Sydney, Australia — available nationally & globally

When leaders
thrive,
organisations
follow.

Evidence-based executive coaching and leadership consulting for founders, executives, and leadership teams navigating change, complexity, and high-performance demands.

Book a call See services
$7
returned for every $1 invested in leadership development
McKinsey & Company
88%
of C-suite executives rank improving culture as a top priority
Executive Coach College, 2025
44%
of employees feel burned out at work at least some of the time
Gallup, 2023
9.4%
annual growth in Australian leadership training market to 2032
Fortune Business Insights
Experience across
A$1.43B
Australian corporate leadership training market, 2024
Fortune Business Insights
86%
of companies that calculated coaching ROI made back their initial investment
ICF Global Study
74%
of leaders say they need better ways to measure worker performance beyond traditional metrics
Deloitte Global, 2024
15+
years of senior leadership, coaching, and consulting experience across sectors
Empowering Excellence
Who I work with

Leadership development
that starts where you are.

For individual leaders & executives

Lead with more confidence and more clarity.

You may be starting a new role, preparing for a promotion, leading through a high-stakes period, or rebuilding direction after a change. All of it is work you can do here.

  • Lead with presence and authority when the stakes are high
  • Build communication, influence and decision-making in the meetings that count
  • Navigate redundancy, restructure, or role transitions with direction
  • Manage your emotional state when everything is at stake
  • Build teams that deliver results, and care how they get there
Book a call
For organisations & leadership teams

Build a leadership culture that attracts, retains, and performs.

Leadership behaviour is now a legal workplace health and safety obligation. Beyond compliance, organisations that invest in their people outperform those that do not. The gap is consistent and it is measurable.

  • Reduce leadership risk and meet psychosocial safety obligations
  • Improve engagement, retention and productivity through better leadership
  • Build your next group of leaders and plan for succession
  • Support leaders through restructure, change and the shift to AI
  • Deliver measurable ROI your CFO and Board can see
Request a proposal

The cost of
poor leadership
is real.

High turnover, disengagement, and underperformance cost Australian organisations billions each year. The data is clear: investing in leadership development delivers measurable, lasting returns.

21%
more likely to outperform peers — gender-diverse leadership teams
McKinsey / Bmsprogress, 2025
68%
of Australian employees are worried about potential redundancies
People2people, 2025
70%
of the variance in team engagement is explained by the manager alone
Gallup
6.6%
increase in market value for ASX-listed companies with more women in senior roles
WGEA / Promarketreports
The approach

Behaviour change
that lasts.

Leadership development only works when it changes how people think, decide and act when the stakes are high. Every engagement draws on behavioural science and more than fifteen years of senior leadership and organisational experience.

01

Root cause, deep impact

We work on the behavioural and psychological foundations of leadership performance. These are the patterns behind how leaders respond when the stakes are high, how they decide, and how they show up for their teams.

02

Evidence-based & science-informed

Every method draws on behavioural science and social science, built for the leaders and challenges of today and tomorrow.

03

Real-world, immediately applicable

With experience across Qantas, Macquarie Bank, and CA ANZ, the work connects the research to what happens in the room. Clients leave with strategies they can use the same day, in the setting they are leading in.

Services & investment

The right support,
at the right stage.

Two paths, three ways in on each. Treat the labels as a guide. Begin wherever fits your situation, and go deeper when it makes sense. Several of these begin with communication, because trust, psychological safety and team performance are all built on it.

For individual leaders

Build the skill at your own pace, work through something specific in a single session, or commit to the full engagement. Many people begin with one and move to another; plenty start with the program itself.

Start here

Sound Like You

A short, self-paced online program on executive presence. Six behaviours to change, a way to measure each one, and a routine to use before an important conversation. Founding places are A$49 until 30 September, then A$140.

From A$49 / program
Find out more →
Next step

Single coaching session

A focused 60-minute one-on-one coaching session, online or in person. Address a specific challenge, explore a decision, or experience the coaching process before committing to a program. Credited toward The Leadership Catalyst if you enrol within 30 days.

A$300 / session online
In person across Sydney at additional cost
Find out more →
Full engagement

The Leadership Catalyst

A structured program delivered over three months, built around your role, your goals and where you are now. Progress is tracked throughout.

From A$2,400 / program
Find out more →

For organisations

Bring a half-day to your team, run a full-day intensive, or scope a tailored engagement. Where you start depends on what you are solving.

Start here

Make It Land

A half-day communication and influence intensive, delivered in-house. Four hours on what your people communicate before they speak, covering body language, voice and tonality, rapport, and word choice. Built around practice and live feedback. No slides.

Register interest →
Next step

The Leadership Shift

A full-day consulting and training intensive at your premises or a booked venue. Moves your leaders from managing people to coaching them, covering rapport, trust and psychological safety, beliefs and values, and purpose. Includes pre-program scoping and post-program recommendations.

Enquire now →
Full engagement

The Leadership Catalyst for Teams

The Leadership Catalyst methodology applied across your organisation. A fully customised engagement for one or more senior leaders, built around your priorities, with accountability for both the individual and the organisation.

Request a proposal →
Dr Katarina Chmolova

Built on experience,
backed by science.

I founded Empowering Excellence after 15+ years across startups, non-profits, and large corporations, observing the same pattern repeatedly. Leaders, especially those new to leadership, lacked the confidence, tools and personal support to lead through change, conflict and situations where the stakes were high.

I work where behavioural science meets senior corporate experience. Leaders need both the research and the experience of the room. That combination is what changes how they lead.

Great leadership is built. The science supports that, my practice is built on it, and the results confirm it.

Qualifications
Doctor of Education (PaedDr.)
Master of Education (M.Ed.)
Diploma of Business
Diploma of Human Resource Management
Certificate IV in Project Management Practice
Graduate, ICF Level 2 Accredited Coach Training Program
PCC-level training completed. I am accruing the required coaching hours and do not yet hold the credential.
Specialisations
Behavioural & Social Science
NLP Master Practitioner
Creative Arts Expression Techniques
Change & Stakeholder Management
Corporate experience
Qantas · Macquarie Bank
CA ANZ · OpenLearning
15+ years across sectors
Professional bodies
ICF Australasia Member
NLPAA Member
Toastmasters International, Club President
Insured Professional Practice
ICF Member — International Coaching Federation NLPAA Master Practitioner Member 2024–2025
Katarina Chmolova
Client perspectives

Results that speak for themselves.

Kat's approach is thoughtful, grounded and incredibly effective. She asks the right questions, challenges gently yet powerfully, and supports lasting shifts rather than surface-level fixes. Working with her has been both personally and professionally transformative.
Business Founder & Director
Healthcare
Katarina brings a strong and nuanced understanding of corporate environments, strategy, and the way complex organisations operate. She has an exceptional ability to quickly identify blind spots, leverage strengths, and work collaboratively to create meaningful results. Her insight, clarity, and grounded approach support long-term positive change at both an organisational and personal level.
Senior Executive
Financial Services
By initiating an open forum to discuss the ways we could improve, Katarina encouraged everyone's voice to be heard. Her inclusive approach brought the team together, sparking creative ideas and ensuring that every perspective was considered in making our space more effective and welcoming.
Senior Manager
Organisational Development
How it works

Simple to start.
Significant in impact.

1

Book a conversation

A 30-minute complimentary conversation. We talk about where you are, what you need, and whether working together is the right fit.

2

Design your engagement

We build a program around your specific context, goals, and timeline, whether it's a single session, a 3-month engagement, or an organisational program.

3

Do the work

Structured, focused online or in-person sessions with between-session support, progress tracking, and adjustments along the way.

4

Lead differently

Measurable outcomes. Practical tools. A clear shift in how you lead, decide, and show up that lasts after the engagement ends.

Ready to begin

Let's find out
what's possible.

You may be an individual leader deciding what comes next, or an organisation building for the future. Either way, the first conversation costs nothing and clarifies a great deal.

Book a call katarina@empoweringexcellence.com.au
Sydney, NSW  ·  Online Nationally & Globally  ·  +61 487 110 144 (Phone & WhatsApp)