Sarah Perugia Leadership

20/08/2026

Ninety percent of the senior executive women I coach are operating in survival mode. 90%!

Staggering, I know, but across almost every industry, it's the reality I'm seeing constantly.

I was so pleased to contribute to Barnaby Lashbrooke's recent piece in Forbes on the global drop in employee engagement, because we often don't realise how endemic this is. The pressure on organisations right now is immense; headcounts are being decreased, but the jobs to be done and the business goals are still the same.

This is leaving the remaining people picking up double their workload, and when you're constantly overwhelmed, you start to dial back and disengage. Of course you do.

You stop being creative and being generous with your leadership. You stop having the energy to coach, empower and inspire your team. You're not checked out because you can't be bothered, you're checked out because you're exhausted!

If you, or your team, are feeling the weight of disengagement right now, here is where I tell my clients to start:

1. Before you do anything else, create some breathing space. Where can you reprioritise, delegate or adjust timelines?

2. In the space you create, ask yourself: What do I actually love about this job? What gives me purpose? The data shows that when we reconnect with our core values, our engagement in work (and life!) shoots straight back up.

3. Check your physicality. When we're disengaged, we're almost always running on empty. Are you taking real breaks? Are you moving your body? What brings you joy and connection outside of work?

We can't always control the economic climate or company restructuring, but we can control how we look after our energy within it.

20/08/2026

Standard leadership training can be such a damp squib!

Believe me, I've seen it. I've lived it! A programme might be packed with brilliant content, but without the right personal support wrapped around it, the real impact evaporates.

This is because we all walk into a room so differently! We come with our own backgrounds, our own internal hurdles, and our own personal pressures. What feels like a simple, fun delegation exercise to one person might trigger a massive, deep-seated confidence barrier in another.

We know this well, don't we? We leave a workshop feeling wonderfully inspired, carrying a notebook full of scribbles, ideas and takeaways. We head home feeling lighter and hopeful that next week is going to bring a whole new way of working...

And then it's Monday.

We're greeted by the same packed calendar, an inbox that's creaking at the seams and the same organisational dynamics. Our precious hope-filled notebook ends up in a drawer, or under a stack of papers, and old habits creep back in.

It broke my heart seeing this happen, which is why we work completely differently, and why we always incorporate 1:1 coaching directly into our leadership development programmes.

Group work is fantastic, and I love it. Being part of a cohort is incredibly powerful. It gives you a brilliant framework, lets you practice real-world scenarios in a safe team setup and builds that muscle of standing up and commanding an audience. But 1:1 coaching is another layer entirely.

Having a coach that's been matched to you personalises everything. It provides the space to dive deep into your reality, unpick your stumbling points and make sure that the new learning is embedded when you step back into the day-to-day.

Which, in my opinion, is so much better! I'd love to know what you think!

20/08/2026

After 21 years with one company, Eve took voluntary redundancy following a massive restructuring.

She was at a turning point in her career, and while Eve believed deeply in continuous self-development, she realised, as she put it, "I just wasn't getting much poured back into me."

This was until she had, in her words, her 'epiphany moment!'

Most of us think we know our strengths and values, often carrying a vague idea of these in our heads. Rarely, though, do we sit down and spend time reflecting to be able to verbalise them.

Through our Women on a Mission programme, Eve discovered what she calls her "empirical data": a rock-solid foundation of her top five strengths and core values.

"It was this most amazing moment of understanding," Eve shared. "It gives you an incredible set of words so you can look at someone with total inner confidence and say: 'Here are my strengths. This is who I am.' It puts you on a stable platform because you've actually reflected on it."

Eve talks about this being her epiphany moment, because when leaders get this kind of clarity, they stop second-guessing their value. They step into new roles, navigate restructuring and lead their teams with incredible self-assuredness.

Places on our Women on a Mission September 2026 cohort are now available to reserve.

Feel free to message me directly if you'd like to chat about investing in your high-potential female leaders.

Thank you to the wonderful Eve for sharing her experience with us.

20/07/2026

I have been seeing a lot of posts about women feeling invisible over 50. I have been thinking about this a lot. It's troubling. Women leaders over 50 have experience, expertise and incredible insight.

As someone who has been coaching women leaders for 20 years, I am acutely aware that the women I coach, deal with bias every day. From small comments or assumptions, to large very visible blockers to their career progression. I could write a long list of personal examples from the last week alone!

The intersectional bias that so many women over 50 experience is very real.

For me though, it's played out a little differently. And I thought I would share my experience, as I would love to know what other women over 50 are seeing.

When I was first working as an executive coach and leadership development facilitator, my peers were middle-aged white men, with grey hair and grey suits. I was 20 years younger, blonde and female. So many times it was assumed I was there to bring tea, write the notes or assist. When, in fact, I was the specialist there to lead the session.

As a woman of 55, what I notice now, when I arrive in a meeting, or walk into the room, is that the authority gap has shrunk.

People ask my advice, accept my expertise and trust my judgement.

It might be that my manner has changed, and that I have 20 years of experience under my belt, but I think this shift is much more about perception.

This photo is me off to a meeting in London in the boiling heat last week, feeling every day of my age! I may have more authority but my thermostat is definitely broken 😊

I would love to know:

- What is your experience of the authority gap as a women over 50?
- Have you noticed more or less gender bias as you have aged?
- How can we celebrate the expertise, power and wisdom of women over 50?

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