Episode summary
Episode 364: Kirstie Sneyd – the original OB queen – on returning well and staying grounded
The Fiftyfaces Podcast
· · 33 min · Guests: Kirstie Sneyd
Summary
Kirstie Sneyd traces her path from a science and consumer research start at Procter & Gamble to a career centered on organizational behavior, coaching, and evidence-based psychology. She says the turning point was realizing that the people side of work was what truly interested her, leading her to specialize in coaching, then return to study for a master’s in organizational psychology to ground her practice in research rather than “fluffy” consultant intuition.
A major theme is helping returners — especially parents — re-enter work well, with practical guidance for both employees and managers. Kirstie frames the transition as a shared responsibility, using the “three C’s” before leave — career, cover, communication — and, on return, “finance, flexibility, and fulfillment.” She argues that early support matters, but so does helping people regain self-efficacy rather than over-supporting them indefinitely.
She also focuses on visibility, confidence, and career transitions later in life. Kirstie recommends watching language that undermines authority, like softening statements with “just,” and she says the hardest issues in coaching often come back to control, influence, and how people choose to interpret events. Across the conversation, she emphasizes responding rather than reacting, and building a career and identity that feel grounded and sustainable.
Key takeaways
- Kirstie Sneyd says the most effective return-to-work planning is a shared responsibility between returner and manager, not just an individual problem.
- She uses the “three C’s” before leave — career, cover, communication — and “finance, flexibility, and fulfillment” after return as practical decision guides.
- Kirstie says early post-leave support is important, but too much support later can reduce self-efficacy rather than build it.
- She argues that visibility and confidence are often undermined by small speech habits, such as using “just” in emails or conversations.
- Kirstie’s core coaching lens is the “circle of concern, influence, and control,” with a strong emphasis on focusing energy only where action is possible.
Notable quotes
“we can spend a hell of a lot of time in what we call our circle of concern”
“really thinking about how am I choosing to view this situation, and is that making it easier or harder for myself is something we have control over”
“I really wanted to make sure I did things that had a very strong evidence base”
“the three C's. So, career, cover, and communication before we go off on leave”
“responding rather than reacting. So, when we are having a conversation with somebody or when something happens to us, we have a natural reaction to that”
How the episode opens
We can spend a hell of a lot of time in what we call our circle of concern. This is a whole chunk of stuff that I'm worried or concerned about. Within that, there's a smaller circle or sphere of things I can influence.
And within that, there's a smaller circle still of things that I can control. And I know I've talked to you previously even about cognitive coping, which is around how do we think about things or view things or reframe things. And that is within our control.
It may be tricky to do sometimes, but really thinking about how am I choosing to view this situation, and is that making it easier or harder for myself is something we have control over. But what somebody else is doing, we can influence potentially, but we really don't have control over.
I'm Eimear Devitt, and welcome to the 50 Faces podcast. A podcast committed to revealing the richness and diversity of the world of investment by focusing on its people and their stories. This podcast series is kindly supported by Franklin Templeton and Alvine Capital.
Franklin Templeton is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of investment solutions, including mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, wealth management, and technology-enabled financial services. Founded in 1947, the firm manages approximately 1.8 trillion in assets under management and serves individual and institutional investors across more than 150 countries. Alvine Capital was founded in 2005.
It's European-focused private capital advisory and placement agent that provides capital raising services to investment managers from its bases in London and Stockholm. It creates bespoke capital raising programs that blend appropriate investor targeting and sophisticated marketing to deliver a fund raise aligned with institutional expectations. I'm joined today by Kirsty Snaid, who's an organizational psychologist, executive coach, and the author of Returning Well, a practical evidence-based guide for working parents and their managers.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- organizational behavior
- executive coaching
- returning to work
- cognitive load
- social media comparisons
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Fiftyfaces Podcast, this episode and its artwork belong to Aoifinn Devitt. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
