You Need More Than a Framework. You Need a Work Doula.
You shouldn't ever have to go it alone when you're giving birth to big ideas, new roles, and hard conversations.
We should have doulas for all hard things.
Buying a house. Getting divorced. Choosing a college. Planning a wedding. Starting a company. Ending a job. Losing someone. Burning out.
A doula is someone trained to support you through hard transitions. Not by taking over. Not by fixing. But by holding space, offering guidance, presenting options, and walking alongside you while you do the hard thing yourself.
Most people associate doulas with birth. But anyone who’s ever been overwhelmed by change knows—we need doulas everywhere.
Thérèse and Holly were my birth doulas. I also have an exercise doula (Anna), a divorce doula (Mollie), a tax doula (Jennifer), a selling-my-house doula (Jeanette), a coaching doula (Suzy) a LinkedIn doula (Cory), a spiritual doula (Sonta), and a dozen other doulas for a dozen other things.
So, what is a doula?
A doula is a trained professional who provides help, information, options, and choices to someone who needs support.
Doulas are not merely friends, though they can be. They are people with specific training and experience in whatever you’re doing.
Doulas are most commonly associated with birth and death. But I have felt strongly for a long time that we need doulas for everything hard.
Enter the work doula
I was a birth doula for 5 years. I attended births at night once or twice a month while I was in marketing leadership for a startup during the day. I’ve been bringing that ethos to my professional work more and more in the last decade.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: I’m not here to rub your shoulders during your 1:1s or breathe through contractions in board meetings. If you are expecting me to show up to your Executive Leadership Team meeting in Birkenstocks to smudge the bad energy out of your Series B pitch deck, you’ll be disappointed.
But I am here to support smart, capable people as they navigate big, messy, or meaningful changes at work—whether that’s:
Stepping into a new leadership role
Managing a tricky team dynamic
Figuring out what’s next in your career
Or just trying to get through the week without burning out
As a Work Doula, I bring:
The sharpness of an executive coach
The strategy chops of a GTM leader with decades of experience on the front lines of startup life
The soul of someone who’s been in the trenches of corporate life and actual birth work
I’ve helped founders reimagine their orgs, marketing execs find their voice, and high-achieving humans slow down long enough to hear what their gut is actually saying.
It’s not therapy. It’s not consulting.
It’s a space to breathe, reflect, plan, cry if needed, and then get back to work with clarity and heart.
Curious? Confused? Slightly intrigued?
Read on.
We need work doulas!
A GTM Consultant helps you grow the business.
They focus on external strategy: messaging, ICP, GTM motions, funnel optimization, pipeline growth, tech stack, and investor-ready plans.
➡️ They focus on the market and the metrics.
An Executive Coach helps you grow as a leader.
They focus on mindset, self-awareness, communication, conflict, and navigating relationships at the top.
➡️ They focus on how you show up at work.
A Work Doula helps you stay human while doing hard things.
You get strategic GTM advice plus emotional support, conflict coaching, honest feedback, and space to breathe during transitions.
➡️ We focus on the whole human at work—because when the human thrives, so does the business.
We need startup doulas! We need GTM doulas! We need finance and HR and sales doulas!
How To Find Your Own Work Doula
Everybody needs a work doula.
It could be a mentor, a colleague, your boss, a trained executive coach, or anyone else who meets the following requirements:
Industry or job-relevant experience: They understand enough about what you do to be helpful. This probably excludes family and friends who couldn’t describe your job no matter how hard they tried. It also excludes exec coaches who have never held the leadership roles you’ve held).
Honesty: The are unflinchingly on your side, but willing to call you out if needed (be wary of leaning TOO hard on HR resources for this reason, because when push comes to shove, they always have to put the company’s interests above yours-it’s literally their job).
Trust: You trust them implicitly and are willing to share your deepest anxieties and work-related concerns with them.
Vibes: They make you feel better when you talk to them, even after hard conversations.
The best way to find a work doula is organically: notice if there is someone already in your life who meets all these criteria. Don’t be afraid to lean into them for support, whether formally or informally. Ask them if you could meet with them monthly for 30 minutes to learn from them.
If you don’t have anyone like that already in your life, you can sign up for mentoring through a host of professional communities.
You can hire a professional executive coach (me, for example, or I can suggest other people if you have specific criteria).
Most importantly as you think about who YOUR work doula might be, think about how you can act as a work doula for others in your life by offering them honesty, support, and advice (ONLY IF THEY ASK FOR IT!)
Tell Me Your Thoughts
Did you know what a doula was before this post?
Does the idea of doula-style support for work resonate?
Have you ever had someone play this role in your life?
Drop a comment or shoot me a note.
Work with Me
If you’re navigating the messy, magical, sometimes overwhelming transitions of your company, GTM strategy, and/or professional life, I’d love to support you. Most leaders have plenty of hustle, what they need is support.
I work with visionary founders and GTM eaders on go-to-market strategy, leadership, clarity, and growth. I’d love to chat about what you need.
I also lead “How’s Work” workshops every month, open to all. We use writing prompts to explore decision-making, conflict, career, ambition, leadership, change, and work stress.
I’d love for you to join me.
Great concept and something that is desperately needed.
Such a great read, Sarah!