Maddy Scott
Maddy Scott is a business psychologist and ICF accredited coach from the UK, currently living in Dubai. Having completed an MSc in Occupational Psychology back in 2014 at Goldsmiths, University of London, she has been working in roles focused on people development ever since.
She is now the Co-Founder of Together We, a coaching and development company aimed at helping people at transition points feel less alone and more confident. Whether it’s new parents learning how to find balance in their lives, first-time managers figuring out how to get the best from their teams, or individuals wanting to explore their career options, the company provides practical tools and techniques to help people navigate change while staying true to their personal values.
Maddy has a passion for coaching people - both individually and in groups - to be the best they can be, whatever that looks like for them. She also loves designing and facilitating engaging training programs that make people think. She has worked in several multinational companies, leading the design work for workshops and coaching programs related to leadership, management, careers, confidence and resilience.
What is matrescence? How becoming a parent changes you and what companies need to consider when welcoming back returning workers.
Becoming a parent is one of the biggest changes an individual can experience and yet the word ‘matrescence’ - the process of becoming a mother - still isn’t recognised by most spell checking software. This highlights the disconnect that many new parents feel: returning to work after such a huge transition point and not feeling like they have the necessary understanding and support from others, making them feel isolated and more likely to quit the workforce. This is something that companies should be motivated to change and business psychologists may be able to play a part.
This presentation will examine the theory of matrescence and how studies have seen lifetime impacts of motherhood on cognition and the brain. It will present these huge changes alongside a recognition of maternity leave practices globally - with a particular focus on the UAE - and a consideration of the data available around the number of women who take career breaks when their children are young and the career-long impact that these can have.
It will consider some common interventions businesses employ to help re-integrate returning workers back after maternity leave and then suggest how group coaching might be an initiative worth considering. The presentation will explain the concept of group coaching and present some evidence on when it is useful, both from studies and the presenter’s experience in practice. Group coaching might be uniquely placed to help people returning after maternity leave, as it would encourage participants to examine and acknowledge the challenges that they are facing while also connecting them with others going through a similar change.
Delegates will hear about the process of creating a group coaching intervention and be invited to participate in one or two coaching exercises from a program that is currently being designed by the presenter’s company. The presentation will conclude with a consideration of how group coaching may also be able to inform top-down processes in organizations, as well as giving individuals skills to be able to empower themselves to cope with change.