Preserving continuity without compromise
How Rhapsody kept its marketing momentum through a senior leader's parental leave and gave her a return worth coming back for.
with Mother Cover
Rhapsody provides healthcare organizations with the infrastructure for agent-ready interoperability, enabling them to connect systems, reduce integration burden, and preparing for agentic AI.
Behind the scenes is a fast-moving marketing team driving demand and supporting growth. With numerous strategic plays always in motion, sustaining momentum during life-changing moments is a team non-negotiable.
In late 2025, as a senior marketing leader prepared for parental leave, Rhapsody turned to Mother Cover for experienced fractional leadership to ensure business continuity without interruption or compromise. The result? Seamless execution and a thoughtful return-to-work experience.
When leave couldn't wait for a perfect handoff
Since joining Rhapsody, Director of Demand Generation Lindsay McDonnell has supported the company's marketing transformation. Rhapsody's new marketing processes were taking shape, campaigns were gaining traction, and its team was realizing the payoff of its strategic work.
As Lindsay prepared for parental leave, maintaining that momentum became a top priority. Distributing her responsibilities across the team was not a realistic solution, especially as some team members were still settling into new roles.
The uncertainty around her high-risk pregnancy added another layer of complexity. Lindsay wanted a plan and a Leave Partner in place that would protect her team, build on their momentum, and give her confidence that everything — and everyone — would be taken care of.
"We had made so much progress. I wanted to retain our headway and make sure it carried through until my return. I wanted to be certain things at work were in a good spot. It was kind of like my first baby that I needed to be sure it was cared for."
Lindsay McDonnell · Director of Demand Generation, Rhapsody
Fractional leadership that supported the team and momentum
Rhapsody wasn't simply looking to fill a temporary gap. It wanted to protect months of strategic progress, support the marketing team, and give Lindsay the confidence to fully step away.
Mother Cover matched Lindsay with Leave Partner Sive O'Neill, a fractional marketing leader with nearly 15 years of experience in B2B SaaS demand generation and team leadership. For Sive, the engagement represented more than another fractional assignment. Having faced her own career challenges around parental leave, she understood firsthand how important it was to create a different experience for working parents.
"I had tough times with my parental leaves in regard to my career. Now, I want to help others avoid those challenges. I want to support other parents while also helping companies figure out how people can build senior-level careers and still shift priorities when important life events happen."
Sive O'Neill · Mother Cover Leave Partner
Weeks of overlap became two days
The original transition plan called for several weeks of overlap between Lindsay and Sive. But Lindsay's delivery date moved up unexpectedly, leaving just two days to complete the handoff.
Fortunately, Mother Cover's structured onboarding process had already laid the groundwork. Lindsay had documented all active projects, team responsibilities, campaign priorities, and future planning. In early conversations with Mother Cover, she determined what would shift to the Leave Partner, what needed to be delegated, and what realistic expectations looked like.
"Mother Cover provided the right ramp-up materials to keep our team aligned on what we were transferring and what the expectations were. They also facilitated some tough conversations about what's realistic for a Leave Partner to take on."
Lindsay
"Even though it was abbreviated, this was the best onboarding I've ever had. Typically, in marketing leadership roles, you don't have your predecessor onboarding you. You just have to figure it out for yourself."
Sive
An extension of the leadership team
Sive quickly became an extension of the marketing leadership team, guiding campaigns across demand generation, paid media, email marketing, and lifecycle marketing while mentoring newer team members. Her presence helped stabilize the team, setting a clear rhythm and priorities.
She also enhanced the monthly reporting cadence and reinforced the habit of regularly reviewing pipeline metrics and channel-level performance. Once settled, Sive launched an email nurture program that Lindsay and Rhapsody's CMO had wanted to build. She also sent Lindsay monthly reports offering just enough visibility to stay informed without feeling pulled back into work.
"It didn't feel like I was leaving my career behind. I was just able to focus elsewhere, knowing I could come back to my role later."
Lindsay
A return that was phased, not thrown
Mother Cover's thoughtful, end-to-end support continued after Lindsay's return. Sive remained engaged for three weeks, gradually transferring projects, sharing detailed reports, and continuing to lead some meetings until Lindsay felt ready to resume full ownership.
Lindsay's first days back gave her time to reconnect with her team, catch up on emails, review Sive's reports, and reorient herself without becoming overwhelmed. This gave her space to reflect and to draw inspiration from Sive.
"It was nice having Sive still running some work, so I didn't have to jump in and run every task and meeting from day one. This was the first experience I've had with someone else doing my job, and there were things I learned from Sive's style that I've adopted."
Lindsay
With the timing of Lindsay's return aligning with Rhapsody's performance review cycle, Sive's close work with the marketing team enabled her to provide valuable input on performance and team dynamics, smoothing the reintegration even more.
Leadership continuity, and a team that felt held
Mother Cover's structured leave model enabled Rhapsody to maintain marketing momentum while supporting its team through a massive transition. Through an unexpected early leave and a thoughtful return-to-work process, Mother Cover helped Rhapsody protect its progress, provide leadership continuity, and reinforce its commitment to supporting its employees.
"This experience proved to me that you can have it all. You can have a family and kick ass at work."
Lindsay
Why support matters and why it pays off
For leaders weighing the cost of leave coverage, Lindsay sees the investment differently.
"Mother Cover's emphasis on supporting leaves from pre-leave planning through return is special. They provided the right level of care for me as a whole person and allowed me to be both a high-performing, career-driven woman and a mom of two under two."
Lindsay
At Rhapsody, the payoff was clear: strategic marketing work stayed on track, the team felt supported, and a key leader returned re-energized, not overwhelmed and alone. Mother Cover didn't just protect an individual's role, it preserved the momentum and culture the team had built, reinforcing a workplace where people can thrive at work and at home without compromise.
This level of certainty and support matters for new parents. For companies, the first 18 months back are a critical retention window.
"Having people who truly understand what you are going through is really special. I'm learning how to perform differently now because I can't work the extra hours I once did, but I care just as much. Working with a Leave Partner who had been through similar experiences gave me more than someone to take on the work, she became a full-on support system."
Lindsay
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