Keynote speaker and workshops for women
in leadership

For senior women hired to be strategic
(but spending their days in reactive mode)

The rules at work were never written for women.

So let's rewrite them.

Louise Thompson, coch and speaker for women in leadership faces the camera whilst at a women's network event.

"Every woman left feeling more equipped to step into her power and take ownership of her career journey. Louise is a powerful catalyst for growth and change."

Lyreco WISE Women network

"I've booked Louise to speak and facilitate for CIMA several times over the past year. She is one of the speakers our members ask to see again."

Martyna Iwach, AICPA & CIMA

I've worked with...

A different approach to women's leadership

Book Louise To Speak

For 25 years I led corporate communications at board level, from Silicon Valley to the National Health Service. I learned how organisations really make decisions. I also learned that the rules of leadership were never written for women. (And that they were often kept in a secret room to which women were not allowed the key...)

I was once replaced in a formal succession plan by a less senior male colleague, who had built the right relationships while I delivered the work. I also worked so hard that I burned out.

It took me 18 years in that corporate career to learn all the leadership rules nobody had told me. To work more strategically, and not just be a "helpful, busy" pair of hands.

Today I work with senior women who are brilliant and expert, yet dismissed as helpful rather than seen as strategic. Many are second-guessing themselves despite their seniority.

I'm an ILM-qualified executive coach and my clients include Google, the NHS, Charlotte Tilbury and TUI. More than 100,000 women follow my work on TikTok and Instagram.

Book me to speak on:

Strategic leadership

Moving from reactive, helpful work to mastering strategic impact as a senior woman (and why we default to "helpful" and "busy" as women in the first place)

Executive communication and presence

Dropping the endless "to do list" updates and articulating value and outcomes, in a way that is effective, authentic and human. Shaped by 25 years of communications expertise.

Visibility & influence

"Your work will speak for itself" isn't the good career advice we're led to believe it is as women. We need to show up intentionally as leaders, so our hard work isn't the only measure of our value.

Keynote Speaker

My keynotes offer a critical shift in perspective. Audiences understand why experienced, expert women end up dismissed as helpful, the role gendered conditioning and assumptions play, and why organisations need to rewrite the script so women can thrive as leaders.

Buried, Busy (Quietly Brilliant): The gendered rules shaping our success as women

You were told your work would speak for itself. So you became the reliable one. The "helpful" one. The safe pair of hands. You worked harder and longer than anyone else. And now, even though you're in a senior role, you can't let go of the habits keeping you so busy, and preventing you from showing the strategic impact you were hired for.

This keynote shows why those habits are so hard to let go of. They aren't a personal failing. They're what organisations have quietly rewarded in women for years. Step back from the "can you just" requests, and you risk being seen as difficult. Male colleagues doing the same are praised for having boundaries.

Audiences see how much of their own week goes on strategic work, and how much on other people's priorities. (It's rarely a comfortable moment.) They leave understanding why being valuable matters more than being liked, and what they can do to rewrite these rules. Organisations see what they've been rewarding without realising it.

For women's networks, International Women's Day events and leadership conferences.

Workshops

My workshops and programmes give women the tools and the language for change. Each workshop can be run independently, or sequenced together as a tailored programme for your organisation. They can also be supplemented with group or one to one coaching.

The Strategic Shift

There's a gap between being useful and being valued. Too many experienced, senior women fall headlong into it. Closing that gap isn't about working harder until you burn out. It's the move from safe pair of hands to trusted adviser, and it takes a specific set of habits, skills and behaviours too many women are never taught. Participants audit where they stand against each one, then build a daily, weekly and quarterly rhythm that protects strategic work. They leave with a 90-day plan to close their biggest gaps.

Executive Communication for Female Leaders

Senior leaders have decision fatigue. They need the point, not the process. Yet many experienced women still communicate as functional experts, reporting on what they've done rather than what it means for the business. It's a habit that makes sense: when you have to prove yourself more often, you learn to show how hard you've worked, rather than how your thinking adds value. (And we often minimise our impact in the process.) Drawing on 25 years of board-level communications, this workshop moves participants from "busy" activity updates to clear recommendations that land with senior stakeholders, and a renewed confidence in their leadership communication style and approach. (Exness rated this 4.5 out of 5 and commissioned multiple workshops for different teams.)

Strategic Visibility & Influence

Business decisions are shaped long before the meeting where they're made, in conversations many senior women aren't part of. That isn't for lack of insight, skill or expertise. Many were told their work would speak for itself, so they kept their heads down and busily delivered, not realising the role that stakeholder relationships and a clear leadership identity play. This workshop treats visibility as part of an intentional, proactive leadership presence. Participants map the stakeholders who shape decisions about their work, and where they need a stronger relationship or a sponsor. They leave with a plan to build that influence and impact.

Why organisations book me

80% of FTSE 100 and S&P 100 companies have never had a female CEO (Women in Work Glass Ceiling Tracker, 2026). That gap starts well below the top. Experienced women are often caught in unhelpful patterns that curtail their strategic impact. My programmes change how they work, and how they're seen. Organisations get more from the senior women they already have, and a stronger pipeline into leadership as a result.

Book Louise to Speak

Client Testimonials

Louise Thompson, speaker on women in leadership

Planning a conference, a women's network event or a leadership programme?

Let's talk.

Interested in booking me to speak? This is a 15–20 minute conversation to explore whether I'm a good fit for your event or programme. Before the call, I'll ask you a few questions about your audience, brief, and what you're hoping the session delivers. That means we can use our time well.