MANAGE LIKE A MOTHER: TRANSLATING "MOM SKILLS" INTO "BOSS SKILLS"—WITH VALERIE COCKERELL

Modern Mommy Doc

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PUBLICATION DATE:

December 28, 2023

MANAGE LIKE A MOTHER: TRANSLATING "MOM SKILLS" INTO "BOSS SKILLS"—WITH VALERIE COCKERELL

Modern Mommy Doc

CATEGORY: The Working Mom Life You ACTUALLY Want

About Our Guest:

Valerie Cockerell was born and raised in France where she graduated from Institut Pitiot-Lyon II with a degree in Business hospitality. She participated in the World Showcase Fellowship program at Epcot in 1987/88. After working as an investment advisor for a bank, she eventually joined Disneyland Paris in 1991 as a retail manager and ran multiple merchandise locations in the Resort division. She eventually joined the Merchandise Buying Office and oversaw the assortment planning for all Resort merchandise locations at Disneyland Paris.

Upon moving to Florida in 1997, Valerie worked as the Assortment Planning Manager at Downtown Disney and Epcot Center. She eventually moved to Merchandise Brand Management for both Epcot and the Disney Cruise Line. Valerie left the company and started consulting for outside organizations in the retail world. She returned to Disney in 2013 to become a contract facilitator for Disney Institute. She facilitated professional development classes and custom programs in both French and English. She drew from her international management experience in retail and operations to teach Disney’s approach to Leadership Excellence and Customer Service.

Since May 2019, Valerie has been a keynote speaker and facilitates workshops with her husband Dan. She shares her expertise and methodology in leading teams and delivering outstanding customer service. With her new book, Manage like a Mother, Valerie brings a simple to understand and easy-to-implement take on leadership inspired by a mother's playbook.

You can find more information about her book here .

You can email her at valerie@cockerellconsulting.coma and find out more about her consulting services here .

About the Episode:

In this episode, Dr. Whitney chats with Valerie Cockerell, author of Manage Like a Mother. They discuss how, as moms, we can be (and should be) confident in our ability to lead in the workplace, because we have so much experience leading as moms and because of our “mom skills” that can absolutely be translated into “boss skills.” They also chat about how women can stand out in their workplace by using the leadership skills they’re uniquely gifted in.

Episode Takeaways:

Women who have been in and out of the workforce constantly question, “Am I still relevant? Do my skills still matter?” But what we’ve regularly seen is that what is required to be a “great leader” is not much different than what it takes to be a great mom and what we do as moms. Both require things like healthy relationships with people, emotional intelligence, and coaching and developing other people.

Just like in parenting when you adjust the way you show love to your child, based on who they are and what they like and dislike, we need to adjust the way we show appreciation to those we are leading, based on who they are and how they operate.This is where emotional intelligence comes into play. You have to pay attention to feedback and nonverbal cues to understand them better so you can customize the way you’re showing appreciation.

Generally speaking, men approach leadership much differently than women do. And for decades, women came into the workforce thinking that, in order to be an effective leader and move up the corporate ladder, they needed to lead and behave like men.

Recently, studies have shown that servant leadership and emotional intelligence are better approaches–both of which women are uniquely prepared with, often because of motherhood. Men need to recognize and see the value in that and leverage the fact that women bring a new leadership approach. And when you combine the two approaches, that’s when there is wealth, success, and power.

You are the most powerful when you are yourself. When you show up as your authentic self and when you help to raise up other women to be their most authentic selves in the workplace and to bring everything that they are, that’s when you’ll make systemic societal change in the workplace.

FORGET ALL THE OTHER PARENTING ADVICE AND JUST FOCUS ON THIS

By Modern Mommy Doc • October 9, 2026

About the Episode: There’s so much parenting advice out there, and most of it doesn’t matter nearly as much as the internet wants you to think. (Seed oils? We have bigger fish to fry.) In this solo episode, Dr. Whitney gets back to basics and shares the six evidence-based parenting principles she focuses on as a pediatrician, the ones she dug into with a leading child development researcher. She also shares how these play out in real life as a mom of two neurodivergent kids, because guidance only helps if it actually fits your family. Key takeaways: Be sensitive and responsive. Simple practices like mirroring your child’s emotions and “serve and return” interactions build a loving, trusting foundation. Dr. Whitney shares how a Halloween decorating session turned into a deep conversation about religion once she slowed down and got curious. Meet kids where they are, especially at their worst. Drawing on Tina Payne Bryson, co-author of The Whole-Brain Child , Dr. Whitney explains that soothing a meltdown isn’t giving in. It’s letting your child know they’re not alone in a big feeling. Model self-regulation, and repair when you lose it. Self-regulation predicts academic success better than IQ. The goal isn’t staying calm all the time, it’s understanding why you got dysregulated, coming back to baseline, and offering yourself some self-compassion. Set limits for your kids and yourself. Every child’s needs are different (screen time affects Dr. Whitney’s two daughters very differently), but all kids need limits, and so do parents. Taking time for yourself models something healthy. Aim for authoritative, not permissive. High expectations paired with warmth and grace is the sweet spot. “Gentle parenting” can blur into permissiveness, which research shows is as harmful as authoritarian parenting. Protect unstructured time. Kids need boredom and free play to become self-directed. For ADHD and autistic kids, Dr. Whitney recommends offering a few options and letting kids choose. Support internal motivation. Using a “mirrors facing outward” image from her own therapist, Dr. Whitney explains why we want kids to trust their own instincts rather than constantly look outward for approval. Want to Start Raising Body-Confident Kids Today? 📘 Order the Books Raising Body-Confident Kids If you've ever caught yourself saying something to your kid about their body that sounded exactly like what your mother said to you, this book is for you. Raising Body-Confident Kids is a research-backed, judgment-free guide for parents who want to break the cycle of diet culture and body shame without swinging into toxic positivity or giving up all structure around food and movement. It answers the real questions parents are actually asking about Ozempic, about picky eaters, about what to say when your kid is being bullied for their body, and about social media influences. This is a practical, values-based game plan you can actually use, even if your own relationship with your body is still a work in progress. My One-of-a-Kind Body My One-of-a-Kind Body gives kids the language and understanding they need to care for their bodies with respect without fear, shame, or appearance-based messaging. Through inclusive illustrations and evidence-based health education, the book teaches body literacy, boundaries, and self-trust in a way kids can actually grasp. 👉 www.raisingbodyconfidentkids.com/books