, I felt like I was somebody before I left, so I felt like I had earned a lot of credibility in general. So it was really hard to come back and be like, "Okay, nobody knows me here, but they treat me like I am a green engineer that doesn't know anything."

[00:29:49] We're at the same level at this point, and our work ethic is just completely different. Where, this whole work from home, work/life balance, everybody kind of caters to their mental health and their body health and all the things, where that wasn't a thing 12 years ago.

[00:30:28] I'm like, "What? I have four kids with pneumonia right now, and two are hospitalized. You're worried about your dog? Put your dog in a kennel." I just feel like there's just a difference And maybe it... I don't know what's better. maybe it is better. they're more in tune with what their body needs, what their life needs, where maybe I'm ignoring certain things because- Mm

[00:31:05] I, I think that's an interesting observation, especially, you know, working from home with COVID, and then a lot of that attitude has still stayed the same, and it's hard to know is it a generational or an age thing.

[00:31:24] Well, I mean, people are still trying to climb the ladder, and-

[00:31:49] Skip the Spotlight

[00:31:58] Yeah. And it's just like, "Okay, you have it. Go on with your bad self. Do it." Where I'm just like, you know what? Steady Eddie here. I'm gonna produce, and I'm gonna produce good work. I just am uninterested in the corporate politics in that regard. Networking is still a thing for me. I feel like networking is still a thing in corporate America, so it's not what you know, it's who you know, and that is-

[00:32:26] Networking After a Gap

[00:32:36] I feel like it matters because this guy that I found in the org chart, like I was saying earlier, I felt like earning that credibility after this long gap, people don't know who you are. They don't know your rap sheet, and even when you're interviewing, like throughout the interview process, they're asking you questions from what you did in corporate America 12 years prior.

[00:33:16] It was really comforting almost to find this old coworker in this position to help kind of guide my career now, and not necessarily pull me. Like, he knows my history. It is really important still to have that network because he knows, I am a solid worker. I didn't have to explain myself.

[00:33:58] Yes. Because you just, you never know when those bridges are gonna come back, and you never know when worlds are gonna collide again. And- imagine if that relationship wasn't what it was, you know? Imagine if I had burned that bridge, 12 years prior.

[00:34:12] It would've been a different story.

[00:34:15] Mentoring Through W-STEM

[00:34:21] At Abbott right now, I am part of a group called W-STEM, so Women in STEM, and I'm one of the co-chairs of our outreach within Abbott. I do a lot of volunteering there, and I do like to mentor a lot of coworkers.

[00:34:55] Like, I do have a mentee at work that I meet with at least once a quarter. I love advocating for that because I am here to prove to you that you can have a career, you can also have a family, you can actually enjoy your family time when it is important, when they're at your house, and then you can also reenter.

[00:35:27] You know what? I'm trying to figure out, is there something else out for me, or will I go back to corporate America?

[00:35:40] It's gonna be there for you, Molly. It'll always be there. Even 12 years later.

[00:35:46] New Perspective Back at Work

[00:35:52] Your perspective has changed, too. So who is the version of you that shows up now?

[00:36:16] So I can get done in one hour- what my coworkers can get done all week, and people are stressing out about this. Yeah. I actually often get people be like, "Are you not stressed out?" I'm like, "No, this is not stressful." I actually live in a house with four teenagers. This is not stressful.

[00:36:49] Yes.

[00:36:58] If my husband's like, "You seem crabby, it seems like your work's affecting you" I'll take that and be like, "Oh, I don't want it to." Mm-hmm. So let's, like, change that narrative and let's just be like, "You know what? It is just work." I need to take a step back then and maybe, refocus.

[00:37:13] Salary Negotiation Playbook

[00:37:25] I looked at where I left, so I was not naive to that I left as a senior.

[00:37:53] So I did demand a lot more than what I left getting paid years prior, and then I also demanded a bonus because the pay scale had changed. Where the bonus structure was when I left 12 years prior, those job grades had all shifted. I

[00:38:13] Did they try to ask you where you were at before and go off- They

[00:38:19] Okay, so they recalibrated based off of current titles-

[00:38:23] responsibilities. Okay. And then you still negotiated what that initial offer was instead of saying, "Oh, I've been away. I should probably just take whatever that they offer."

[00:38:40] got a bonus. 'cause honestly, I didn't need the job. I didn't need the financials. We had operated on one income for so long that it was like, if I don't get the job, how's it gonna hurt us? It's not gonna hurt us. The worst thing they're gonna say is no.

[00:38:56] why not try?

[00:38:57] I know that you're in a position where you didn't need that income, but still mentally you wanted that job and you knew that you wanted that stimulation.

[00:39:05] My question is, where do you get this confidence to be able to say, and you said it before, like, "I know my worth."

[00:39:30] Know your worth.

[00:39:33] And so Leah, if there's something that you could share with someone else that needs to understand that or needs to hear that encouragement, where does that confidence come from or what is that voice in your head saying to you?

[00:40:00] And as long as you carry yourself with confidence, like it carries so far. you just have to know that you are worth it. Like you know your worth, and you just have to stand behind it.

[00:40:13] They didn't know who I was today, but they'll remember me tomorrow.

[00:40:18] That's been like my huge slogan. so it is a funny little side story. I said that when I was door knocking in Austin, Texas trying to find a job.

[00:40:37] Whoever the CEO was. And they'd be like, "Do you have an appointment?" I'm like, "No." And they're like, "Okay." So I actually, met with, many different CEOs, and, I had one of 'em in particular that was like, "Who are you?" I'm like- ... "Well, I'm just from Minnesota. I just moved to the area, and I was just looking for an engineering job, and I figure I just would come door-knocking."

[00:41:25] And he was like, "Okay, what do you wanna get pa- like, who... I just wanna hire you, and you should actually be in sales and marketing." "Like, you should not be an engineer. This is not a typical, engineering thing to do."

[00:41:42] Yeah. Thanks for sharing that, Leah. Okay, so any other financial considerations with returning back to work? Know your worth, negotiate.

[00:42:09] And honestly, it was just like bonus money for us at that point.

[00:42:14] Tradeoffs and Future Goals

[00:42:19] Um, the biggest trade-off now is that, you know, now with my daughter, she's graduating. She's about to go to the Air Force Academy. I just feel like there are moments now where I'm like, "Oh, I wish I didn't have this every day, full-time work that I was committed to."

[00:42:53] I do feel like I run on a empty tank every single day because I wake up and it's a constant marathon all day long. Mm-hmm. But then part of me just sits back and is like, "You know what? This is a moment in time where it's not gonna be like this forever." Right. My kids are gonna be gone now in six years, and then it is what it is.

[00:43:31] I kinda sometimes feel it at work. I feel it with my friends where I'm like, "Do I even have friends?" I don't even have time- for any of my friends right now. I sometimes will email my friends or text my friends and be like, "Are we still friends?" "Do you still like me?" And they're like- ... Yeah."

[00:43:49] That's the- biggest trade-off.

[00:43:52] Yeah.

[00:43:56] I definitely understand how there's times where you have lots of big personal milestones going on, and then on flip side, there's things at work as well. So hopefully they don't always collide at the same time.

[00:44:06] Rethinking Career-Pause Hiring

[00:44:15] I really wish that they would- not focus on what their past corporate life was, and they would focus more on, like, what did you do to develop your skills in that pause? You know, like, we gained so many more valuable skills in that pause, I feel like, that I wish they would focus more on that.

[00:44:38] I almost wish they had a different set of interview questions for that. Like, not, "Tell me about a time when you had a coworker." I wish it was more, like, more relatable to somebody's life- when they've had a pause.

[00:45:05] Well, maybe my brain isn't remembering everything, and now I'm just making it up. I don't know. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like, I was being as truthful as I could be, but I felt like my interview skills weren't as honed because I was trying to pull from the depths of my brain from over a decade ago.

[00:45:25] running the nonprofit, things that you were doing to- Yeah. Tell me

[00:45:42] And I'm like- ... "What the what? Let me get Google." I actually said that. I'm like, "Let me just Google that for you because, I'm sorry, I took college in 2004-" "... is when I graduated." Yes. It's 2020 right now. Yes. I'm not gonna remember that.

[00:46:02] Yes. Well, you know what? And on that note, instead of you internalizing that, like, "I can't believe I didn't know that," you flip- Yeah ... it around, and you're like, "No, it's not on me. It's on him," Yeah. ...He was being rude.

[00:46:16] would flip the narrative for people that have taken those pauses.

[00:46:25] Start Small and Use Your Strengths

[00:46:35] What would you say to them?

[00:46:54] If I would've had the, "Oh, I don't wanna... If I had the ick- ... then I probably maybe wouldn't have liked being back full-time. But because that drive was there for me, then it really motivated me to go back. So I would encourage them to just find something small, kind of maybe in their field that they're looking at- and just see if it's even there.

[00:47:29] I would say number one skill is being organized. basic project management skills are literally what drives success in being at home, in my work life, honestly.

[00:47:52] Yes.

[00:48:02] I'm not afraid of people that are in high places. I will walk up to them and just like, "Hey, how's it going?" 'Cause again, they didn't know me yesterday, but they might remember me tomorrow. I just- am not afraid of status, I'm not afraid of any of that. That has definitely helped me.

[00:48:20] Additionally, I think that sometimes how we see ourselves is different than how others see us, and most of the time women especially, we undersell our strengths. Yeah. I wanna share what Laura Bale, a friend of yours, had to say. "Leah shows up for other people. She is fierce in her love for family and friends and everything she puts her mind to.

[00:48:55] Aw.

[00:48:57] Thanks, Laura. What comes up for you when you hear that?

[00:49:03] it's kinda how I would expect her to answer actually.

[00:49:11] She is one of my friends that I'm constantly like, "Hey, are we still friends?" Aw. She's always like, "Oh my gosh, Leah, stop."

[00:49:24] So I'm so appreciative that you're here today, Leah. All right.

[00:49:28] So we're moving on to our rapid round, because we are not all just career women, just some real life quick questions. You ready?

[00:49:35] Okay. In terms of family, you got four kids. Do your kids do chores?

[00:49:42] since they were two.

[00:49:45] Absolutely not.

[00:49:49] So we have a rotational chore chart that every person has at least, like, a 10 or 15-minute chore every day. So someone's got regular dishes, someone has the dinner dishes, 'cause those are horrendous.

[00:50:11] Wait, pause a minute. Sorry to interrupt. But my first thought is, of course you would've trained your dog to do that. Of

[00:50:25] And then the other one is vacuum the rugs and vacuum the kitchen, and then that person also has to feed the birds and take the trash out once a week.

[00:50:37] Yeah, so my philosophy is you live in this house, so these chores are because you live here.

[00:50:58] And we don't always wanna say no to trinket doodads and just dumb stuff. So if you wanna buy your stupid Brawl Star Pass- you can if it's in your allowance. We're not allowing you to go negative either.

[00:51:10] Mind Over Matter Closing

[00:51:13] Uh, yeah, it's from my dad, and I've had it forever. And he's always said, "It's strictly mind over matter.

[00:51:33] For everyone that can't see, um, Leah just held up her phone- My dad is calling ... and her dad is literally calling right now.

[00:51:46] can't think of a better way to end this time. Thank you so much Leah, for sharing your journey.

[00:51:51] I want to say this out loud before we go. You did not step away for 12 years to just be at home. You ran a nonprofit.

[00:52:28] Leah, if listeners want to reach out, and maybe it is about stepping away, you had mentioned you'd be open to people reaching out?

[00:52:47] What is the best way to get in touch with you?

[00:52:54] Sounds good. We will, link your Facebook, Instagram, and your LinkedIn-

[00:52:58] Sounds good. Great. Thanks again.

[00:53:03] Yes. And to our listeners, if this episode resonated with you, subscribe on your streaming platform so you never miss another conversation, and share this with one woman who needs to hear it.

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[00:54:26] After Show Reflections

[00:54:54] When I think of Leah, I think of a cool, badass woman, and I mean that in the best possible way. I want some of her swagger and her badassery. I don't even know if that's a real word, but I'm making it one, and Leah's picture is going next to that definition. What I love about her is that Leah knows her worth, and she doesn't put herself down or get intimidated in rooms where people don't recognize what she brings.

[00:55:50] Be confident, and if they don't know who you are in the room on that day, make sure they remember you tomorrow. That's a reminder for anyone in any negotiation. I love that when Leah went back to work, she didn't undercut herself by taking the first offer. Whether you're returning to work, transitioning into a new career, or going for that next promotion, again, I know I have the kind of personality that would say yes to the first offer just to show how eager and on board I am.

[00:56:44] Those skills travel with you. And of course, do your research, know what the pay scale actually is, but don't automatically put yourself at the floor of the band just because your most recent experience isn't in that exact role The other thing I really admire about Leah is how she sets a vision and then figures out a way to get there.

[00:57:39] You may not know yet what the dream job is or what the next chapter looks like, but action moves you. Sitting does not. Two quick things before I sign off. Leah mentioned that being a stay-at-home mom can feel like a conversation killer at parties, and people don't know what to ask next. So a small ask for all of us, the next time we're at a social setting, instead of leading with, "What do you do?" what if we try, " What's something that you're working on that excites you?" That's a prompt I picked up from Vanessa Van Edwards, and it works for everyone: the working mom, the stay-at-home mom,the woman in the middle of a transition. It opens the door for whatever the person actually wants to share.

[00:59:01] Funny side note, in the months that I've been building this show, only two people have asked me why I'm focused specifically on women in midlife pivots. And I usually talk about because women in midlife, we typically are thinking about our next pivot with our family in mind. we don't wanna blow up everything to make a career pivot.

[00:59:57] If today's episode got you thinking, I would love to keep that conversation going. Sign up for my email list at herintentionalreset.com. You'll get the latest episodes as they drop, additional resources from our guests, and access to our community forum coming soon, where women are keeping this conversation going in between episodes.