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Keynote · Leadership & Change
Competence was never the problem.
Organisations do not lose talented women because those women lack ability. They lose them to mechanisms nobody decided on and everybody maintains: the double bind, invisible work, mentorship without sponsorship. This keynote makes those mechanisms visible – and shows what a team can change the very next morning.
Book a talkWhat the talk is really about
Six patterns that show up in almost every organisation. Described without blame, with the precision of thirty years of clinical and coaching practice.
The double bind
Assertive is read as difficult, cooperative is read as not ready. The talk describes how this contradiction arises and how leadership teams can stop reproducing it in feedback and promotion decisions.
Invisible work
Moderating, mediating, holding the team together, organising the offsite. Essential work that rarely appears in any performance review. What gets counted gets developed.
Mentorship vs. sponsorship
Advice is plentiful, advocacy is scarce. Careers move when somebody speaks a name in a room the person is not in. The difference is learnable and can be organised.
Mental energy
Constant impression management costs cognitive capacity – the same capacity a demanding role needs. Exhaustion here is not a lack of resilience, it is arithmetic.
Putting self-doubt in its place
Not every doubt is impostor syndrome. Some doubt is an accurate reading of a hostile environment. Distinguishing the two protects people from working on themselves when the system needs the work.
Negotiation and visibility
Concrete language for salary, scope and mandate – and for the moment when visibility has to be created rather than waited for.
The thread: 060° · 120° · 180°
The talk follows the same structure as all of our work – the 180° Model. Three steps, no jargon.
Need
What does this organisation actually need – and what does it currently reward? The gap between the two explains most of what looks like an individual problem.
Capability
Which behaviours can be practised, and by whom? Managers, teams and the people affected each get a different, workable task.
Meaning
Change lasts when it is worth something to those involved. The final part of the talk connects the topic to what the organisation says it stands for.
What your audience takes away
A map
A shared vocabulary for something that was previously felt but rarely named – usable in the next team meeting.
Observation criteria
Concrete signals in meetings, feedback and staffing decisions that show whether a mechanism is at work right now.
Language you can use immediately
Sentences for sponsorship, for saying no to invisible work, and for negotiating scope – tested, not theoretical.
A question that stays
One question every leader takes home. Applause is optional; the question is the point.
Why Prof. Dr. Frank on this topic
Prof. Dr. phil. Thomas Alexander Frank has accompanied people in leadership and responsibility since 1995 – as a psychotherapist, executive coach and university professor, in practices in Zurich and Berlin and in international organisations. He does not speak about women in leadership as an outside observer of a trend, but from thousands of hours in which the same patterns appeared in individual sessions, in leadership teams and in supervision.
That is why the talk avoids both accusation and reassurance. It describes mechanisms, names the levers that actually move, and leaves the room with something to do rather than something to feel guilty about.
Format for your event
Duration
45 to 60 minutes, optionally plus 20 to 30 minutes of moderated Q&A or a workshop block.
Languages
English and German, at native level in both.
Format
On site in Zurich, Berlin and worldwide, or as a digital keynote for distributed teams.
Audiences
Leadership conventions, women's networks, diversity and HR conferences, talent programmes, universities.
Preparation call
A 30-minute call in advance so that examples and emphasis match your organisation.
Fee
Depending on format, travel and licensing of materials. You receive a written quote.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of events is this keynote suitable for?
Women's networks and women-in-leadership programmes, leadership conventions, diversity and HR conferences, university events and internal talent programmes.
Is the talk only for women?
No. It works best with a mixed audience, because the decisive levers sit with all decision makers – in promotion, sponsorship and the distribution of work.
How long is the keynote?
45 to 60 minutes, optionally followed by 20 to 30 minutes of moderated questions or a workshop block.
In which languages is the talk available?
English and German, on site in Zurich, Berlin and worldwide, or digitally.
Can the talk be combined with a workshop?
Yes. A common set-up is the keynote for the whole organisation in the morning and a working session with the leadership team in the afternoon.
Book a talk
Tell us about the occasion, the audience and the date – you will receive a reply within 48 hours with availability and terms.
Send enquirySee also: Keynote Speaker – overview · About Prof. Dr. Frank · Executive Coaching Zurich · Burnout & Stress · Deutsche Fassung
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