YELLOW
SHOES
Identity Consultancy & Athenaship®
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Questions about our offering and questions from prospective clients and partners
Get in touch if you'd like to know more.
What is identity-led leadership?
Identity-led leadership focuses on helping leaders understand how their personal traits, values and experiences shape the way they lead.
Rather than asking people to adopt a fixed leadership style, it strengthens clarity about who they are and how that translates into confident, effective leadership in complex environments.
What is leadership identity conflict?
Leadership identity conflict occurs when there is tension between how a leader naturally thinks or behaves and the expectations placed on them by their organisation or industry.
Research suggests this tension is particularly common among women and leaders from underrepresented backgrounds, and can lead to increased self-doubt, emotional strain and reduced confidence in decision-making.
Identity-led leadership work helps resolve that tension.
What is Athenaship®?
Athenaship® is a research-informed leadership identity programme developed by Yellow Shoes.
It supports senior and emerging women leaders — particularly those from underrepresented groups — to strengthen confidence, resolve internal leadership tension and lead in a way that feels authentic and sustainable.
Who is Athenaship® for?
Athenaship® is designed for:
• Senior women leaders
• Emerging leaders stepping into significant responsibility
• Founders and business owners
• People from underrepresented backgrounds who may feel like they don’t naturally fit traditional leadership models
It is particularly valuable during periods of transition such as promotion, role change or organisational transformation.
How is Athenaship® different from coaching or mentoring?
Traditional mentoring often focuses on advice based on someone else’s experience.
Coaching typically focuses on performance goals or behavioural change.
Athenaship® combines the best aspects of both but primarily focuses on leadership identity — helping leaders understand the traits, experiences and perspectives that shape their leadership so they can lead with greater confidence and clarity.
What does an identity consultant do?
An identity consultant works with individuals, brands or organisations to clarify who they are, what they stand for and how that identity is expressed in leadership, culture or communication.
At Yellow Shoes, identity work can support:
• Leadership development
• Organisational culture strategy
• Brand positioning and narrative
How can identity strategy help a business?
Identity strategy helps organisations articulate their purpose, values and narrative clearly so that employees, customers and stakeholders understand what the organisation stands for.
When identity is clear, it becomes easier to align culture, leadership behaviour and brand messaging.
Why do organisations struggle with culture alignment?
Many organisations define values but struggle to translate them into behaviour.
This often happens when there is a gap between stated culture and how leadership is experienced day-to-day.
Identity-led culture work helps close this gap by examining leadership identity, expectations and behavioural norms.
What is the BE / YOU:BE / LONG framework?
BE / YOU BE / LONG is an identity-led culture framework developed by Yellow Shoes.
It explores how organisations can support people to express their identity at work while maintaining strong, collective and unfied direction and performance.
The aim is to create environments where belonging does not require conformity.
How do I build confidence in myself as a leader?
Leadership confidence rarely comes from learning more techniques. It usually grows from clarity about who you are and how your natural strengths translate into leadership.
Many leaders lose confidence when they feel pressure to perform a version of leadership that doesn’t feel natural to them. Identity-led leadership work focuses on understanding your traits, values and experiences so you can lead in a way that feels grounded rather than forced.
Why do some leaders feel like they don’t belong at the top table?
Feeling like you don’t belong in senior leadership is more common than many people realise.
It can happen when leaders come from backgrounds or experiences that differ from traditional leadership norms. When there is a gap between personal identity and expected leadership behaviour, leaders may feel pressure to adapt or hide parts of themselves.
Addressing leadership identity directly can help reduce that tension and strengthen confidence and presence.
Why do high-performing leaders still experience self-doubt?
Self-doubt is not always a reflection of capability.
In many cases it comes from navigating unspoken expectations about how leaders should behave or make decisions. When those expectations don’t fully align with a leader’s natural style, it can create internal tension.
Identity-led leadership development helps leaders recognise those pressures and build confidence grounded in who they actually are.
How can women build leadership confidence at work?
Women often receive mixed signals about leadership behaviour — encouraged to be confident but judged differently for the same behaviours.
Leadership identity work helps women understand how their strengths, perspectives and experiences translate into leadership impact, allowing them to lead with greater clarity and less second-guessing.
What makes a leadership development programme effective?
Many leadership programmes focus primarily on skills and behaviours.
While these can be valuable, they are most effective when combined with deeper work on leadership identity — how leaders see themselves and how they integrate their personal identity with their leadership role.
Without this foundation, new behaviours can feel artificial or difficult to sustain.
What does authentic leadership actually mean?
Authentic leadership does not mean sharing everything or abandoning professionalism.
It means understanding your values, perspectives and leadership traits clearly enough that you can lead with consistency and integrity rather than constantly adapting to external expectations.
Identity-led leadership development helps leaders find that balance.
Why do leaders experience imposter syndrome?
Self-doubt is not always a reflection of capability.
In many cases it comes from navigating unspoken expectations about how leaders should behave or make decisions. When those expectations don’t fully align with a leader’s natural style, it can create internal tension.
Identity-led leadership development helps leaders recognise those pressures and build confidence grounded in who they actually are.
What is leadership identity development?
Leadership identity development focuses on helping leaders understand how their personal traits, values and experiences influence the way they lead.
Instead of asking leaders to adopt a fixed leadership style, it supports them to integrate who they are with the responsibilities of leadership, allowing them to lead with greater clarity, confidence and consistency.
How do you become a more authentic leader?
Becoming a more authentic leader starts with understanding your own identity — including your strengths, values and natural ways of thinking and communicating.
When leaders recognise and trust these traits, they can lead with greater consistency and confidence rather than constantly adapting to external expectations.
Why does leadership sometimes feel exhausting?
Leadership can feel exhausting when leaders feel pressure to perform a version of leadership that does not align with who they are.
When there is tension between personal identity and expected behaviour, leaders may spend significant mental energy monitoring themselves. Identity-led leadership work helps reduce that strain by strengthening clarity and confidence in a leader’s own approach.
Why do organisations struggle to retain diverse leaders?
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Many organisations succeed in hiring diverse talent but struggle to retain it because leadership cultures still reflect narrow expectations of behaviour.
When leaders feel they must adapt their identity to succeed, it can lead to disengagement or departure. Identity-led culture work helps organisations create environments where different leadership styles can thrive.