I speak about the human realities of leadership. The difficult decisions. The self-doubt we don't always admit to. The pressure to keep going. The responsibility we carry for other people, and the challenge of achieving great things without losing ourselves along the way.
Drawing on more than three decades of leadership experience, including my current role as Chief Executive of a complex £18m organisation, I combine practical experience with honesty, humour and stories from the realities of leading.
My keynotes aren't about presenting a perfect version of leadership. They're designed to make people think, question some of what they've been taught about what a good leader looks like, and leave with ideas they can use in their own leadership and lives.
Leadership that connects, challenges and stays with you
Keynote Speeches
Every audience is different. I tailor each keynote to the organisation, event and people in the room, drawing on real leadership experience, personal stories and practical lessons rather than offering a one-size-fits-all presentation.
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How to make difficult decisions without losing yourself
Leadership is easy to talk about when things are going well. It becomes much more complicated when there is uncertainty, competing demands, difficult choices and no answer that will please everyone.
Drawing on her experience of leading complex organisations through challenge and change, Steph explores what it means to stay grounded when the stakes are high. She talks about values, courage, compassion and accountability, and why leading well isn't about always getting it right.
Audiences will explore:
How to make values-led decisions when there is no perfect answer
The difference between compassionate leadership and avoiding difficult conversations
How to remain grounded when pressure and scrutiny increase
Why courage, reflection and self-awareness matter in difficult moments
How to lead in a way you can live with, not simply one that gets the job done
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Why the best leaders often doubt themselves
What if self-doubt isn't evidence that you're not ready to lead?
Steph has experienced imposter phenomenon at almost every stage of her career, including after becoming a Chief Executive. In this honest and often humorous keynote, she explores what happens when capable people believe they need to know more, achieve more or become someone else before they are enough.
This isn't a talk about eliminating self-doubt or simply “being more confident”. It is about changing our relationship with it, recognising the systems and expectations that can amplify it, and finding ways to lead without constantly having to prove our worth.
Audiences will explore:
Why capable and successful people can still experience profound self-doubt
The difference between humility and believing you don't belong
How comparison and conventional ideas about leadership can undermine self-trust
Why imposter phenomenon isn't always something an individual can simply “fix”
What becomes possible when we stop trying to perform leadership and start finding our own way to lead
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Why sustainable leadership is becoming the competitive advantage
Busy has become a badge of honour. Leaders are expected to be constantly available, endlessly resilient and able to absorb increasing pressure without it affecting them.
But what if that way of leading isn't just exhausting, but actually makes us less effective?
Steph challenges some of our assumptions about what committed, ambitious leadership should look like. She explores the relationship between rest, boundaries, reflection and performance, and asks what might happen if we stopped treating our humanity as something that gets in the way of good leadership.
This isn't about lowering ambition. It's about creating the conditions in which people and organisations can perform without continually depleting themselves.
Audiences will explore:
Why constant busy-ness isn't the same as effectiveness
How boundaries can strengthen rather than undermine leadership
Why reflection and rest contribute to better judgement and decision-making
How leaders influence whether organisational cultures sustain or exhaust people
What it means to pursue high performance in a way that is genuinely sustainable
Why book Steph?
Steph doesn't speak about leadership from the sidelines. She is a working Chief Executive, currently leading a complex £18m organisation with hundreds of employees, around 1,000 volunteers and services delivered across more than 25 sites. She has more than three decades of experience spanning the NHS, healthcare, the voluntary and community sector, business and board leadership.
That experience means she understands the reality behind the leadership theory: making decisions when there is no perfect answer, leading through uncertainty and change, balancing compassion with accountability, creating cultures where people can thrive, and carrying responsibility for people, performance and purpose.
But Steph doesn't arrive with a polished version of leadership in which the leader always knows what to do. She talks openly about self-doubt, mistakes, pressure, identity and the times when leadership has been hard. She combines those experiences with practical insight, warmth, humour and a willingness to challenge some of the assumptions we have about what successful leadership is supposed to look like.
Audiences leave not with a list of rules for becoming a better leader, but with new questions, practical ideas and permission to find a way of leading that is effective, human and genuinely their own.
Watch Steph speak
Steph challenges the myth of busy-ness and explores what bees can teach us about purpose, productivity and leading well, speaking to members of the North East England Chamber of Commerce.
Selected speaking experience
CIPD Festival of Work 2026
Speaker at one of the UK's leading workplace and people conferences, ExCeL London.
North East England Chamber of Commerce - Building Resilience into Your Business, 2026
Speaker on purpose, self-worth, workload and sustainable leadership.
Hospice UK Fundraising Leaders Conference 2025
Featured speaker delivering Bitesize Leadership Lessons, followed by a panel discussion on equity, diversity, fundraising, engagement and leadership.
NHS GP Educators' Conference 2025
Little Leadership Lessons, exploring leadership, imposter phenomenon, systemic barriers and inclusive leadership.
Business: Women with Purpose 2025
Keynote speaker on leadership, impact, resilience and purpose-driven business.
What people say
The best way to understand the impact of a talk is to hear from the people who were in the room.
Alongside her core keynotes, Steph speaks on a range of leadership, workplace and social issues and can tailor sessions to the needs of individual organisations and events.
Race, equity and inclusion
Honest, challenging conversations about race, belonging, privilege, allyship and creating organisations where people are genuinely able to thrive.
Compassionate and human leadership
How leaders can combine humanity, empathy and kindness with accountability, performance and difficult decision-making.
Purpose, resilience and leading through change
Staying connected to purpose when circumstances are difficult, navigating uncertainty and building individual and organisational resilience without simply expecting people to cope with more.
Healthcare, hospice and end-of-life leadership
Drawing on extensive NHS, healthcare and hospice leadership experience to explore the realities of leading services where complexity, humanity and difficult decisions are part of everyday life.
Other speaking topics
Book Steph
Looking for a speaker who will connect with your audience, challenge their thinking and bring the realities of leadership to life?
Whether you're planning a conference, leadership event, away day or organisational session, I'd be happy to talk about what you're looking for and how I can shape a keynote to work for your audience.