Merve Hokamp, is a mother of two, an avid traveler, and an expat originally from Istanbul, Turkey now living in Dublin and married to an American. She is an ICF (International Coaching Federation) -accredited executive coach and the founder of Leadrise Coaching. Prior to that, she completed her MBA from INSEAD, and spent 11 years at Google leading Customer Success and Project Leaders in global teams and also counts management consulting in her professional experience. Today, Merve empowers corporate and business leaders to elevate their careers, build high-performing teams, and drive impactful change.

Beyond her professional achievements, Merve brings a deeply multicultural perspective to her life and work, and is a strong believer in the Ikigai framework to help one find purposeful work. Merve is passionate about fostering cultural diversity, creating spaces for reflection and growth, and empowering leaders to root themselves in self-awareness before rising to new heights of success.

When she's not coaching, Merve can be found planning her next world travel destination, immersing herself in a good novel, or doing yoga to center her mind and spirit.

In our wide-ranging conversation, Merve also shares on:

🌟 How she balances family and her business, even if it means working more hours.

🌟 Her number one productivity hack - separating "manager time" from "maker time"

🌟 Why asking the right questions can be empowering as a manager and how to do that well

🌟Her experiences in bringing her children up in a multicultural environment

🌟 The importance community in her life as a expat mother

🌟 Merve’s ABCDs for building a strong personal brand at work

Connect with Merve Hokamp on:

👋 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mervehokamp/

👋 Leadrise Coaching: www.leadrisecoaching.com

👋 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadrisecoaching/

👋 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553448626981

Follow and connect with us! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

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💼⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/

📷 ⁠Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/

🎵 ⁠TikTok⁠: https://www.tiktok.com/@makeitwork.podcast

🍏Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-work/id1701442085

📥⁠Email⁠: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Chapters

00:18 Introduction to Make It Work

00:29 Hello Merve

01:49 Merve's Background and Career Journey

03:07 Fun Fact: Cleopatra the Cow

03:38 Daily Rhythms and Work-Life Balance

06:50 Maker Time vs. Manager Time

10:50 Motherhood and Career Impact

15:11 Multicultural Family Life

18:41 Challenges and Overcoming Adversity

19:54 Feeling Overwhelmed and Lonely

20:08 Building My Support Network

20:46 Coping with Grief

22:24 Discovering a Passion for Coaching

23:19 The Power of Open-Ended Questions

24:37 Transitioning to a Coaching Career

25:29 Common Challenges in Coaching

29:15 The ABCDs of Personal Branding and Professional Growth

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#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #Productivitytips #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Entrepreneur #Coaching #Ikigai

“One of the messages I share with a lot of women that I meet is that, when you are making a decision of whether you want to continue working, stay at home, or be a mompreneur, at any point in time, you have to really know what it is that you want for your life stage. It's very easy to be influenced by what you hear around you, right? But ultimately, you know yourself best. You know your own family best as well, what works best. “

If you missd Part 1 of the episode, listen here 👉 https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/makeitworkasia-podcast/episodes/On-Why-Every-Mom-Needs-Unsexy-Role-Models-with-Sher-li-Torrey--Ep19-Part-1-of-2-e2nehe1

Sher-li Torrey is a Singaporean mom of 2 - a 16-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son. She is best known as the founder of Mums @ Work and Career Navigators, organizations dedicated to supporting and empowering mothers as they return to the workforce. Inspired by her own journey to find flexible work arrangements as a young mother 14 years ago, Mums@Work has since grown into a vibrant community of almost 70,000 members. The platform offers flexible work solutions, a portal for Mumpreneurs to list their services, volunteer opportunities, workshops for working mothers, and returneeship programs to help those transitioning back into the workforce after a career break.

With more than a decade of experience working with mothers and partnering with public and private organizations, Sher-li has become a pivotal figure in advocating for this important demographic in Singapore and beyond. In our two-part conversation, she candidly shares:

🌟 The role of work in providing an identity beyond caregiving

🌟 The power of learning to let go and asking for help

🌟 Her "40 Women Over 40" initiative and why every woman needs unsexy role models

🌟 Insights and lessons she never expected from her journey with other moms

🌟 Learning about the different Asian ecosystems in supporting working mms

Check out our latest episode “On Why Every Mom Needs Unsexy Role Models with Sher-li Torrey “ now available on:

🎙Apple (audio only)- https://tinyurl.com/2ypqmafn

🎙Spotify (video+audio) - https://tinyurl.com/24dm6vfv

🎙YouTube (video+audio) - https://tinyurl.com/24jwedlj

Connect with Sher-li on:

👋 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherlitorrey/

👋 Mums at Work: https://www.mumsatwork.net/

Follow and connect with us! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

—-------------------------------

💼⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/

📷 ⁠Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/

🎵 ⁠TikTok⁠: https://www.tiktok.com/@makeitwork.podcast

🍏Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-work/id1701442085

🎵Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/78ulY0B27nYxGB6jPCABPI?si=abfc48d037d943be

📥⁠Email⁠: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Chapters

00:00 Episode Snippet

00:23 Introduction to Episode

01:21 Understanding Personality in the Workplace

02:24 The Importance of Personality Frameworks

03:57 Challenges and Changes for Working Moms

04:46 Segmenting the Needs of Moms

06:47 The Impact of National Exams on Moms

12:09 Comparing Global Childcare Systems

13:18 Insights on Japan's Work Culture

17:19 Empowering Moms to Make Personal Choices

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#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #productivitytips #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Entrepreneur

Sher-li Torrey is a Singaporean mom of 2 - a 16-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son. She is best known as the founder of Mums @ Work and Career Navigators, organizations dedicated to supporting and empowering mothers as they return to the workforce. Inspired by her own journey to find flexible work arrangements as a young mother 14 years ago, Mums@Work has since grown into a vibrant community of almost 70,000 members. The platform offers flexible work solutions, a portal for Mumpreneurs to list their services, volunteer opportunities, workshops for working mothers, and returneeship programs to help those transitioning back into the workforce after a career break.

With more than a decade of experience working with mothers and partnering with public and private organizations, Sher-li has become a pivotal figure in advocating for this important demographic in Singapore and beyond. In our two-part conversation, she candidly shares:

🌟 The role of work in providing an identity beyond caregiving

🌟 The power of learning to let go and asking for help

🌟 Her "40 Women Over 40" initiative and why every woman needs unsexy role models

🌟 Insights and lessons she never expected from her journey with other mums

Connect with Sher-li on:

👋 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherlitorrey/

👋 Mums at Work: https://www.mumsatwork.net/

Follow and connect with us! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

💼⁠ LinkedIn⁠

📷 ⁠Instagram:

🎵 ⁠TikTok⁠

🍏 Apple

📥 ⁠Email⁠

Chapters

00:00 Episode Snippet

00:27 Introduction to Make It Work

00:37 Hello Sher-Li

01:42 Balancing Work and Family Life

02:13 Daily Routines and Time Management

04:04 Non-Negotiables and Flexibility

05:22 The Importance of Asking for Help

09:21 Unsexy Role Models and Other Inspirations

11:03 When We Transmit Our Insecurities To Our Kids

15:57 When I Hit Rock Bottom

21:21 Advice To My Younger Self

23:25 Finding Purpose and Career Transitions

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerBreak #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Entrepreneur #Mothers #Mom #Parents #Parenting #Mum #Family