Take the free leadership evolution quiz
Take the free leadership evolution quiz
GROUP COACHING PROGRAMME
The Leadership Accelerator
An accredited six-month programme for ambitious leaders in agencies, consultancies and professional services who want to become the kind of leader who makes everyone around them perform at their best.
Next intake starts 1 September
This unique coaching programme helps you get out of the day-to-day dramas, endless meetings and overwhelming inbox and stay focused on what matters.
GROUP COACHING PROGRAMME
The Leadership Accelerator
An accredited six-month programme for ambitious leaders in agencies, consultancies and professional services who want to become the kind of leader who makes everyone around them perform at their best.
Next intake starts 1 September
This unique coaching programme helps you get out of the day-to-day dramas, endless meetings and overwhelming inbox and stay focused on what matters.
You start every week with a plan.
Monday morning, you've got a semblance of clarity. You know what needs doing this week. You've got one-to-ones in the diary, a tricky conversation you've been meaning to have in your sights, and a strategy session booked in.
By Tuesday, it's gone and you find yourself slowly turning into 'Linda, the bad manager'.
A client escalation. A thousand emails, Slack messages and Teams notifications. A team member who needs a decision. A pitch deck which needs rewriting. A piece of work that came back not quite right, and it's faster to fix it yourself than explain what's wrong with it.
So you fix it. Because you're good at it. Because it's quicker. Because the client can't wait.
And just like that, you're back in the weeds. Again.
This is what we call the Engine Room. You're the engine that keeps everything moving, but that means nothing moves without you.
Every week starts well.
Monday morning, you've got a semblance of clarity. You know what needs doing this week. You've got one-to-ones in the diary, a tricky conversation you've been meaning to have in your sights, and a strategy session booked in.
By Tuesday, the plan has gone. A client escalation. A thousand emails, Slack messages and Teams notifications. A team member who needs a decision. A pitch deck which needs rewriting. A piece of work that came back not quite right, and it's faster to fix it yourself than explain what's wrong with it.
So you fix it. Because you're good at it. Because it's quicker. Because the client can't wait.
And just like that, you're back in the weeds. Again.
This is what we call the Engine Room. You're the engine that keeps everything moving, but that means nothing moves without you.
You got promoted because you were excellent at the work.
What you're coming to realise is that leadership is a completely different skillset. And no one gave you the tools or the time to learn it.
The Leadership Accelerator does.
Remember that one-day course which gave you a sugar rush of new ideas? Then two weeks later you went back to your old self.
Well, this six-month programme gives you the leadership reboot you need to take the theory you know and make it become the actions you take - every time. Even when you’re under pressure, even when your team is complaining, even when your client is being demanding.
Not by working harder or longer. Or having 'Linda' suggest a new approach because she read it on LinkedIn this morning.
But by learning to coach, empower and trust the people on your team, even when the stakes are high, so the leverage shifts from you doing everything to your team delivering everything. Brilliantly.
You get this sustainable change through weekly support - regular meetings with cheerleaders who have your back, feel your pain, and give you a sense of accountability and support. Plus expert coaching to tackle the actual challenges you’re facing, week-by-week.
What you're coming to realise is that leadership is a completely different skillset. And no one gave you the tools or the time to learn it.
The Leadership Accelerator does.
Remember that one-day course which gave you a sugar rush of new ideas? Then two weeks later you went back to your old self.
Well, this six-month programme gives you the leadership reboot you need to take the theory you know and make it become the actions you take - every time. Even when you’re under pressure, even when your team is complaining, even when your client is being demanding.
Not by working harder or longer. Or having 'Linda' suggest a new approach because she read it on LinkedIn this morning.
But by learning to coach, empower and trust the people on your team, even when the stakes are high, so the leverage shifts from you doing everything to your team delivering everything. Brilliantly.
You get this sustainable change through weekly support - regular meetings with cheerleaders who have your back, feel your pain, and give you a sense of accountability and support. Plus expert coaching to tackle the actual challenges you’re facing, week-by-week.
You got promoted because you were excellent at the work.
I joined a marketing agency as an account executive. Six years later I was Managing Director, responsible for a team, a P&L, and a culture I was largely making up as I went.
Nobody taught me how to lead. I was reactive, inconsistent, and had no idea that the people smiling in their one-to-ones were complaining in the kitchen.
It took me over 30 years, hundreds of hours of board meetings, restructures and strategy sessions, a best-selling book and a top 3% global podcast, both called How to Lead, to work out what actually makes the difference.
I know the agency world. The pitch decks, the scope creep, the client who takes your budget and your glory. You don't need to translate yourself for me.
About Kate
You're out of the Engine Room. The fires are fewer, and when they happen, your team handles them, not you. The piece of work that used to come back three times? They own it now.
You're leading from the Project Room. Your team's one-to-ones actually happen and they're useful. The tricky conversation with the underperformer you'd been avoiding for six weeks? You had it in month two. On your terms, not when it boiled over.
And you're starting to think from the Strategy Room. You're being seen differently by your peers and senior stakeholders, talked about in the right rooms, by the right people, in the right way.
Friday evening feels different. You're leading the week instead of surviving it. You’re behaving like the leader you want to be, and not like 'Linda, the bad manager'.
In six months, here's what's different.
It's easy to look at articulate colleagues who make leadership look so breezy and think, "That's not me."
But you don't need to be the archetypal leader. A charismatic, outspoken, uber confident public speaker. You don't need to stop being you, even if people sometimes tell you that you're too much, or not enough. The qualities that got you here are the right ones. You just need to point them in a different direction.
Right now your instinct, when things get difficult, is to do what you know and what feels comfortable.
This programme builds a different instinct. The habit of pausing before you wade in. Giving feedback when you mean to, not when you're frustrated. Having the difficult conversation before it becomes an impossible one.
It's not complicated. It's just a muscle most leaders are never given the chance or the support to build.
Can leadership really be learnt, or are you just born with it?
As soon as you join, you get access to our step-by-step learning pathway, six modules covering the fundamentals of great leadership, from getting out of the Engine Room to thinking and leading from the Strategy Room. Work through them at your own pace; one a month is about right.
You'll join a weekly 90-minute coaching call on Tuesdays at 1pm. Half is coaching, real situations, real next steps. Half is a leadership workshop where you practise the tools before bringing them into your own context.
In your first week you'll do DISC profiling, a short assessment that helps you understand how you operate, how your team experiences you, and how to get the best out of both.
The members' community is where you'll find resources, recordings, and a small group of people who know what you're actually dealing with, because they've been in the room when you've worked through it.
The programme is accredited by the Institute of Leadership. Complete it and you'll receive an IoL certificate and MIoL after your name.
What's inside
About Kate
I joined a marketing agency as an account executive. Six years later I was Managing Director, responsible for a team, a P&L, and a culture I was largely making up as I went.
Nobody taught me how to lead. I was reactive, inconsistent, and had no idea that the people smiling in their one-to-ones were complaining in the kitchen.
It took me over 30 years, hundreds of hours of board meetings, restructures and strategy sessions, a best-selling book and a top 3% global podcast, both called How to Lead, to work out what actually makes the difference.
I know the agency world. The pitch decks, the scope creep, the client who takes your budget and your glory. You don't need to translate yourself for me.
What's inside
As soon as you join, you get access to our step-by-step learning pathway, six modules covering the fundamentals of great leadership, from getting out of the Engine Room to thinking and leading from the Strategy Room. Work through them at your own pace; one a month is about right.
You'll join a weekly 90-minute coaching call on Tuesdays at 1pm. Half is coaching, real situations, real next steps. Half is a leadership workshop where you practise the tools before bringing them into your own context.
In your first week you'll do DISC profiling, a short assessment that helps you understand how you operate, how your team experiences you, and how to get the best out of both.
The members' community is where you'll find resources, recordings, and a small group of people who know what you're actually dealing with, because they've been in the room when you've worked through it.
The programme is accredited by the Institute of Leadership. Complete it and you'll receive an IoL certificate and MIoL after your name.
You got promoted because you were excellent at the work.
What you're coming to realise is that leadership is a completely different skillset. And no one gave you the tools or the time to learn it.
The Leadership Accelerator does.
Remember that one-day course which gave you a sugar rush of new ideas? Then two weeks later you went back to your old self.
Well, this six-month programme gives you the leadership reboot you need to take the theory you know and make it become the actions you take - every time. Even when you’re under pressure, even when your team is complaining, even when your client is being demanding.
Not by working harder or longer. Or having 'Linda' suggest a new approach because she read it on LinkedIn this morning.
But by learning to coach, empower and trust the people on your team, even when the stakes are high, so the leverage shifts from you doing everything to your team delivering everything. Brilliantly.
You get this sustainable change through weekly support - regular meetings with cheerleaders who have your back, feel your pain, and give you a sense of accountability and support. Plus expert coaching to tackle the actual challenges you’re facing, week-by-week.
Can leadership really be learnt, or are you just born with it?
It's easy to look at articulate colleagues who make leadership look so breezy and think, "That's not me."
But you don't need to be the archetypal leader. A charismatic, outspoken, uber confident public speaker. You don't need to stop being you, even if people sometimes tell you that you're too much, or not enough. The qualities that got you here are the right ones. You just need to point them in a different direction.
Right now your instinct, when things get difficult, is to do what you know and what feels comfortable.
This programme builds a different instinct. The habit of pausing before you wade in. Giving feedback when you mean to, not when you're frustrated. Having the difficult conversation before it becomes an impossible one.
It's not complicated. It's just a muscle most leaders are never given the chance or the support to build.
In six months, here's what's different.
You're out of the Engine Room. The fires are fewer, and when they happen, your team handles them, not you. The piece of work that used to come back three times? They own it now.
You're leading from the Project Room. Your team's one-to-ones actually happen and they're useful. The tricky conversation with the underperformer you'd been avoiding for six weeks? You had it in month two. On your terms, not when it boiled over.
And you're starting to think from the Strategy Room. You're being seen differently by your peers and senior stakeholders, talked about in the right rooms, by the right people, in the right way.
Friday evening feels different. You're leading the week instead of surviving it. You’re behaving like the leader you want to be, and not like 'Linda, the bad manager'.
Can leadership really be learnt, or are you just born with it?
It's easy to look at articulate colleagues who make leadership look so breezy and think, "That's not me."
But you don't need to be the archetypal leader. A charismatic, outspoken, uber confident public speaker. You don't need to stop being you, even if people sometimes tell you that you're too much, or not enough. The qualities that got you here are the right ones. You just need to point them in a different direction.
Right now your instinct, when things get difficult, is to do what you know and what feels comfortable.
This programme builds a different instinct. The habit of pausing before you wade in. Giving feedback when you mean to, not when you're frustrated. Having the difficult conversation before it becomes an impossible one.
It's not complicated. It's just a muscle most leaders are never given the chance or the support to build.
This is for you if:
You were promoted for being brilliant at the work
You've found yourself leading people who are doing the job you did
You want to move from doing to leading
You're in an agency, consultancy, or professional services environment
You want to be the leader your team actually talks about, for the right reasons
It's not for you if:
You think the problem is always your team and never you, and you'd rather stay in the Engine Room than do anything differently
You want a certificate without doing the work
put it:
Monday morning, you've got a semblance of clarity. You know what needs doing this week. You've got one-to-ones in the diary, a tricky conversation you've been meaning to have in your sights, and a strategy session booked in.
By Tuesday, it's gone and you find yourself slowly turning into 'Linda, the bad manager'.
A client escalation. A thousand emails, Slack messages and Teams notifications. A team member who needs a decision. A pitch deck which needs rewriting. A piece of work that came back not quite right, and it's faster to fix it yourself than explain what's wrong with it.
So you fix it. Because you're good at it. Because it's quicker. Because the client can't wait.
And just like that, you're back in the weeds. Again.
This is what we call the Engine Room. You're the engine that keeps everything moving, but that means nothing moves without you.
You start the week with a plan.
About Kate
I joined a marketing agency as an account executive. Six years later I was Managing Director, responsible for a team, a P&L, and a culture I was largely making up as I went.
Nobody taught me how to lead. I was reactive, inconsistent, and had no idea that the people smiling in their one-to-ones were complaining in the kitchen.
It took me over 30 years, hundreds of hours of board meetings, restructures and strategy sessions, a best-selling book and a top 3% global podcast, both called How to Lead, to work out what actually makes the difference.
I know the agency world. The pitch decks, the scope creep, the client who takes your budget and your glory. You don't need to translate yourself for me.
What's inside
As soon as you join, you get access to our step-by-step learning pathway, six modules covering the fundamentals of great leadership, from getting out of the Engine Room to thinking and leading from the Strategy Room. Work through them at your own pace; one a month is about right.
You'll join a weekly 90-minute coaching call on Tuesdays at 1pm. Half is coaching, real situations, real next steps. Half is a leadership workshop where you practise the tools before bringing them into your own context.
In your first week you'll do DISC profiling, a short assessment that helps you understand how you operate, how your team experiences you, and how to get the best out of both.
The members' community is where you'll find resources, recordings, and a small group of people who know what you're actually dealing with, because they've been in the room when you've worked through it.
The programme is accredited by the Institute of Leadership. Complete it and you'll receive an IoL certificate and MIoL after your name.
In six months, here's what's different.
You're out of the Engine Room. The fires are fewer, and when they happen, your team handles them, not you. The piece of work that used to come back three times? They own it now.
You're leading from the Project Room. Your team's one-to-ones actually happen and they're useful. The tricky conversation with the underperformer you'd been avoiding for six weeks? You had it in month two. On your terms, not when it boiled over.
And you're starting to think from the Strategy Room. You're being seen differently by your peers and senior stakeholders, talked about in the right rooms, by the right people, in the right way.
Friday evening feels different. You're leading the week instead of surviving it. You’re behaving like the leader you want to be, and not like 'Linda, the bad manager'.
This is for you if:
You were promoted for being brilliant at the work
You've found yourself leading people who are doing the job you did
You want to move from doing to leading
You're in an agency, consultancy, or professional services environment
You want to be the leader your team actually talks about, for the right reasons
It's not for you if:
You think the problem is always your team and never you, and you'd rather stay in the Engine Room than do anything differently
You want a certificate without doing the work
This is for you if:
You were promoted for being brilliant at the work
You've found yourself leading people who are doing the job you did
You want to move from doing to leading
You're in an agency, consultancy, or professional services environment
You want to be the leader your team actually talks about, for the right reasons
It's not for you if:
You think the problem is always your team and never you, and you'd rather stay in the Engine Room than do anything differently
You want a certificate without doing the work
This is for you if:
You were promoted for being brilliant at the work
You've found yourself leading people who are doing the job you did
You want to move from doing to leading
You're in an agency, consultancy, or professional services environment
You want to be the leader your team actually talks about, for the right reasons
It's not for you if:
You think the problem is always your team and never you, and you'd rather stay in the Engine Room than do anything differently
You want a certificate without doing the work
The Investment
£375 + VAT per month for six months. Pay monthly by card or pay in full via bank transfer.
Includes my accredited online course, the How to Lead: Digital Academy, six months of weekly coaching calls, DiSC profiling, Institute of Leadership membership and a members-only community.
Intakes start at the beginning of each month. Places are limited to five.
Every day you don't take this seriously is another day your team doesn't get the leader they deserve. Neither do you.
Apply now to confirm whether the programme is the right fit for you or your team.
After clicking here, a short application form will appear. Answer some simple questions, I'll review them and come back to you with my thoughts within 48 hours.
Kate Waterfall Hill. All rights reserved.
Kate Waterfall Hill. All rights reserved.
Kate Waterfall Hill. All rights reserved.
GROUP COACHING PROGRAMME
An accredited six-month programme
for ambitious leaders in agencies, consultancies and professional services who want to become the kind of leader who makes everyone around them perform at their best.
The Leadership
Accelerator
02:08
Watch video
Next intake starts 1st September
You start every week with a plan.
By Tuesday, you're back in the weeds, slowly turning into
'Linda, the bad manager'.
This unique coaching programme helps you get out of the day-to-day dramas, endless meetings and overwhelming inbox and stay focused on what matters.
