Kirsten Goodwin
Category Leadership
I help professional services firms enable their mid- to senior-level female leaders to plug their skillset & mindset gaps, including Imposter Syndrome – so they are able to deliver better under pressure, and increase gender diversity at senior levels.
ABOUT:
WHO I HELP:
I help professional services organisations (law firms, consultancy firms, banks, financial services organisations), enable their mid- to senior-level female leaders overcome their skillset & mindset barriers, including Imposter Syndrome arising from promotion – through my transformational & engaging coaching, training and speaking.
This means these female leaders can deliver better under pressure, taking impactful strategic decisions, managing challenging performance issues effectively, and leading teams successfully through change. This also helps organisations reduce the gender leadership gap.
THE PROBLEM:
You want your mid- to senior-level female leaders to:
- define & achieve a powerful vision for their team
- deliver under pressure
- take impactful strategic decisions
- manage difficult performance conversations
- lead teams successfully through change.
However, when critical skill gaps – holes that are going to sink their leadership boat – go unaddressed, or when their confidence is eroded by Imposter Syndrome and other mindset challenges, these leaders are unable to perform at the level required.
This turns into a vicious spiral: their ineffective leadership undermines their confidence further, damaging employee engagement and performance; and you end up with a serious underperformance issue, possibly losing a talented staff member rather than supporting talent retention & progression.
Your leadership pipeline, D&I goals, and organisation reputation also suffer: this problem results in (or exacerbates) a gender leadership gap, with insufficient female leaders at higher levels in your organisation, as fewer emerging female leaders want to go for career progression or promotion due to lack of confidence, or are able to perform effectively at these levels.
This problem is particularly acute after promotion: the evidence is clear that Imposter Syndrome is particularly damaging to mid- to senior-level female leaders at this juncture, preventing your newly-promoted female leaders from fulfilling their expectations & responsibilities at this new level, just when you want them to shine.
THE SOLUTION:
To retain, grow, and maximise the value of your best female talent, you need female leaders who are confident, capable & respected, and a culture that helps women succeed.
I work with organisations to deliver a range of targeted, impactful interventions to achieve this.
WHY ME?
As a former senior manager in the UK Civil Service, I spent a decade successfully leading teams & departments, delivering high-profile change programmes, and managing extremely senior stakeholders (including the Prime Minister).
My 5 years as a much younger senior leader in the male-dominated National Crime Agency taught me how to succeed in a very challenging context – and how important it is for female leaders to have the right support so they can perform at their best.
Having overcome my own struggles with Imposter Syndrome so that I could deliver at the highest levels, I re-trained as a coach, facilitator & speaker to help other women do the same. I passionately believe we all benefit when there are more women at the top tables, leaning in, speaking up, and taking decisions, and my mission is to help firms achieve that.
FEEDBACK:
“Highly professional and engaging, highly recommended” “Professional, warm, engaging and an impactful speaker”
“Having a global scope makes it very important for me to work with high quality consultants, and I found in Kirsten a best in class partner”
THE BENEFITS:
Improved talent retention > fewer female leaders leaving due to burnout, low confidence, or lack of support.
Higher employee engagement > leaders with confidence and skill create motivated, committed teams.
Increased productivity and performance > better leadership decisions and stronger team delivery.
Stronger leadership pipeline > more women ready & able to step into senior roles. Reduced recruitment and training costs > retaining and developing existing leaders saves money compared to hiring externally.
Closing the gender leadership gap > greater diversity in senior roles, aligning with D&I goals and client expectations.
Enhanced organisational reputation > being seen as a company that champions female leadership strengthens the firm’s brand.
Greater resilience and wellbeing > leaders equipped to thrive under pressure, reducing stress-related absence.
SPECIALISMS:
- High-impact group female leadership programmes so that you can support entire cohorts of emerging, new and experienced struggling female leaders to deliver confidently and effectively.
- Insightful & actionable workshops or keynotes to shine a light on how to overcome key challenges that hold women back, including Imposter Syndrome, so that both individuals gain important skills to help them, and the organisation’s culture shifts to support that.
- The creation or enhancement of powerful mentoring programmes, so that struggling female leaders leverage existing organisational experience (to the benefit of both mentees & mentors)
- Professional & engaging chairing/ MCing of events, panels or round tables, to provide a highly-experienced female host seamlessly holding an event together to deliver its objectives, either online or in-person.
- Transformational individual executive coaching for female leaders in need of targeted 1:1 support, so that important contributors can be supported to fulfil their potential.
THINK I CAN HELP?
If you’re responsible for supporting your mid- to senior-level female leaders succeed and want proven, highly impactful (and “warm & wise”) help to do this, please get in touch using the contact form below.
