Kate Billing
ABOUT MIDLIFE LEADERSHIP
ABOUT MIDLIFE LEADERSHIP

About The work

ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES & LIFE AND LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS

Adaptive challenges are problems and opportunities that require leaders to confront the status quo. They need people to change their beliefs, behaviours, habits and ways of working in order to be solved, rather than applying a technical fix.

In our increasingly digitally enabled world of exponential and converging change, adaptive challenges are the daily bread of Executive Teams and senior leaders.

You may need to adapt your leadership style in response to cultural and demographic shifts, navigate power dynamics, create psychological safety, experiment with new ways of working, access diversity of thought, handle change resistance, or evolve work-life integration as your family’s needs change.

None of these are one-time decisions or actions but rather deep shifts that require expanded awareness, sustained effort, on-going reflection, and a willingness to confront sometimes uncomfortable internal narratives and relational dynamics.

In midlife, senior female leaders get a whole extra helping of these challenges in the form of life and leadership transitions associated with:

  • Dealing with gendered ageism and stigmatised stereotypes
  • Navigating the full system rewire of peri/menopause
  • Endeavouring to advance their careers whilst others seek to maintain existing power structures: and
  • Evolving their roles and relationships at home with their growing children, ageing parents and partner.

This time of life provides a unique set of lived-experience opportunities to a new generation of women in leadership.

Instead of being silenced and sidelined, senior female leaders now have the opportunity to learn how to better navigate the midlife transition, understand the common humanity of their experience and that they’re not alone, connect more deeply with each other, and decide that the best of life and leadership are yet to come.

DEVELOPING THE HUMAN AT THE CENTRE OF LEADERSHIP

In a world where the edges of life and work are blurred, where leaders need to do ever more demanding and courageous work, and where our working lives are evolving and extending thanks to increasing longevity, we believe it makes sense to offer ‘whole person+ whole life’ development experiences.

By integrating leadership development, personal development, and leadership wellbeing, our human-centred approach cultivates the ‘ME’ at the centre of life and leadership. This kind of development supports you to lead with authenticity, courage, and a sense of purpose, enhancing not just your professional performance but also your ability to navigate life and leadership transitions. You’ll feel empowered to lead from a place of resilience, clarity, and alignment, making you more effective and fulfilled in all areas of your life and work.

MOVING BEYOND CONTENT

Leadership development is about more than just consuming content and acquiring knowledge. True growth happens when leaders apply what they learn in practice, deepen their understanding through real-world experiences, and build lasting commitment to their development journey.

Our human-centred approach sees development as an on-going process grounded in purposeful identity and the pursuit of mastery. Research shows that as adults, we retain and apply new knowledge more effectively when we’re actively engaged through reflection and practice (Kolb, 1984). By focusing on the integration of learning with inspired action, accountability and peer support, and expert mentoring, leaders develop not just intellectually, but also emotionally and behaviourally. Our approach fosters deeper, more transformative growth, leading to the kind of mastery that is aligned with your values, purpose, and evolving identity through all of your life and leadership transitions.

Leadership isn’t just what you know; it’s about who you’re becoming through continuous, lived learning.

WHOLE-OF-LIFE LEADERSHIP IMPACT

Our whole-of-life philosophy recognises that leadership is not confined to a position in an org chart but is integrated into every aspect of our lives. Our approach emphasises that the qualities and behaviours of effective leadership are just as crucial at home, in our personal relationships, and in the community as they are in the workplace.

Leaders who embrace this whole-of-life approach not only experience better outcomes professionally but also report higher levels of personal fulfilment, well-being, and relational satisfaction. By taking what you learn in our development experiences and applying it consistently across all domains of your life, you create meaningful, positive impact and embody a coherent, values-driven presence that enhances all your relationships and interactions, fostering trust and purpose wherever you are called to lead.

What others say about working with Kate

black and white portrait of Nicola Bruning

Every single person left our group taller & more confident

“Kate led our group with presence, humanity, guidance, and knowledge. She enabled people to do the hard graft of ‘inner’ development. Every single person left our group taller, more confident, with a higher sense of self-awareness, and completely different to when they started the journey, six months prior.”

Nicola Bruning
People Operations Lead

black and white portrait of Maree McKenzie

My growth has surprised me

“My growth has surprised me, challenged me, reassured me, and given me confidence that what I bring to my home team, my work team, and to my community embraces all my parts. My priorities have been tested and changed, I am more deliberate in my actions, and I have a deeper connection to my physiological self, my energy, and my presence.”

Maree McKenzie
Manager Resolution Services

black and white portrait of Marie Cooper

I will forever be grateful to Kate for helping me to be a better leader

“The journey Kate took us on led to deep changes that were quite incredible and have allowed us to be better leaders whether it be at work, home or in the community. Kate connects with each person, providing a space that is safe, vulnerable and in a way magical. I will forever be grateful to Kate for helping me to be a better leader and a better me.”

Marie Cooper
Director