Watch the Accelerating Female Leadership webinar recording
Women continue to face structural, cultural and contextual barriers that influence how they are seen, heard and supported in leadership. Presence, influence and leadership brand remain critical capabilities, yet few organisations provide effective female leadership development strategies to help women build these with confidence.
To explore what genuinely works in practice, Stephenson Mansell Group hosted a live masterclass featuring senior executive mentors Virginia Mansell, Susan Ferrier and Janet Horton, facilitated by Mehul Joshi.
The full 45-minute session is now available to watch on demand.
About the webinar
This masterclass examines what helps women step into leadership roles with confidence and clarity — and what often gets in the way.
Drawing on decades of combined experience coaching and mentoring women across sectors, the panel explored real situations, coaching moments and strategies that have shifted careers and strengthened leadership presence.
Their insights build on themes introduced in our earlier article, Accelerating Female Leadership Potential.
Throughout the session, our mentors shared practical examples from their coaching work — from managing dominant cultures, to reframing mindset, to navigating high-stakes moments without compromising personal values.
Key themes explored
Mindset and readiness
Growth begins with mindset. Women who are open, curious and ready to stretch gain more from leadership development. Many seek support at critical moments deepening impact, mapping career direction or making significant life decisions.
Presence as alignment
Presence is not simply a skill. As Virginia Mansell shared, it emerges when purpose, values and organisational context align. Coaching creates the space for reflection, clarity and choice especially during complex mid-career phases.
Language, communication and impact
Small shifts can have big effects. Janet Horton discussed how subtle changes in linguistic style transformed a senior executive’s influence in a male-dominated environment. Understanding the communication norms of a room can be the difference between being overlooked and being heard.
Psychological safety and learning conditions
Leadership growth accelerates when women can learn without armour. The panel explored how group learning, paired with 1:1 coaching, creates networks, confidence and space for honest development.
Sponsorship and long-term commitment
Susan Ferrier emphasised the importance of senior sponsorship. Programmes flourish when Chairs, CEOs and ELTs actively support them. Leadership development is a long-term investment, not a one-off initiative.
Practical strategies for high-stakes moments
From preparing anchor messages, to tailoring communication to the audience, to seeking real-time feedback. The session highlighted tools leaders can apply immediately to strengthen presence and influence.
Further insights
For a deeper exploration of the themes covered in the session, read our Insights piece:
https://smgrp.com.au/insights/accelerating-female-leadership/
Questions we explored in this masterclass
The conversation surfaced several questions that female leaders, HR, and Talent professionals often ask. Below are some of the most common questions from the masterclass, along with the insights shared by our panel. These will help you translate the ideas from the session into your everyday leadership context.
Q1. What does leadership presence actually mean for women?
Leadership presence is not simply confidence or assertiveness. As discussed in the session, presence grows when leaders align their purpose, values, and context. When women are in environments that match their identity and strengths, presence becomes a natural expression rather than a performance. Coaching helps leaders clarify this alignment and build the awareness to show up with intention
Q2. What are the biggest mindset shifts that help women progress into leadership?
One shift that resonated strongly in the session was moving from a sense of sacrifice to a sense of choice. This reframing helps women make decisions from a place of agency rather than obligation. It creates more clarity in complex situations, strengthens confidence, and supports a more sustainable approach to leadership development.
Q3. How can small changes in language affect influence in senior rooms?
Language shapes how contributions are received. In status-driven or male-dominated environments, rapport-led communication can be overlooked. The session explored how small, deliberate adjustments in tone and language can significantly change how ideas land. These shifts help leaders align with the room’s communication normswithout compromising authenticity.
Q4. Is it a level playing field for women in leadership?
The panel agreed that the answer depends on the organisation, culture and sector. Bias, dominant cultures and structural barriers still influence how women are seen and heard. This is why psychologically safe learning environments, strong networks and supportive mentors matter. Coaching helps leaders assess their context, clarify what aligns with their values, and make informed choices about where and how they want to lead.
Q5. What conditions help women build influence and confidence?
Leadership growth accelerates when organisations commit to:
- senior sponsorship from Chairs, CEOs and ELTs
- psychologically safe learning spaces
- programmes that blend group learning with 1:1 coaching
- long-term investment rather than one-off initiatives
- visible support during critical career moments
These conditions help women build influence, confidence and readiness for leadership responsibilities.
Language shifts that change impact
Executive coach, Janet Horton shares how a senior mining executive transformed her influence by adjusting her linguistic style. A subtle shift from rapport-based to more direct language helped her voice land clearly in senior meetings. Listen to Janet’s perspective.
Reframing sacrifice as empowering choice
In this clip, Susan Ferrier explains how one mindset shift – seeing career decisions through the lens of choice rather than sacrifice – has shaped her leadership journey and supported many she’s mentored. Listen to Susan’s learnings and advice.
Leading with purpose through career crossroads
Virginia Mansell reflects on why leadership presence strengthens when passion, values and context align. She explains how mentoring helps leaders find clarity during overwhelming career moments and make choices with confidence. Hear from Virginia.
