In this op-ed, Louise Wilson reflects on a whirlwind month recording It Takes a Village, the new Village podcast exploring how parenthood shapes leadership, where Lauren Thornborough and her spoke with ten leaders from across Australia’s media industry. Different companies, different pressures, yet the same truth emerged: becoming a parent changes the way you make decisions at work—not in a soft, sentimental way, but in a practical, “this actually matters” way.
Parents don’t have time for performative leadership. We don’t have the luxury of pretending tough decisions aren’t on the table. What we do have is a sharper awareness of impact, and that came through in every single conversation.
The part of leadership we don’t glamorise
If there was one theme that cut through the episodes, it was this: your leadership isn’t defined on your best days. It’s defined on the days you’re making decisions you wish you didn’t have to.
Every leader we spoke to had a version of this story. Moments where the business needed clarity, not comfort. Where avoiding the difficult call would’ve felt easier but ultimately helped no one. Where you sit there thinking, “I didn’t want this moment but here I am, responsible for it.”
Parenthood doesn’t make those decisions easier. But it does make you more conscious of how you land them.
The myth of “human leadership”
There’s a growing belief that being a human-centred leader means being endlessly flexible and endlessly accommodating. But anyone leading through real-world conditions, restructures, performance issues, shifting priorities, knows that’s not how this works.
What parenthood reinforces is the tension we don’t talk about enough:
You can be empathetic and still be decisive. You can support people and still hold a boundary. You can lead with heart and still deliver hard news.
The leaders on the podcast weren’t trying to be the “nice” leader or the “tough” leader. They were trying to be the responsible one.
And sometimes responsibility looks like backing someone. Sometimes it looks like making a call they won’t like. Either way, avoiding it doesn’t help.
Clarity as a form of care
One of the sharpest insights that stuck with me came from a conversation about kids and boundaries. Children push against the edges because they want to know where they are. They want consistency. They want honesty.
Teams aren’t that different.
Delaying hard feedback doesn’t soften it. Dodging a performance conversation doesn’t protect anyone. Holding onto indecision only creates more uncertainty. Clarity delivered early, fairly and with humanity is one of the most underrated leadership skills we have.
And it is one that parenthood strengthens. Not because we’re perfect at it, but because we practice it daily.
Why the humanity matters
Right now our industry is fast, shifting and unforgiving. Leaders are being asked to deliver more with less, to balance commercial realities with team wellbeing, and to show up with conviction even when the path isn’t smooth.
But here’s what I’ve learnt from parenting, from podcasting and from leading:
Being human doesn’t weaken your decisions. It strengthens how you make them.
The leaders who will stand out in this industry aren’t the ones avoiding hard calls. They’re the ones who make them with clarity, empathy and honesty.
That’s not soft leadership. That’s modern leadership. And the more we talk about it, the better we get at doing it.
