Leadership, parenting and the practice of clinical medicine each have their unique challenges. Combining all three can prove both highly rewarding and profoundly challenging. Every parent, clinician and leader journey is different and strategies for managing these complex roles are also likely to be highly variable. Often sequential engagement with particular domains can help. For example whilst prioritising parenting a clinician may choose to sequentially focus in five year blocks on research, teaching and then leadership activity. Pacing oneself can prove challenging for high achieving medical professionals and impatience to progress often leads to excessive stress and worry about being left behind and not succeeding in postgraduate training, promotion or research output. A growth mindset as described in the work of Carol Dweck can be particularly important. High achieving medical professionals often have a fixed mindset and feel that not succeeding as a clinician scientist leader parent reflects poorly on ability. It seems common for academic high achieving parents to judge themselves harshly for not being able to do everything and achieve mastery over life challenges that are not necessarily about mastery. Sometimes letting go of big visions can be a relief and taking up small opportunities can lead to unexpected great career outcomes. As always paying close attention to the things that truly energise you can really show the way forward. When you find the true north, work and life seems to flow together better and work feels less like work because it gives you energy rather than taking it away. Parenting can be so liberating because it does often lead you to more carefully choose the things that you most love to do in work rather than try to do all of the things that you think you should do to satisfy pre-determined and mind-forged 'criteria for success’.