Ignite! Leadership Academy
You don't become a leader the day you get the title.
Ignite! is for women stepping into their first people-leader role, often over the colleagues they used to sit beside. Eight sessions, a small cohort, and a coach who made the same leap.
Cohort dates are coming soon. Join the list to hear first.
There's a space between "I was really good at what I did" and "I know who I am as a leader."
When you're promoted, your identity, your relationships, your authority, and your accountability all change at once. And you're learning to operate differently while everyone is watching.
It sounds like this
You've read the books. You've been to the workshop that felt great for a day. What you need now is a place to practice, reflect, and get feedback on the real situations in front of you.
Ignite! Leadership Academy
It starts with how you're wired.
01
Know what you're working with
Before the first session, you complete three research-based assessments on how you think, how you handle conflict, and your emotional intelligence. Then you meet 1:1 with Kimberly for 90 minutes to turn the results into your own action plan.
02
Learn, practice, apply
Eight 90-minute sessions, virtual or in person. Each one teaches a concept, gives you room to practice it with other women, and sends you back to use it in your real job before the next session.
03
You're not doing this alone
Each cohort holds 8 to 12 women in the same moment you're in. There's a private space between sessions for questions and wins, and a closing 1:1 with Kimberly.
Built on the 3C Framework
Clarity. Connection. Courage.
Clarity
Who you are as a leader, and how you're wired to lead.
Connection
Leading former peers, leading each person the way they need, and being heard by the people above you.
Courage
Holding the standard, letting go of the work you used to own, and saying "I don't know yet."
For HR, talent, and L&D leaders
Sponsoring a new manager?
You promoted her for good reasons. Ignite! helps her grow into the role, with practice tied to the job she's doing now.
- A 360 from her manager, peers, and direct reports
- An action plan tied to her performance plan
- A before-and-after you can see
What's shared with you is agreed with her at the start. Coaching details stay between her and Kimberly.
Talk with Kimberly about sponsoring a seat
Your coach
Kimberly DiStefano
MBA · SPHR · CEC
Kimberly made the peer-to-manager leap herself. She learned the hard way that being good at the work and being good at leading the people who do the work are two completely different jobs.
She went on to work as an executive leadership coach and project manager inside large organizations, coaching emerging leaders through the moments when leadership holds or breaks under pressure. She is certified in HBDI, EQ-i 2.0, TKI, and the John Maxwell method, and she builds every coaching relationship on what the assessments show.
Her own lesson from that first leap still shapes the work: she couldn't lead everyone the way she wanted to be led. Different people need different communication, motivation, feedback, and support.
"When women are promoted into leadership, the title changes before anyone helps them change their understanding of themselves. I want her to discover that she does not have to perform leadership."
Kimberly DiStefano
What leaders say
"Kimberly helped me understand emotional intelligence, look at my strengths and weaknesses, and process through assessments that validated the leader I was. She gave me tools to emotionally manage things I couldn't control and helped me see situations for what they were, not what I wanted them to be."
"Kimberly has a commitment to excellence and client centric service. She listens more than she talks, and that's critical for effective coaching. She has a brilliant mind. She's so well-read. And even when there are things she doesn't know, she's always willing to lean into discomfort to learn whatever she needs to meet the needs of the client."
"As a leader, you are responsible for being able to engage with and motivate people all over the spectrum of thinking styles and abilities. That's really what moves our work forward. That was a big shift in thinking for me. We need to always be open to new ideas and ways of seeing things, and I think that's what Kimberly really challenges you to do."
"I know who I am as a leader. I have the tools to handle what comes with leadership, and I trust myself to figure out what I don't know."
That's what Kimberly wants every woman to say when Ignite! ends. Cohort dates are coming soon.
Join the Ignite! Interest List
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