YELLOW
SHOES
Identity Consultancy & Athenaship®
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Athenaship®
by Yellow Shoes
Q. What is Athenaship?
A. Leadership Identity Work for Those Who’ve Never Quite Fit the Mould
Athenaship® is a research-informed leadership identity programme for senior and emerging leaders — particularly those from underrepresented groups, or those who’ve ever felt they don’t quite belong at the top table.
It’s for women who are capable, experienced and credible — and who still sometimes find themselves adapting, over-preparing or questioning whether they’re “too much” or “not enough.”
This work is not about becoming someone else to changing who you are.
Quite the opposite.
It’s about recognising that many of the traits you’ve been taught to soften, hide or apologise for are often the very qualities that make you a strong, distinctive leader.
When those traits are understood and owned — rather than managed — leadership feels lighter, and exciting again. More like you.
Why Athenaship® Exists
For years, I noticed a pattern in the women I worked with.
They were high-performing. Trusted. Sometimes the only woman in the room.
And yet behind closed doors, many described the same quiet tension:
“Am I too direct?”
“Should I soften that?”
“Why does this feel harder than it should?”
I wanted to understand whether this was anecdotal — or systemic.
So I formally researched leadership identity conflict among senior and emerging leaders.
Across more than 150 senior women in 21 countries, over 40% reported significant internal tension between who they are and how leaders are expected to behave.
Not because they lacked capability.
But because they were navigating unspoken expectations.
The data confirmed what many already feel but rarely name:
When you feel torn as how to be behave as a leader, confidence and wellbeing quietly suffer.
Athenaship® was built in response to that insight.
How Athenaship® works
Athenaship® creates structured space to examine how your leadership identity has been shaped — and where it may be under strain.
Together, we:
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Identify patterns of adaptation that have helped you succeed — but may now be exhausting you
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Surface unspoken expectations you’ve internalised about how a leader “should” behave
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Strengthen trust in the traits you already possess
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Integrate your identity with the leadership context you’re operating in
This isn’t about changing your personality.
It’s about using what you already have — so you can lead with authority without abandoning yourself.
Over time, clients describe:
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Clearer decision-making
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Reduced second-guessing
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Greater presence in high-stakes environments
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A stronger self-belief
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Increased well-being
Leadership begins to feel less like performance — and more like alignment.
How we can work with you
Athenaship® is delivered through structured, confidential engagements tailored to the stage of your leadership journey.
Most clients work with me in one of three ways:
Leadership Identity Intensive
A focused engagement designed to surface identity tension, clarify leadership positioning and establish a grounded direction.
Often chosen during:
• Promotion into senior roles
• Career transition
• Return from leave
• High-stakes decision periods
Structured Development Programme
Designed to:
• Reduce internal strain
• Strengthen confident decision-making
• Build presence in complex environments
• Integrate identity with organisational demands
Ongoing Advisory Partnership
Longer-term confidential identity and leadership advisory support for senior leaders navigating sustained complexity.
Bespoke tools & methodology
Athenaship® incorporates a series of proprietary identity-mapping tools developed through research and practice.
These include:
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Map of Me® — a structured identity mapping framework that surfaces strengths, adaptations and hidden tensions.
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Narrative re-authoring exercises rooted in storytelling psychology.
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Paradox mindset development tools to expand leadership range.
These frameworks ensure the work is reflective — but also structured and repeatable.