Marketing · Growth-Stage Organization · The Impact Amplification Program™
From "I Think" to "I Am" — How One Director Moved from Imposter Syndrome to Authentic Leadership Authority
A Director of Marketing navigates expanded scope, disappeared support, and persistent self-doubt — and builds the internal foundation to lead with calm, clarity, and real results.
55.5%
Clarity on Leadership Vision
+44%
Team Performance & Accountability
+33%
Time on Strategy vs. Operations
100%
Increase in Regular Growth Support
About the Client
Director of Marketing, Growth-Stage Organization
Promoted into director scope while simultaneously taking on additional brands and expanding team responsibility, this leader was stepping into more at precisely the moment the support she relied on disappeared.
Her manager had moved into a bigger role, which meant the one-to-one coaching bandwidth she counted on was gone — right as her own scope was growing. "I needed that one-to-one support on a more regular basis."
She was building out a team, inheriting more brands, and trying to lead at a director level… while still operating like the person who had to hold everything together. And underneath it all, quietly: imposter syndrome. Not loud. Just persistent.
At a Glance
Role
Director of Marketing
Organisation Type
Growth-Stage Organization
Programme
The Impact Amplification Program™
Measurement
Pre/post assessment
Key Outcome
Retained in role; promoted into director scope
Business Impact
Retention of a senior female leader
"I no longer operate from a place of imposter syndrome — I've moved from 'I think' to 'I am.'"
Director of Marketing, Growth-Stage Organization
The Situation
The Unspoken Tension
01
More Scope, Less Support
Her manager had stepped into a bigger role, which meant the support she used to rely on disappeared right as her own scope grew. She was building out a team, inheriting more brands, and trying to lead at a director level — without the internal coaching bandwidth she needed.
02
Delegation That Wasn't Landing
Delegation was hard — not because she didn't trust her team, but because the system had trained them to rely on her. Breaking that pattern required more than intent. It required a shift in how she led, communicated, and held accountability.
03
Leadership Moments That Quietly Drain You
She was navigating underperformance conversations, accountability without conflict, advocating for her own mental health, and figuring out what she actually wanted next in her career — all at once, with no dedicated space to process any of it.
04
Persistent Imposter Syndrome
Not loud. Just always there. The kind that doesn't announce itself but quietly shapes every decision — how she showed up in the room, how she spoke about her own expertise, whether she trusted her own judgement under pressure.
The real problem: She was ready for more responsibility and already carrying too much — at the same time. The challenge wasn't capability. It was the absence of consistent, personalised support to match the complexity of what she was navigating. She didn't need a framework. She needed a thinking partner who understood her specific context.
Why She Chose the Program
Her Only Hesitation Wasn't the Work. It Was Getting It Approved.
From Hesitation to a Clear Yes
"The only hesitation I had was around the cost of coaching and how I would advocate for it. Shauna supported me in that conversation… it was so well received that moving forward became a no-brainer." She didn't just get approval. She got a clear message from leadership: we value you.
One-to-One Support Plus a Community
What drew her in was the combination: consistent one-to-one support, plus group conversations with other senior women who actually get it. "I didn't know that this type of platform was out there… I didn't know there were people who felt the same way I feel."
A Retention Play for Organisations
"For organizations, it's a huge retention play when supporting female leaders." She understood immediately what this investment actually was for the business — and was able to frame it that way to leadership. The ROI wasn't abstract. It was strategic.
She Wasn't Alone After All
One of the most significant early shifts was simply discovering that the challenges she was carrying — the loneliness, the imposter syndrome, the difficulty of being a woman leading in these environments — were not unique to her. They were shared. And that changed everything.
The Work
What Changed
Authentic Leadership Over Performance
"I've moved into this place of authentic leadership… and it's been able to drive so much more change than trying to fit into this mold." This wasn't about becoming a different kind of leader. It was about becoming more herself — and getting real results because of it.
Hard Conversations That Actually Landed
"I had a hard conversation and I actually got a thank you for the feedback I gave… I've never received that in a managerial position for at least 10 years." She learned to address performance with steadiness — and the quality of those conversations changed completely.
"I've moved into this place of authentic leadership — and it's been able to drive so much more change than trying to fit into this mold."
Building Self-Trust and Future Vision
"The biggest improvements were in my future vision for myself and in establishing self-trust." With a clearer sense of where she was going and greater trust in her own judgement, everything downstream — her decisions, her communication, her presence — became steadier.
Calm and Presence as Leadership Tools
"What feels different now is the sense of calm and presence I bring to my leadership. I hold others accountable, stand up for myself and for what I believe is best without wavering, communicate more effectively…" Less strain. More authority. Both at once.
The Internal Shift
What opened up as a result
Clearer boundaries
Stronger communication
Hard conversations that land
Self-advocacy
From "I Think" to "I Am"
"I no longer operate from a place of imposter syndrome — I've moved from 'I think' to 'I am.'" That shift in internal language reflects a fundamental change in how she holds herself as a leader — and her team felt it.
Cleaner Systems Across the Board
From that more grounded internal place, everything got cleaner: clearer boundaries, better delegation, more strategic focus, stronger communication, accountability without wavering. The internal shift made the operational changes possible — not the other way around.
Better delegation
More strategic focus
Accountability without wavering
Calm under pressure
The Outcome
Measured Results (Pre/Post)
55.5%
Clarity Around Leadership Vision
+44%
Team Performance & Accountability
+33%
Time on Strategy vs. Operational Tasks
+22%
Leadership Confidence
+22%
Alignment Between Personal Values & Professional Work
100%
Increase in Regular Support for Growth & Leadership
+55%
Plans for Sustained Wellbeing Alongside Career Growth
+33%
Prioritising Health & Stress Management
+11%
Team Problem-Solving Autonomy
+11%
Organisational Structures Supporting Personal & Strategic Wellbeing
The Retention Outcome
"Working with Shauna has allowed me to stay… In terms of retention, without working one-to-one with Shauna… I probably would have moved on."
For organisations, this is the number that matters most. Replacing a senior female leader at director level — including recruitment, onboarding, lost institutional knowledge, and team disruption — costs multiples of a coaching investment.
"For organizations, it's a huge retention play when supporting female leaders."
Other Tangible Wins
Promotion into director scope
Underperformance conversations navigated with steadiness — and received positively
Strategic time reclaimed without extending working hours
Additional team members added under her leadershipLoneliness decreased through connection with a peer community of women leaders
Company approval and investment secured for coaching — received as a message of organizational value
Consistent one-to-one support established for the first time in her leadership journey
Client Reflection
Through this type of coaching, I've been able to become a better director, a better colleague, a better support system for everyone I work with.
"She guided me through the nitty-gritty — from building new team processes to having tough conversations and advocating for my mental health and well-being."
"I'm coming to the table with something that seems insurmountable, and by the end of my 1-1, Shauna has allowed me to answer my own questions… she's asking the right questions to bring the answers to the surface that I already had."
— Director of Marketing, Growth-Stage Organization
Key Takeaways
What Made This Work
The Support Gap Is a Business Risk
When a manager moves on, the coaching bandwidth they provided disappears — but the leader's need for it doesn't. Organisations that don't fill that gap with intentional support create a retention risk they may not see coming until it's too late.
Authenticity Outperforms Performance
She had been trying to lead the way she thought she was supposed to lead. Moving into authentic leadership — leading as herself — unlocked more change than any technique or framework. The internal shift drove the external results.
Coaching Is a Retention Strategy
She said it directly: without this work, she probably would have moved on. For organizations investing in senior female leaders, this is the calculation that matters — and it makes the investment case clear on the balance sheet.
The Lesson for Directors Navigating Expanded Scope
You don't have to figure this out alone — and you shouldn't have to.
The moments when your scope grows and your support disappears at the same time are precisely when intentional, personalised coaching matters most. Not to add more to the plate. To change how you carry it.
When the internal foundation is solid, everything else — the hard conversations, the delegation, the strategic focus, the calm under pressure — follows.
Ready to Write Your Own Story?
Let's Explore What's Possible for You
Book a discovery call to explore how the Impact Amplification Program™ can help you lead with clarity, presence, and sustainable performance.
Results shown are from real clients but are not typical. Individual results vary based on your role, experience, and context.