Executive Moms offers transformative solutions to a critical workplace issue: maternity leave reentry, bridging the gap between policy and practice to retain top talent.
Maternity leave. For many working moms, it’s a time of relief and bonding with their newborns. But when the time comes to return to work, the experience can be jarring, overwhelming, and often isolating. That moment of reentry marks one of the most significant, yet often overlooked, transitions in a woman’s career, and it’s precisely where many companies lose their most valuable employees.
Imagine this: You’ve spent months away from the office, adjusting to the demands of motherhood, only to walk back into a workplace where things have moved on without you. There’s no handbook, no guidance, and worst of all, there’s a silence around you—managers want to help, but they’re unsure how to navigate the complexities of your return. And so, you’re left feeling unsupported during one of the most profound life transitions you’ll ever face.
For Alexa Starks, founder and CEO of Executive Moms, this was her reality. As a mother of two toddlers with a career in corporate leadership, Alexa experienced firsthand the emotional and professional strain of maternity leave reentry. It was this experience that sparked the idea for her business, Executive Moms, a leadership development and culture consultancy designed to fill the gap that exists in how companies support working moms during this critical transition.
A Personal Mission Becomes a Business
While maternity leave policies are commonplace in many organizations, the lack of preparation for what happens when moms return is alarming. Companies often focus on the benefits of leave but fail to consider the emotional and professional aftermath of reentering the workplace. This is where Executive Moms stands apart. The company bridges the gap between policy and practice, equipping managers with the training, tools, and empathy needed to support employees through this delicate process.
Founded by Alexa, Executive Moms’ flagship service, The Reentry Blueprint, is a comprehensive workshop that equips businesses with actionable strategies to help working moms navigate their return to the workplace. The workshop provides frameworks for managers to have conversations that create emotional safety, tools that allow companies to integrate reentry into their leadership strategies, and actionable advice that addresses both the human and business impact of a successful reentry.
“Reentry is not just a transition, it’s a human experience that deserves empathy and structure,” says Alexa. “We don’t lose moms when they go on leave. We lose them when they come back unsupported.”
The Invisible Leadership Crisis
Maternity leave reentry is a uniquely complex challenge. It’s not simply about returning to work after a few months off; it’s about managing the emotional and psychological shift that comes with balancing new motherhood and a demanding career. For many mothers, this transition can be overwhelming, with feelings of guilt, anxiety, and exhaustion weighing heavily. But too often, companies overlook this, assuming that the return to work will be smooth or that employees will simply “figure it out.”
What Alexa found during her own maternity leaves was that companies had well-established policies for parental leave but left the emotional and practical aspects of reentry to chance. Managers were unsure how to handle the situation, leaving moms to struggle in silence. There was no clear system in place to support them, leading to disengagement, burnout, and, ultimately, a loss of talent.
This “reentry gap” is not just a personal hurdle for employees to overcome. It’s a leadership issue. “Reentry is not just a transition for moms, it’s an organizational responsibility,” Alexa explains. “When companies get it right, when they invest in creating supportive, empathetic environments, they don’t just reduce turnover, they build trust, loyalty, and long-term engagement.”
From Personal Struggle to Professional Solution
Alexa’s journey from corporate executive to founder of Executive Moms was a direct result of her personal experience with maternity leave reentry. Drawing from her own experiences as a mom of 2 toddlers, her academic research during her Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership, and over a decade of corporate leadership experience, Alexa built Executive Moms as a resource for organizations seeking to better support working moms. The Reentry Blueprint was born from her mission to turn reentry into an opportunity for growth, not a breaking point. She realized that while organizations often invest in benefits packages, there was little attention given to the critical support moms need once they return. This gap was costing companies valuable employees, engagement, and productivity.
The results have been profound. The program’s focus on both the human and business side of reentry has had measurable impacts on companies. In fact, a case study showed that 95% of managers who participated in the workshop reported an increase in their confidence to support returning employees, and 88% of parents surveyed afterward felt their return would be better supported. This cultural shift in how employees perceive their return can have a significant impact on retention rates and overall morale.
The Unique Value of Executive Moms
So, what sets Executive Moms apart from other leadership consultancies? The answer is clear: while many organizations focus on general policies and DEI initiatives, Executive Moms is laser-focused on reentry, providing managers with the specific language, tools, and systems they need to support returning mothers in real-time.
Rather than just speaking to the theory of leadership, Alexa and her team provide tangible solutions that companies can implement immediately. “Policies don’t keep people, support does. And support is built in the everyday language and actions of leaders,” Alexa notes.
In addition to workshops, Executive Moms also provides keynote speeches and thought leadership on the topic of maternity leave reentry, advocating for a rethinking of workplace culture. For Alexa, this work is personal. “This isn’t just about leadership training, it’s about rethinking culture, equity, empathy, and the future of work.”
Why Your Company Needs Executive Moms
Supporting working moms is not just about adhering to compliance standards, it’s about creating a culture that values empathy and flexibility. It’s about acknowledging the profound life transition that occurs when a mother returns to work and ensuring that the workplace remains a space where they can thrive both personally and professionally.
Companies that get maternity leave reentry right not only retain talented employees, they also build a more inclusive, supportive, and productive culture. And in today’s competitive business landscape, that’s the kind of leadership that will give your organization an edge.
Executive Moms offers the tools, training, and frameworks you need to create a workplace that genuinely supports its working parents, ensuring that your employees don’t just survive reentry, but thrive.
Are you ready to transform your workplace and turn maternity leave reentry into a leadership opportunity?
Visit Executive Moms to learn more and get started today.
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