Top 15 Female Leadership and Executive Coaches
In a recent blog post, I covered 13 great executive coaches whose expertise covers a broad range of topics. We covered a decent split along gender lines with eight men and five women...but I wanted to tip the scales a little bit and highlight even more amazing women who are making a name in the world of executive coaching.
This blog is a celebration of the top female business coaches who have made a significant impact in empowering women to achieve remarkable success. From personal development to profitable businesses, these coaches have helped small business owners unlock their full potential through decades of experience and a passion for seeing others thrive.
Top 15 Female Leadership and Executive Coaches:
1. Ali Brown - Empowering Female Leaders
Ali Brown, a trailblazer in the coaching industry, is renowned for empowering female leaders to embrace their unique paths. Ali’s coaching philosophy rests on her own experience building a successful business as an early entrepreneur in the online marketing space. With her extensive experience, Ali has guided countless entrepreneurs to build successful businesses while maintaining a balanced personal life. Her coaching style emphasizes authenticity and the importance of aligning passion with business goals. She shares insights from her own experience and features other women business leaders on her podcast, Glambition Radio.
2. Erin May Henry - Finding Success Beyond Boundaries
Erin May Henry, the self-dubbed “Chillpreneur” and business empowerment coach, is dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs break free from their comfort zones. With her guidance, aspiring business owners have conquered challenges and expanded their businesses beyond their wildest dreams. Her practical approach and valuable insights stem from years of running her own business, and have earned her a place among the top female coaches. Her latest project aims to build on her work of empowering women leaders by creating a network for learning and collaboration among her clients.
3. Melitta Campbell - Nurturing Business Growth
As an experienced business coach, Melitta Campbell excels in nurturing business growth. Her approach focuses on helping her clients cultivate their own “dream clients,” with an emphasis on overcoming doubts and imposter syndrome. She understands that building a thriving business requires not just strategic planning, but also a focus on mental health and personal development. Melitta's coaching equips entrepreneurs with the tools to build confidence and clients by focusing on their own strengths to turn their visions into reality.
4. Rachel Rodgers - Empowering Women of Color
Rachel Rodgers has earned a prominent position in the coaching industry for her dedication to empowering women of color. Through her coaching, she helps her clients build 7-figure businesses and create a lasting impact in their communities. Her uncanny ability to connect with entrepreneurs enables her to address the challenges of their own unique path effectively.
5. Brené Brown - The Power of Authenticity
While primarily known as a researcher and speaker on topics like vulnerability and courage, Brene Brown also offers coaching and leadership development programs. Drawing on her extensive research, Brown offers a unique perspective on leadership that emphasizes the power of authenticity and human connection. Her coaching empowers leaders to cultivate a culture of trust and belonging within their teams, fostering an environment where people can thrive and innovate.
6. Sally Helgesen - Leadership as a Skill
Sally Helgesen is an author and leadership coach known for her work on women's leadership. Helgesen is a respected authority on women's leadership and gender diversity in the workplace. Her coaching approach is rooted in the belief that leadership is not bound by gender, and she strives to empower leaders of all backgrounds to reach their full potential. Helgesen emphasizes that leadership is a skill that can be honed and developed over time. She focuses on self-awareness, helping her clients understand their strengths, values, and personal leadership styles.
7. Cynthia Pong, J.D. - Getting Out of Your Lane
Cynthia Pong is an award-winning career coach, author, speaker, and hype woman for women of color. Pong heads up Embrace Change, a team of all-BIPOC team of career and executive coaches. Her book Don’t Stay in Your Lane focuses on how to get the most out of career changes through confidence and authenticity.
8. Margie Warrell - Tackling New Challenges
Margie Warrell is an executive coach, author, and speaker who focuses on helping individuals and organizations overcome fear and make bold decisions. Warrell's coaching methodology is deeply rooted in the principles of courage and resilience. She empowers her clients to step outside their comfort zones, confront their fears, and take bold actions in pursuit of their goals. Through her coaching, leaders learn to embrace uncertainty, make tough decisions, and navigate challenges with confidence.
9. Valery Navarrete - Undoing Oppression
Valery Navarrete is a consultant, facilitator, speaker, and coach with a profound dedication to catalyzing individuals and organizations committed to social change. With nearly two decades of experience across various sectors, including government, nonprofits, healthcare, mental health, and social innovation, Valery brings a wealth of expertise to her coaching practice. Valery's passion for fostering connection and addressing issues of privilege and oppression, as a mixed-race, Latinx woman-of-color, underscores her commitment to building inclusive organizations and communities. Her work is deeply rooted in the belief that interdependence and positive connections are essential for individual and societal flourishing.
10. Tara Mohr - Playing it Big
Tara Mohr is an recognized expert in leadership and personal development, with a training program rooted in the belief that everyone has the potential to lead with purpose and make a positive impact. Through her online courses, Mohr emphasizes what she calls "Playing Big" by breaking through barriers to overcome self-doubt. Her coaching methodology revolves around building the confidence and skill set needed to achieve goals and ambitions, no matter how audacious they may seem.
11. Elaine Lou - Entering Your “Zone of Genius”
Elaine Lou's specializes in coaching women of color and allies, with a coaching method that revolves around five key benefits. Establishing a support system, identifying and leveraging strengths (what she terms the “Zone of Genius”), providing accountability, strengthening leadership skills, and fostering long-term, sustainable business success. By offering guidance, structure, and a commitment to aligning business ventures with personal values and well-being, Elaine Lou's coaching empowers clients to build thriving businesses while achieving their desired lifestyle and legacy. Her mission is to create a more equitable and sustainable future through coaching that inspires action and persistence.
12. Susan Scott - Having Fierce Conversations
Susan Scott is a leadership development architect and author of "Fierce Conversations." She specializes in helping leaders have more effective and meaningful conversations through authentic communication. In Scott’s view, meaningful, candid conversations are the cornerstone of effective leadership. With years of experience, she encourages leaders to engage in open, honest, and courageous dialogues with their teams, peers, and superiors. Through these conversations, leaders can address critical issues, provide constructive feedback, and build stronger relationships. Scott’s work equips leaders with the skills and mindset necessary to tackle even the most challenging conversations with empathy and tact.
13. Atina White - Change Is Possible
Atina White is a leadership and life coach whose work emphasizes that change is possible. White places an emphasis on working with Black women and women of color to unpack and explore the unique societal and professional challenges they may experience. Her coaching philosophy revolves around the expectations women of color face, and understanding where and how those broad expectations might leave individuals feeling unsatisfied. Through practicing self-awareness, and clarifying what it is we really want, White’s coaching pushes her clients to change their careers and lives for the better.
14. Dr. Kym Harris-Lee - Getting MORE from your Career
Dr. Kym Harris Lee encourages authenticity in sharing one's abilities and unique approach, free from the constraints of conformity. Harris-Lee acknowledges the distinct challenges that women of color often face due to microinequities, and empowers them to navigate these obstacles with resilience and mastery. Her coaching approach is twofold: she provides a perspective informed by her own experiences, fostering genuine understanding and empathy, while also offering objectivity to promote self-awareness and enhance interpersonal interactions. Her M.O.R.E. Mindset contains four points: Maximum self-awareness, Optimal optimism, Rich relationships, and Empathetic engagement.
15. Emily Sander - A Coach Who Gets Business
Ok, time for my personal plug. I’m a former Chief of Staff turned leadership coach. I specialized in leading client-facing teams in technology businesses, everything from scrappy start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. I know the difference leadership makes in the corporate world. Coaching sessions provide a focused opportunity to think through issues, access objective feedback, generate new ideas, all guided by someone who is fully committed to your success. Leave sessions feeling refreshed, refocused, and equipped.
Click here to schedule a free intro call to see if it’s a good fit.
Forbes' Women - Recognizing Excellence
Another great source for identifying excellent women leaders is ForbesWomen. ForbesWomen’s coverage extends beyond the business world, providing a broad perspective on leadership. Forbes' Women has featured some of the most recognized leadership coaches. These women have been instrumental in shaping the business landscape, and their success stories serve as inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Coaching Yourself
You may have noticed a common theme above—many of these amazing coaches are also authors. Checking out their written work can be a great DIY way to gain insight into your own leadership and career needs, and get an idea for whether you might be a good fit for their coaching style.
Finding the Right Coach
There are a lot of great coaches out there, and so much information to filter. We’ve only scratched the surface in this article. Finding the right coach for you is an absolute must when embarking on a coaching journey. The perfect coach understands your unique needs, business goals, and vision. They’ll offer practical advice and support to help you navigate the professional challenges you may face, and help you create lasting change.
About The Author
Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense.
Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.