Coaching for Women Moving Into Senior Leadership

The executive role asks for different things than the manager role

At manager level you are judged on what your team delivers. At executive level you are judged on the quality of your decisions, the strength of your relationships and how you shape direction. The shift is easy to describe and hard to live. My article on moving from manager to senior leader explores it in more depth.

Patterns that slow women down at this step

These are patterns I see in coaching sessions. Not every woman experiences them, and men experience some of them too, but they are worth checking honestly.

• ✦Waiting until you meet every requirement before you put yourself forward.
• ✦Taking on the work that keeps the organisation running, such as organising, mentoring and fixing problems, at the expense of work that gets noticed.
• ✦Assuming good work will speak for itself, and so not telling senior people what you have achieved.
• ✦Being told you need “more strategic exposure” without anyone explaining what that means.
• ✦Holding back an ambition because of how it might be seen at work or at home.

Being chosen depends on who speaks for you

Senior appointments are rarely made only on a CV. They are discussed in succession meetings and talent reviews, often by people who need a confident advocate in the room to argue your case. Without a sponsor, a strong candidate can simply be overlooked.

In coaching we look at who knows your work, who has influence over the decision and how to build those relationships without feeling you are playing politics. The guide to mentorship vs sponsorship for women explains the difference, and personal branding for women leaders helps with visibility when modesty is part of your upbringing.

How coaching follows the move into senior leadership

1. 01

   Readiness

   We clarify which senior role you want and why, test your readiness honestly and build a plan to close the gaps that matter.

2. 02

   Getting chosen

   We prepare for selection conversations, interviews and assessment centres, and for how you talk about your ambition with decision-makers.

3. 03

   The first months

   We focus on early priorities, building a relationship with your new peer group and setting the tone with your team.

4. 04

   Settling into authority

   Over time we work on decision-making, delegation and your leadership voice in board and executive settings.

Leading people who used to be your seniors

Moving into senior leadership in a Gulf organisation can mean leading colleagues who are older than you, who once managed you, or who are far better connected than you. Respect for seniority runs deep, and it is right to honour it, but it should not stop you from leading.

We work on how you set expectations respectfully, how you handle resistance without public confrontation and how you build alliances with the people whose support matters most. My article on how to lead team members older than you covers the practical side.

What a first session looks like

We start with where you are now and where you want to be in two to three years. I ask about the feedback you have received, the roles you have been passed over for and the moments you felt most like a leader. From those stories we identify the two or three shifts that will make the biggest difference.

The call is always yours. I ask questions until your own picture is clear enough to act on. Sessions are usually weekly or every two weeks, and every engagement is personalised.

Why I understand how senior roles are filled

I spent more than 26 years in leadership, HR and talent development in financial services, FMCG, entrepreneurship and government, building talent strategies and supporting executive teams through growth and change. I know how readiness is judged from the other side of the table.

I am an ICF Professional Certified Coach with more than 4,500 coaching hours, and the co-author of Seen Yet Silent: Coaching Arab Women to Lead.