Momentum: The Sane Path to Seniority
For senior women who want to make partner, MD or VP without becoming someone they don't recognise
A twelve-week programme that changes how you think and feel about your promotion, and how you go after it. So you reach the next level as yourself, on a path that finally feels like yours.
In consulting firms, women are over half the intake at entry level.
By partner, MD or VP, they're typically under 30%
A man and a woman join a consulting firm on the same day. The man is more than twice as likely to make it. Not because he works harder. Not because he's more talented.
Because the system was built around assumptions and ways of working that, without anyone necessarily intending it, consistently benefit men and put women at a disadvantage.
You’re a Senior Manager, Associate Director or Director
You’re brilliant at delivery. The person people turn to when it matters: critical client assignments, complex deliveries, the moments when someone needs to hold things together. Clients trust you. Juniors lean on you. But when promotion conversations happen, you’re not front of mind.
You’re told to raise your profile, be more strategic, be more commercial. And when someone explains how, it’s the same old playbook: self-promote, claim the room, be visible with the right people. The outcomes are right. It’s the way you’re told to achieve them that doesn’t feel natural and has never quite worked.
There are unwritten rules about how a woman at your level should behave, and they pull in two directions at once. Be assertive and you’re “aggressive”. Speak up and you’re “difficult”. Show ambition and you’re “pushy”. Stay quiet and you’re “not ready”. It’s like balancing on a tightrope, in constant danger of slipping off. It’s not a personal failing.
It’s what’s known as the double bind.
So you adapt. You toughen up in some rooms and make yourself smaller in others. You watch what you wear, replay conversations, second-guess how you came across. You work harder, pouring everything into delivery, hoping that if the results are good enough, the case makes itself. It doesn’t. And all of it sits on top of the load you carry at home, the mental list no one else is keeping. Somewhere along the way it gets harder to tell whether you still want the next step, or whether you’re just too tired to keep pushing.
No wonder so many women get labelled with imposter syndrome. It isn’t a flaw in you. It’s what the double bind does to anyone caught in it long enough, and then you get handed the label as if the problem were yours.
The problem is there’s no sane, visible path from “brilliant senior deliverer” to “obvious partner candidate” that isn’t built around a narrow success template inherited from a time when virtually no women made partner.
A template that rewards visible self-promotion over invisible achievement, confidence over competence, and who wins the work over who does it.
None of this is your fault.
It’s what adapting to someone else’s definition of success does to you over time.
I’m Kathy Coleman
I love this profession: the people, the problems it gets to solve, the doors it can open. But I’ve watched too many brilliant women give it everything and still get passed over, or get there by slowly turning into someone they don’t recognise. I want women’s contribution to count as much as their male peers’, for that to show up in the numbers reaching partner and MD level, and for women to lead as themselves, whatever that looks and sounds like.
Their difference isn’t a problem to manage. It makes the work better and the firm more successful.
I know what women go through because I lived it. For most of my career I adapted to a narrow template of success without even noticing. It cost me my health: I had a heart attack. And it gave me my purpose.
No woman should have to pay that to succeed.
I spent over three decades inside firms like yours, including Deloitte, EY, Oracle and Capgemini, where I made Director. Now I help senior women reach MD and partner without abandoning themselves on the way.
That’s why Momentum exists. Not to teach you to follow the old playbook better. To help you find a path to partner that you can walk as yourself: powerful when you need to be, assertive or collegiate or direct when that’s what’s called for. Where you stop second-guessing other people’s expectations and relax into the women you already are.
Momentum is a 12-week small-group programme for senior women in consulting who want to make partner, MD or VP without abandoning themselves to get there. It helps you understand the real reasons progression has been so hard, let go of the patterns that are wearing you out, and start building the visible body of evidence the next level requires, in a way that works for you.
In 12 Weeks
Get clear about what MD, partner or VP means for you, and on what terms. A grounded answer to “why do I want this, what opportunities does it open up, and what would need to be true at work and at home for it to be sustainable?”, instead of treating the next level as a vague ambition or a verdict on your worth.
Know exactly where you stand, and what to focus on. You’ll have used the Partnership Readiness Assessment to map yourself against your firm’s expectations for the next level, and chosen the one or two capabilities that matter most for you right now.
Understand why it’s felt so hard, without making it a story about not being good enough. You’ll see how conditioning, the double bind and the specific barriers in your firm have shaped your patterns, so you stop turning systemic problems into self-blame.
Lead in a way that feels more like you again. In real meetings you’ll have said what you actually think, set a clearer boundary, stopped over-preparing by default, and seen you can be clear and senior without putting another mask on.
Discover that “balance” isn’t about doing less (or more). It’s about understanding and letting go of the beliefs that have you saying “yes” to everything and trying to prove your worth by being perfect with every deliverable, every conversation and every presentation.
Go from running on the edge of burnout to feeling calmer, more settled and less afraid. Relax into knowing that you are focused on the right things in the right way and not wasting time on things that don’t matter.
Use your voice in the conversations that shape your day. You’ll have handled at least one real situation, a boundary, a micro-aggression, an unfair ask, in a way that leaves you respected rather than replaying it at 2am.
Have started real, visible progress on the capabilities that count. Not just understood them, but begun making things happen: getting in front of the people who decide, contributing to the firm’s strategic direction, navigating power and politics, or the first foundations of your own client base and revenue, guided by what your Assessment flagged as your priorities.
Consulting will still be demanding. But you’ll move through it steadier, less exhausted and more like yourself, on a path that finally feels like yours.
How Momentum Works
Momentum follows my Firm Identity Framework™, a three-stage methodology developed specifically for senior women in consulting: Seeing, Being, Building.
Seeing: is where you get clear on what you actually want, where you currently stand and what’s been holding you back.
Being: is where you begin to change behavioural patterns and show up as yourself in the moments that matter. You watch how that lands and realise the positive impact on your results.
Building: is where your business case for promotion starts to take shape. You build the capabilities, relationships and evidence the next level needs.
“Working with Kathy has been one of the most impactful investments I made. She helped me cut through the noise and focus on what truly mattered, sharpening my strategic positioning, clarifying my leadership narrative and ensuring visibility with the right stakeholders at the right time.”
Michele, Associate Director at BDO
Each week there’s a live group coaching call, a short on-demand lesson and a workbook. You bring the real situations on your desk that week. About two hours in total, designed to feel like the work itself, not more work piled on top.
Your 12 Week Journey Inside Momentum
Twelve weeks, three phases, one framework. Transform your journey to promotion.
Month 01
Get Real About Partner
You stop guessing. You get honest about what you want as an MD or partner and where you currently stand. You have total clarity on why it’s felt so hard, without turning any of it into a verdict on your capability.
Your Ambition: decide what the next level is really for.
Week 1, Your Partner Life. Turn partner, MD or VP from a vague ambition into a concrete picture of the life you’d actually be living, at work and at home.
Week 2, Your Support and Impact. Work out the support you’d need to make it sustainable and the difference you want to make, so you reach a grounded “yes” or “not like this”.
Your Blocks: see what’s really in your way.
Week 3, Your Conditioning and Core Beliefs. See how conditioning has shaped your beliefs about your value, and name the patterns wearing you out: overworking, people-pleasing, perfectionism.
Week 4, Your Position on the Path. Use the Partnership Readiness Assessment to see where you stand against your firm’s expectations, and choose your priority capabilities.
Month 02
Show up as Yourself
You stop just understanding your patterns and start behaving differently in the moments that matter. This is where the work becomes real.
Becoming You: let go of the old patterns and show up as the senior leader you are.
Week 5, Changing Old Patterns in Real Time. Catch your loops as they happen and try a different move, instead of running the same script to the end.
Week 6, Working With the Inner Critical Voice. Turn the inner critic from a bully into information you can use, so you reflect on hard moments without tearing yourself apart.
Week 7, Looking After Yourself Like a Partner. Treat your energy as a senior asset, not proof of commitment, and protect it without dropping your responsibilities.
Your Voice in the Firm: use your voice in the conversations that shape your workload and reputation.
Week 8, Holding Your Line Without Losing the Relationship. Prepare and run a real boundary or challenge conversation, and see you can say what needs saying without wrecking the relationship.
Month 03
Build Your Body of Work
Now you turn those inner shifts into something your firm can see. This month is a little different. You focus on the one or two capabilities that matter most for you right now, guided by your Partnership Readiness Assessment. Each capability comes with 2-3 lessons and workbooks, and the coaching calls follow what the cohort chooses to work on.
Being seen by the people who decide - Map who actually sits around the promotion table, and take authentic steps to be seen by them, the difference between being known and being sponsored.
Engaging with how your firm really works - See where power and influence actually sit, and engage with it on your own terms, without it feeling grubby.
Making a strategic contribution - Form and voice a real view about where your firm is heading, so you’re known for your thinking, not just your delivery.
Building a client base that leads to revenue - Build the relationships that lead to revenue in a way that feels like you, not an old-boys-network sales model.
You leave Momentum with a different perspective on what partner, MD or VP means for you. You change some old behavioural patterns that weren’t helping you. And you have a visible body of work in progress to demonstrate that you are operating at that senior level. This is the basis of your business case. This is the path to sane, sustainable seniority.
Who Momentum is For
Momentum is for senior women in consulting, Senior Manager, Associate Director, Director or equivalent, who are ambitious for the next level but don’t want to get there by becoming harder, more performative, or more cut off from themselves. It’s for women who wonder if they have any more to give, who want more balance but aren’t willing to give up on their ambition, and who know they need more than tips on how to behave more like their male peers.
You’re ready to look honestly at both the inner patterns and the outer capabilities that senior progression really involves.
Momentum is probably not for you if you’ve already decided you want out of consulting, or if you’re looking for a few tips to “look more confident” without touching how you’re really working and what’s actually happening around you.
What People are Saying
Michele is an Associate Director at BDO who came to me after stalling on the partner track. She lacked confidence, had only one real sponsor, and was overlooked by senior people who didn’t see her strategic value. When we met she’d started to think maybe partner wasn’t for her. Now she’s back on track for promotion next year.
“What sets Kathy apart is her deep understanding of the professional services landscape and the unique challenges women face in leadership. Her advice is both practical and insightful, helping me feel grounded, confident, and in control of my trajectory. I would highly recommend Kathy to any woman stepping into a senior role who wants to lead with clarity, credibility, and impact.”
Chloe was an outstanding Senior Manager who didn’t recognise her own value. She constantly sought reassurance and advice from others because she couldn’t visualise herself going any further in her career, despite senior people telling her she was capable. The added pressure of bringing up a young child on her own and not being able to travel made MD seem impossible.
“Kathy – I’ve made MD, I am so happy. It’s all down to the work we did together, honestly it’s been transformational. Alongside all the personal development, you helped me focus on the things I needed to do to have an irrefutable business case. My people manager said it was “watertight.
What you get Inside Momentum
Over 12 weeks you get a mix of structured teaching, live support and practical tools designed to fit around a demanding consulting role.
Weekly live group coaching calls. One call a week where you bring real situations, get coached, and hear how other senior women are navigating the same things. All calls are recorded and yours to keep.
A Partnership Readiness Assessment. So you know exactly where you stand against your firm’s expectations and where to focus first.
Weekly video lessons. Short, focused trainings you watch in your own time, with access for life so you can revisit them whenever you need.
Downloadable workbooks and tools. Practical exercises and templates to download and keep.
Access to me between sessions. Light-touch support on WhatsApp or email, so you’re not left stewing on something important for a week.
Investment
For the first Momentum cohort in July 2026 there is a founding price:
Standard Momentum, £2,600
Momentum VIP, £3,600 (includes three 1:1 sessions)
Future cohorts will be £3,200 for standard and £4,200 for VIP.
Payment plans are available at no extra cost, so you can spread the investment across the programme rather than paying in one go. If you’d like your firm to contribute or fully fund your place, I can provide a simple one-page justification for you to share internally.
Momentum runs as a small cohort (4 to 6 women), so there’s space for real coaching and honest conversation. Places are limited.
Your sane path, as yourself
Momentum isn’t about teaching you to fit a version of success that was never built for you. It’s about giving you a sane path to the most senior roles as yourself, without twisting into a version of leadership that doesn’t feel true.
You’ll see more clearly how you’ve been adapting to a way of working that was never designed with women like you in mind. You’ll strip away the adaptations that cost you too much and build the skills and evidence you need in a way that’s more honest and sustainable.
You still get to be ambitious. You still get to want partner, MD or VP. You just get there on your terms. 12 weeks you get a mix of structured teaching, live support and practical tools designed to fit around a demanding consulting role.
FAQs
Q. How long is Momentum?
Momentum is a three month / twelve week programme.
Q. What’s the time commitment?
Each week there is a 60 to 75 minute group coaching call, a 20 minute pre-recorded lesson and a workbook. The maximum is around two hours. This is designed to be part of your work, not to add to an already heavy load.
Q. What is the investment?
For the first cohort, Standard Momentum is £2,600 and VIP Momentum (which includes three 1:1 sessions) is £3,600. Future cohorts will be £3,200 for Standard and £4,200 for VIP.
Q. Is there a payment plan?
Yes, you can pay monthly at no extra charge.
Q. When does the founding cohort start?
Final dates are to be confirmed, but we are looking at late July.
Q. How many in each cohort?
These are small groups designed for personal attention: between 4 and 6 women on each.
Q. What time are the live calls?
Live calls will be either lunchtime (12.30pm) or early evening (5pm), after discussion with attendees.
Q. What if I miss a live call?
Calls are recorded so you can catch up. You can also submit a question in advance and I will answer it, so you can pick up the answer on the recording.
Q. Can I ask my firm to pay?
Yes, of course. I will provide a one-page PDF to help them understand the programme, the business case and the ROI. All you need is a purchase order to get started.
Ready to Build Your Sane Path to Seniority with Momentum?
Most programmes tell you what to do. This one helps you do it as yourself.