Women's Leadership Programme for Organisations

Organisations bring me in when the pipeline narrows above middle management

The trigger is rarely a lack of talent. It is usually a pattern that HR can see in the numbers but cannot fix with another training day. These are the situations I hear most often.

• ✦You have strong women at manager level, but few are putting themselves forward for senior roles.
• ✦Your succession plan names women as ready in two to three years, and the date keeps moving.
• ✦You run national talent initiatives (Bahrainisation, Saudisation or Emiratisation) and want women in those cohorts to reach leadership, not stall below it.
• ✦High-potential women are leaving after maternity leave or after being passed over, and exit interviews are vague.
• ✦Your board or leadership team has set a gender balance goal and you need a credible development response.
• ✦You have tried generic leadership workshops and the effect faded within weeks.

The design pairs a cohort with individual coaching

A cohort alone builds confidence and network but rarely changes individual behaviour. One-to-one coaching alone changes behaviour but leaves women isolated. Combining the two gives each participant a peer group and a private space to work on her own leadership edge.

How a programme runs from scoping to review

1. 01

   Scope the need with you

   We agree the population, the business outcome you care about and how you will judge success. I ask what has already been tried and why it did not stick.

2. 02

   Design and agree goals

   I propose a structure, then each participant agrees her goals with her line manager or sponsor. I often use a three-way coaching agreement so expectations are clear from day one.

3. 03

   Deliver cohort and individual work

   Group sessions and one-to-one coaching run in parallel, so what women learn together is tested in their real roles between sessions.

4. 04

   Review and sustain

   We close with a review against the goals set at the start, and agree what each participant and her manager will keep doing afterwards.

The cohort work focuses on what actually holds women back at the next level

I do not run a fixed curriculum. The themes come from your scoping and from the participants themselves, but certain topics come up again and again with women leaders in the region.

Women often ask for help with being heard in senior meetings, building a visible reputation without feeling boastful, and turning supportive mentors into sponsors who will put their name forward. I cover the difference in the guide on mentorship vs sponsorship for women. Others want space to think through family expectations alongside a bigger role. For the wider regional picture behind these themes, see the challenges women leaders face in the Middle East.

Confidentiality is what makes the one-to-one coaching work

Participants will only bring real issues to coaching if they trust that what they say stays private. I agree at the start which high-level goals and progress measures are shared with HR and sponsors. The content of individual sessions is never shared.

HR receives programme-level feedback: themes from the cohort, attendance, and progress against the agreed goals. In my experience this gives you what you need to justify the investment without compromising the coaching relationship.

The first conversation is about your organisation, not my process

When you book a discovery call, I will ask about your talent data, the roles you are trying to fill, and what success would look like in a year. I also want to understand the culture: how decisions are made, how visible senior women are, and whether line managers are likely to support the work.

If a programme is not the right answer, I will say so. Sometimes coaching for a small number of senior women, or team coaching for the leadership group that will receive them, is the better first step.

Why my background suits a women's leadership programme

I spent more than 26 years in leadership, HR and talent development, in financial services, FMCG, entrepreneurship and government. I have sat on the HR side of talent reviews and succession planning, so I understand what a programme has to deliver for the business, not only for the participants.

I am an ICF Professional Certified Coach with more than 4,500 coaching hours, and certified in executive, systemic and systemic team coaching. I also co-authored Seen Yet Silent: Coaching Arab Women to Lead with Amal Kooheji, a book about the challenges Arab women face in leadership and about coaching them to lead.