Dervla McKenna
FCA / EMCC / Focusing -Oriented Coach
About
Leadership success shouldn’t come at the cost of clarity, confidence, or wellbeing.
I work with women in senior leadership roles who have built successful careers but are now carrying the hidden cost of that success. Expanding responsibilities, unrealistic demands on time, and a constant stream of expectations can leave even the most capable leaders feeling stretched, overwhelmed, and disconnected from their clarity and confidence.
You didn’t get here by accident. You’re proven, respected, and highly capable. But at senior levels, pushing harder is rarely the solution. Sustainable impact comes from thinking differently, leading with intention, and reconnecting with the grounded authority that makes leadership effective — and human.
A different way to lead
Most women I work with don’t need more tools, tactics, or productivity strategies. They need space — to think clearly, reflect honestly, and reconnect with how they lead when they’re at their best.
My work creates the conditions for clarity, confidence, and sustainable leadership to emerge naturally — without burnout or self-sacrifice.
How I support women leaders
I combine strategic rigour with deep, human-centred coaching to support women leaders through complexity, change, and pressure.
My work focuses on:
Cutting through complexity and enabling confident decision-making
Navigating uncertainty, change, and organisational dynamics
Developing visionary yet grounded leadership
Strengthening emotional intelligence, presence, and influence
Supporting work–life integration without compromising ambition
Building confidence, self-trust, and sustainable leadership practices
My approach
My work is intentionally threefold, allowing support to meet you where you are — strategically, emotionally, and practically.
Mentoring
A trusted, confidential partnership offering perspective, reflection, and strategic insight. Mentoring creates space to step back from day-to-day pressures, make sense of complex experiences, and navigate decisions with greater clarity and confidence.
Coaching
Focused, thought-provoking conversations that challenge unhelpful patterns, surface blind spots, and support meaningful behavioural change — translating insight into action.
Focusing-oriented coaching
A body-based approach that helps you access inner clarity and self-trust, allowing change to emerge naturally and sustainably, rather than through effort or pressure.
Let’s start with a conversation
I work with women who want success that is not only visible, but sustainable.
If this resonates with where you are in your leadership journey, I invite you to get in touch and explore whether working together would be supportive.