Hi there
I’m Katie Allen
Pronouns: she/her
Leadership Confidence Coach | Professional Speaker | Podcast Host
Most leadership development programmes aren’t as effective as they could be.
And it’s not because people don’t care. Or that providers aren’t good at what they do.
It’s because they treat leadership as a collection of skills, workshops, or personality traits, rather than as organisational capability that has to evolve as responsibility increases.
That gap shows up most clearly in SMEs.
Fast growth. Flat structures. Limited resource.
Leaders stepping into responsibility without the terrain being fully mapped out.
Organisations becoming dependent on a few key individuals, usually without meaning to.
That’s the problem my work is designed to solve.
What I do, and why it’s different…
I design and deliver leadership training and coaching for SMEs that’s built around a clear progression of responsibility, not just hierarchy, job titles, or generic competencies.
My work is focused on Future Ready Leadership
A practical model that shows how leadership capability must change as leaders move from:
taking responsibility themselves
to being responsible for others
to shaping leadership consistency across the organisation
to stewarding the long-term health, risk, and sustainability of the business
Each stage brings different risks.
Each stage requires different judgement.
What I do isn’t leadership theory. It’s leadership infrastructure.
How I work with you…
I work upstream of the problems most organisations react to too late.
Rather than focusing only on behaviour or confidence in isolation, I help organisations design leadership capability that:
reduces reliance on individual “heroes”
prevents people issues escalating unnecessarily
supports fair, consistent decision-making
holds performance, wellbeing, and accountability together
still works when the business grows, restructures, or changes hands
I’m known as a safe pair of hands because I listen properly, understand context quickly, and don’t over-simplify complex realities.
I can zoom out to see how leadership, governance, culture, and risk connect - and then zoom back in to make it clear what needs to change at each level, in practice.
No corporate fluff.
No over-engineered models.
And certainly no assumptions about you having spare time or endless resources.
Who this work is for
I work primarily with:
SME owners, founders, and directors
senior leaders carrying organisational risk
people managers navigating responsibility without much support
Often in organisations where leadership has grown faster than the systems around it.
If your organisation relies on a few people holding everything together, or if leadership quality varies wildly depending on who’s in the room, or if growth is starting to strain decision-making and fairness - this work is relevant to you.
About me
I’m Katie Allen.
I’m a leadership trainer, coach, and Inclusion Confidence Specialist, with a background in commercial leadership and HR.
I work with organisations that want leadership to function without heroics, with clear responsibility, good judgement, and where people aren’t promoted faster than the organisation can support them.
Of course, inclusion, culture, and wellbeing are part of this work, but as leadership behaviours and systems, not standalone initiatives.
Because leadership capability isn’t a “nice to have” any more. It’s what determines whether an organisation can continue to grow and be truly sustainable.
If you’re considering working with me
You’re probably looking for leadership that:
fits the reality of an SME
grows with responsibility
reduces risk rather than creating it
and still works when things get crazy busy or go a bit sideways
And if that’s what you want… We should talk.