Helping Smart, Capable leaders Get Unstuck and Unlock Their Next Level of Leadership
300+
Leaders helped to lead with vision, resilience and purpose.
1000+
Coaching hours and 200+ hours of coach education
3+
Levels of certification including CPCC (Co-Active), PCC (International Coach Federation), and MBA (McGill Desautels)
What Smart Leaders do When Strategy Isn’t Enough
No matter how smart, capable, or knowledgeable we are, we all reach a point where we can’t seem to gain traction.
It might be a change in position you’re reaching for -
a rung on a ladder that feels just out of reach.
It might be a change in your leadership that your world requires you to make -
the kind of presence, confidence, or impact you know is possible,
but can’t quite grow into yet.
And so you do what smart leaders do.
You read the books.
You listen to the podcasts.
You think every thought it’s possible to think.
You try harder and take more action.
You strategize more.
And still… nothing shifts.
Because when you’ve been stuck for a while, it’s rarely a strategy problem.
It’s a capacity problem.
Part of you is reaching toward the future.
Another part of you is wired to protect the familiar.
And that tug-of-war isn’t happening in your mind alone —
If it were, it would have responded already to all the information and logic you’ve tried to give it.
It’s happening in your body.
Real change doesn’t always come from more information or better plans.
It comes from building the inner capacity to move differently under the same pressure, uncertainty, and growth you face today.
And that requires a whole other set of tools.
Before Thought, There Was Experience
Our culture values the power of the thinking mind.
And for good reason.
Through logic, analysis, and strategy, we’ve built systems, organizations, and technologies that have transformed the world.
But long before thought and language, we learned in a different way.
We learned through sensing.
Through experiencing.
Through the body.
This somatic learning system began before you were even born.
It guided you through your earliest years — helping you navigate your environment, make meaning, and embody responses to what you encountered.
It was your first form of intelligence.
When language and rational thinking entered your repertoire, this intelligence didn’t disappear.
It simply became harder to listen to.
Yet it has never stopped working.
Your body is always sensing, interpreting, predicting, and responding —
largely shaped by patterns wired in from the past.
Sometimes those patterns are exactly what you need to thrive in the present.
And more often — if you’re human — they aren’t.
They were designed for an earlier environment, earlier challenges, earlier versions of you.
And they need an update.
This is where embodied intelligence comes in.
It’s the practice of learning to listen to the information your body is offering — in the moments that matter most — so you can interrupt outdated patterns and wire in new ways of responding that meet the demands of today.
Not by thinking harder.
But by bringing your full intelligence online.
Why Leadership Today Can’t Be Led From the Neck Up
The Demands of Leadership of Have Changed
We need leaders who can navigate unprecedented complexity and rapid change.
Leaders who can face into challenge with resilience.
Leaders who can build trust and create the conditions for teams to do their best work and generate new solutions.
Most organizations agree on what is required.
Where we fall short is how we develop leaders to meet those demands.
Yet, Leadership Development still Focuses on Acquiring Knowledge.
Concepts. Frameworks. Insight.
There’s nothing wrong with this approach. It’s valuable.
It’s also incomplete.
We don’t just bring our thinking minds into leadership moments.
We bring our whole selves.
Why the body matters in leadership today
Short answer?
Because it’s not possible to lead effectively without it? You bring your body to every meeting, every decision, every moment of pressure. The state you’re in and your capacity to regulate that state is the leadership you're offering.
Read on if you want the deeper why.
Leadership isn’t just a cognitive skill—it’s an embodied one.
Embodied intelligence is the capacity to notice and work with bodily signals in real time so that leaders can respond skillfully, rather than react automatically, especially in moments of pressure and challenge.
State Drives Behaviour. Behaviour Drives Results.
When leaders face pressure, conflict, or uncertainty, the body responds first. Heart rate changes. Breath shifts. Muscles tighten. Energy rises or collapses.
From that state, behaviour follows.
Instead of building relationship bridges, leaders avoid the conversation.
Instead of addressing the most critical work, they focus on what feels safe and familiar.
Instead of thinking strategically, they become reactive or overly controlling.
We unconsciously react. Only then does the mind step in to explain or justify the behaviour.
When leadership development ignores the body, it misses the primary driver of how leaders actually show up under pressure.
Leaders with higher embodied intelligence are better able to:
Stay grounded under pressure
Respond rather than react in change and uncertainty
Build trust and psychological safety on their teams
Make clearer, more aligned decisions
Lead with purpose, presence, and integrity
We can all agree, that things the way we’ve always done them and expecting different results is a recipe for frustration. Developing leaders for today’s reality requires a broader approach.
A Proven and Emerging Discipline
Embodied intelligence isn’t new, and it isn’t fringe.
It has been used for decades in leadership and performance contexts:
At the Strozzi Institute, where embodiment has supported leadership development in the military and public sector
Through Otto Scharmer’s Theory U, helping leaders sense and shape emerging futures
Across organizations in the UK and beyond through Leadership Embodiment, supporting leaders to build resilience, presence, and influence
What’s new is how relevant this work has become.
As complexity increases, the ability to work with our internal states, not just our strategies, is becoming critical for effective leadership.
My Work
I speak and work with leaders who want to meet today’s challenges with more clarity, resilience, and humanity.
I blend leadership coaching frameworks with embodiment practices to help leaders:
Create and sustain transformational behaviour change
Lead with emotional intelligence rather than reactivity
Sustain focus and attention in high-demand environments
Build relationships rooted in trust and credibility
Clarify purpose and follow through on values-aligned decisions
Manage teams with greater accountability and empathy
Communicate effectively during conflict and tension
Navigate change with resilience and vision
Generate novel solutions in complex, uncertain conditions
As a PCC-level coach certified with the ICF, I also mentor new coaches in the Co-Active model and embodied practices.
Let’s Talk
I offer FREE 25-minute Clarity Calls to explore where you are, where you want to go, and how coaching can support you.
J. Weekes, SVP
“Working with Liz has truly helped to unlock self-imposed barriers and discover my strengths.”
L. Peters
“Her (Liz’s) work is deep and powerful, not a quick fix solution but one that creates genuine, lasting confidence from the inside out.”
Unlock your Next Level.
Step into your next level of leadership with presence, influence and impact.
Start with a Free 25-Minute Clarity Call.