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A trusted friend and colleague (and incredible coach) asked me these beautiful questions at the start of the year– who am I now? and what’s my unique offering as a coach?

The right question at the right time is gold. This precipitated an opportunity to pause, reflect and reset.

I wanted to share with you what I discovered by re-introducing myself and a wonderful new and much needed coaching program for senior women.

Hello, my name is Nicola Vague. I am a leadership coach, meditation teacher and art therapist. As a leader of leaders, my personal mission is heralding new ways of being and leading to transform outdated systems and ways of operating, creating a future where people and communities can flourish.

Eighteen years ago, in my mid-thirties, I experienced what I now understand to be an existential crisis. I was constantly stressed, short fused and unable to connect with the joy that was all around me. I was surviving but not flourishing; I knew that something needed to change. I made a promise to myself to stop focusing on the ‘shoulds’, to quieten the mental chatter and to follow my heart (I didn’t even know what that meant at the time). This commitment to move a little more towards myself was a turning point.

So began twenty years of personal exploration, evolution and development as a leadership coach, alongside extensive corporate experience in organisational development and change. What I now know, which serves as the foundation of my leadership work, is that to improve the quality of our decisions and actions, we must carve out space and cultivate the conditions that enable us to come into a more conscious relationship with ourselves. I don’t teach something that I have just read about; I teach what I have come to make sense of through my own evolution. This gives the learning I offer to leaders both depth and simplicity.

In 2014, I founded Evolving Leaders (www.evolvingleaders.com.au) with the purpose of evolving the consciousness of leaders to make the world a better place. My focus has been on leadership, change and wellbeing. Partnering with longer term clients on their leadership transformation journey supported by wonderful collaborative relationships is rich and rewarding.

I have been offering individual leadership coaching for over a decade now, mostly as part of leadership 360 assessments and broader organisational leadership development programs. I love this work. It is an honour and a privilege – especially supporting those leaders who are ready to embrace the opportunity of 1:1 leadership coaching.

Whilst I continue to offer this work and supporting clients on their leadership transformation path, what has also emerged is a new 1:1 coaching offering for women where I can explicitly bring the unique combination of skills, experiences and approaches that has radically shaped my own personal and professional development and wellbeing to supporting senior women.

Why women you ask?

In the words of Desmond Tutu “Once you have women liberated, it’s amazing how many other problems get resolved – poverty, education, health. Women are the key in any community.”.

Newly released evidence from an Australian wellbeing study – The Gender Wellbeing GAP (Global Leadership Wellbeing Survey – GLWS) shows that the overall wellbeing of women in senior roles is low and that this gap is increasing. This may not be surprising but it is alarming and requires attention. Women are the primary nurturers in our society, raising children, forging careers and managing many relationships and connections. This coaching program is about nurturing the nurturers, women who are juggling multiple commitments and competing demands, often at the expense of themselves.

In addition to navigating my career and personal evolution, I have the privilege of being a mother to three young woman, an aunty and friend to many, a sister, a wife, a daughter. Now in my fifties, I have navigated work and family through its many phases and continue to do so. I have been fortunate enough to have had the support of many therapists, healers and coaches. It is my turn to offer this to other women and to make a contribution to improving wellbeing for these women.

So I am delighted to be opening up limited places for senior women as part of  Cultivating Well – 1:1 Leadership Coaching for Women.

Delivered via over a five month period, the purpose of the program is helping participants to slow down and reconnect with themselves beyond the noise of the external world, opening to new possibilities, improving wellbeing and creating a changed reality.

The Invitation

A place to pause, reflect and reset.

A place where your fears and dreams are safely shared and nurtured.

A place to become comfortable with not knowing.

A place where you will be supported.

A place where your true nature can emerge.

A place to turn a little more lovingly toward yourself.

A place where possibility becomes infinite.

The six-session coaching program is focused on:

• Guiding participants beyond the noise to hear their own wisdom through accessing the vast well of resources within them
• Providing a held space so that they can find thier centre and bring attention to their own well-being; and
• Cultivating the conditions, practices and habits to lead well!

Senior women might self-nominate or be recommended for this experience as part of broader leadership development, wellbeing, or talent management initiatives.

I look forward to asking you the right question. Read on for full program overview.

Not interested in this new coaching program? You may be interested to explore our Leading Change Development Program and other Coaching and Team Development services.