“Having it all for me means being in control of the trade-offs I'm making and splitting my time amongst the things that I find important rather than chasing somebody else's dream of this… superwoman who's doing everything and still being a mum and a worker.”
Author, commercial leader and speaker Fiona McDonnell shares what maternity, careers with brands like Amazon, Nike and Booking.com, and a major health event taught her about identity, choice and letting go of other people’s “success”.
In her new book Decisions That Carry, Fiona explores what it takes to make rigorous and authentic decisions and bring people with you. And how to make balanced decisions alongside AI with your judgement visible enough that others can believe in it and own it - inspiring commitment, not just compliance.
We talk about being a “human WD-40”, why metaphors matter, and how her frameworks (from cheetahs to yellow bags) can help all of us navigate change and make braver decisions on our own terms, not someone else’s.
Fiona’s Change Toolkit:
Book: The Wonder Weeks by Hetty van de Rijt, the “manual for survival” for new parents
Soundtrack: “Mental Calm” (piano piece from a lost pregnancy CD) & “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall
One piece of advice: “Slow down, be patient, pause before you rush…patience will show you the way through change.”
About Fiona
Fiona is a general manager, author, and speaker with a career that spans continents, industries, and disciplines. Having lived and worked across the UK, Germany, Poland, France, Singapore and the Netherlands, Fiona brings a genuinely global perspective to leadership, shaped by decades of leading commercial teams and navigating complex, multicultural organisations.
She describes herself as a left-brain marketer, right-brain engineer — someone who started out in technical roles before finding her greatest strength in the commercial and human side of business. .
Fiona is a published author, writing both leadership non-fiction and children's books, and has appeared as a speaker and media commentator on diversity and inclusion. She's proof that a portfolio career, built around things you genuinely love, is not just possible, it's powerful.
Produced by winteraudio.co.uk
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