Leadership Coaching

for High-Performing Women

Strengthen your voice, expand your influence, and build the grounded confidence and capacity for what’s next - without burning out along the way

Are you navigating any of these challenges?

Imposter syndrome, confidence, and perfectionism

✔️ You’re often the one holding everything together, but doubt still sneaks in and undermines your confidence

✔️ You sometimes question whether you’re good enough, even though you’re successful

✔️ You feel like you have to do everything and keep everyone happy - all while never making a mistake or letting anyone down

Influencing, communication, and leadership presence

✔️ You're navigating senior leaders, strong personalities, or complex dynamics and you want to stay grounded, confident, and effective

✔️ You need to figure out how to influence and manage up, down, and across

✔️ You’ve gotten feedback that you’re too direct, abrasive, or difficult to work with and you’re not sure what to do about it

Leadership effectiveness and strategic impact

✔️ You want to operate a higher level. You want to move out of constant executive mode, be a strategic partner, and create bigger impact

✔️ You care about your people and want to be a great leader for them, but sometimes managing people is hard! It would be helpful to talk through people issues like delegating and giving tough feedback

Burnout, boundaries, and sustainable performance

✔️ You're exhausted and overwhelmed. You need to figure out how to prioritize and focus on what's most important - for results and your life as a whole

✔️ You struggle to say no and set boundaries

✔️ You want to grow your career and get great results without driving yourself into the ground - and with some enjoyment!

If so, then coaching might be the right fit for you! Keep reading!

Heather has coached women at:

“Working with Heather was the most valuable investment in my career and self-confidence I could have made.”

Helen Farrelly, EHS and Sustainability Leader, Cargill

Coaching Overview

Hi! I’m Heather

I’m a coach, speaker, and author who specializes in the power of grounded confidence, including how to overcome all the things that get in the way of your grounded confidence (imposter syndrome, burnout, and the rules that push you to prove, please, and perfect) so that you can create impact while having a life you enjoy. You can learn more about my story on the About page.

My coaching credentials include:

  • Co-Active Training Institute graduate with 100+ hours of coaching training

  • Master’s of Education in Human Resource Development

  • 17 years and 700+ hours of coaching experience

Book your discovery call now!

"Through working with Heather, my revenue went up over $100k - and I worked fewer hours. If you are an overachieving perfectionist that can’t seem to get off of the hamster wheel of being over-worked, you need to talk to Heather."

Laura Enwere, Private Wealth Advisor, Managing Director, Ameriprise Financial

What to expect in coaching

Discovery Call

The discovery call is where it all starts! This is a 30-minute, no obligation call to understand your goals and challenges, answer your questions, and determine if working together is the right fit.

Schedule your discovery call through any of the orange buttons on this page.

Phase One: Grounding

We start out coaching by establishing clarity and a strong foundation for meaningful change. We get clear on your goals, what you want from coaching, and what's getting in your way through a variety of exercises customized to you, such as identifying your unique strengths and core values, unraveling the inner critic and limiting beliefs, or creating your leadership vision.

Phase Two: Capacity and Confidence

This is where we dive deep and you see change! You'll be trying new tools and approaches customized to you and your goals, all with the accountability of our coaching meetings and the support of having me by your side. You’ll step outside your comfort zone and learn how to operate at a higher level with clarity, steadiness, and true grounded confidence.

Phase Three: Continuity

Continuity is about sustaining change beyond the coaching engagement. Together we create systems, practices, and decision filters that support your ongoing success and development. We'll also take a step back to clarify your next development goals so you can keep growing.

Finally, we take a moment to celebrate YOU and how far you’ve come!

Coaching is where clarity becomes confidence - and confidence becomes impact!

Schedule your discovery call now!

Coaching Impact Stories

“I have always been very driven and achievement oriented – my mom used to find to-do lists in my room when I was little. As I stepped into a larger leadership role, I was starting to feel my natural tendencies get the best of me and I knew in my gut that it wasn’t sustainable.

Working with Heather, I have gotten much better at establishing boundaries, delegating, and prioritizing being present – personally and professionally. Not only do I feel better, but people around me have noticed as well. I share my voice with more confidence at work - and I get recognized for it. I've learned I can be authentic and powerful at the same time.”

— Meg Ryan, Chief Audit Officer, Ally Financial

“Working with Heather has been an invaluable part of my development journey. Her coaching style provides a supportive space to be open and reflective, while also offering the right balance of encouragement and challenge. Each session brought new insights I could apply in practical ways. I would gladly recommend her to anyone looking to grow their leadership and effectiveness.”

— Sharon Christiansen, HR Director, Cretex Companies

“Coaching has been the solution to my problem. I needed someone to talk through things and peel back the layers. Heather is so good at asking questions I’ve never asked myself – and I really needed to ask myself these questions.”

— Jessica

“Working with Heather was the most valuable investment in my career & self-confidence that I could have made, and my learnings have been significant. Firstly…I am not alone, what I feel is common among so may other women in leadership & operations in that I constantly question my own capabilities, my voice, and my seat at the table. 

Heather helped me pull these fears apart and rebuild my belief in myself. This has not only been of benefit to me, but also for my team. I now challenge them to source their own solutions instead of me feeling like I need to be the oracle and answer everything for fear of being seen as not able or not smart enough. 

Secondly, and most importantly, Heather helped me acknowledge that I was flying very close to burnout and my ego was not bringing me joy.  Who was I trying to prove myself to over and over again?  Working with Heather gave me the strength to reprioritize and establish healthy boundaries and has empowered me to relinquish the constant need for control and perfection.  If you have ever considered coaching or want to make this the year you break free of your doubts, go with Heather. I would highly recommend!”

— Helen Farrelly, EHS and Sustainability Leader, Cargill

“Heather has been an incredible executive coach, guiding me through a significant transformation as I stepped into the role of the first DEI Leader at the Toro Company.

Her ability to navigate major changes with grace and clarity helped me find my footing and build confidence in my new role. Heather's insights on overcoming self-doubt, leading through complexity, and practicing self-care were invaluable. She creates a vision of hope and positivity that truly motivates and inspires action, making every conversation feel like a step toward something meaningful.

Heather’s coaching was not just about tackling immediate challenges, but also about fostering a mindset geared toward long-term impact. Her guidance has been instrumental in my journey as a changemaker, and I wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone looking to transform their leadership and drive real, positive change.”

— Carliss Miller, PhD, Corporate DEI Leader 

“Through working with Heather, my revenue went up over $100k - and I worked fewer hours. I committed to only taking on clients who were a best fit for my skill set and capacity.  Heather helped me identify and mitigate my limiting beliefs and start saying no to things that took time from what I valued most. Now, I have more time for myself and my family and I feel more relaxed than I have in years! 

If you are an overachieving perfectionist that can’t seem to get off of the hamster wheel of being over-worked, you need to talk to Heather.”

— Laura Enwere, Private Wealth Advisor and Managing Director, Ameriprise Financial Services

“When I started working with Heather, I was overwhelmed. I felt like I had to be completely responsible for all aspects of everything I was involved in, and it was exhausting. It wasn't working for me personally or professionally.

Through coaching, I learned to focus on where I can have the most impact. I now know I don't have to do it all -- and I don't have to be perfect while doing it. I've stopped second guessing myself so often. I feel like a weight has been lifted.

My life has changed since I started this journey.”

— Michelle Maddix-Sovero, Head of Innovation and Strategy for US Immunology, UCB

Frequently Asked Questions

More questions? Email me at heather@heatherwhelpley.com

  • Coaching is customized to the specific challenges you are facing, however, the most common challenges and development areas I work on with women are: Communication, influencing, leadership presence, decreasing doubt and imposter syndrome (and increasing confidence!), perfectionism, burnout recovery, prioritization, time management, stress, improving wellbeing, and people management skills like delegating, giving feedback, and having hard conversations.

  • I most commonly coach mid to senior level women at all sizes of companies. Women financial advisors are another common group. Many of my clients are people leaders, but that is absolutely not a requirement.

  • The most common coaching engagement is six months long and includes twelve, 60-minute scheduled calls (approximately every other week) plus four 20-30 minute “emergency” calls for those times when something unexpected comes up between our scheduled meetings and you need coaching NOW!

  • Coaching is structured enough to give you a framework and know where we’re headed, but it’s important that it’s also open enough to cover unexpected changes and situations that are bound to come up during the engagement.

    Additionally, YOU will learn and grow over the six months of coaching. Sometimes your goals will morph during that time and that’s just fine! This is part of the benefit of 1:1 coaching - it keeps up with you, no matter what happens!

    You own the agenda for the calls. I will make sure we follow-up on your past actions so there is accountability and continued growth and I will make agenda suggestions based on your goals, but you decide how to spend our time and what you want to get coached on.

  • All coaching is virtual. Most of my clients choose to meet on video over Zoom or Teams, but some prefer phone calls. Whatever is best for you works for me!

  • The coaching engagement itself consists of twelve, 60-minute scheduled calls plus four, 20-30 minute “emergency” calls. The clients that get the most out of coaching take 10-15 minutes to prepare for each call.

    Beyond that time commitment, there will be actions that come out of each coaching session. Sometimes these actions will take additional time, like a separate exercise to create a picture of your leadership vision or to gather feedback on your unique strengths. Many actions, however, are things you will do on the job that don’t take additional time - they just take intent and an attitude of experimentation to try something different!

  • YES. I do not share the details of our coaching conversations with anyone. You need to feel safe being open and honest in our coaching calls in order to get the most out of them - and confidentiality is required for you to feel that way.

    Even if your company hires me to coach you, I will share the logistics of our coaching (like how many sessions you have completed), but not the actual content of our calls.

    The only exceptions to confidentiality are if I have a legitimate concern for your safety or the safety of someone else, or if I am legally required to share information. This has never happened.

  • The short answer is - both!

    Individuals high me to work with them directly. Sometimes these individual pay out of their own pocket, sometimes their company sponsors them for coaching, and sometimes they split the cost.

    Companies also hire me to coach their leaders. The coaching structure varies slightly when I’m working with an organization because I include calls at the beginning, middle, and end of the coaching engagement with the client, their manager, and an HR partner to set goals and provide feedback, check-in on progress, and recap the coaching and set next steps. If you are a leader that wants to talk further about bringing me into your organization, email me at heather@heatherwhelpley.com and we can set up a time to connect.

  • There are different packages, however, the minimum investment for coaching is $5,000. There are different payment plan options, including a lump-sum payment and monthly payments.

  • Right here: https://calendly.com/heatherwhelpley/coaching-discovery-call

    Once you click on the link, you’ll see all the dates and times I’m available, you pick the best one for you, answer a few questions so I can prepare for our call, and then it will send us both invites for a 30-minute meeting on Zoom!