“It Helped Me Examine and Reassemble Myself from the Inside Out”: Brenda’s Network for Black Women Leaders Coaching Journey

When Brenda joined the Network for Black Women Leaders (NBWL) Coaching Programme, she was navigating profound personal and professional upheaval. Her work contract had been ended without warning, her contributions erased from a major project, and her role as a carer for her mother was triggering emotional and financial tensions within her family. Amid all this, the invitation from NBWL arrived.

“It was like, ‘Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah!’ Somebody’s going to help me and guide me through this process.”

That moment marked the beginning of a transformative journey. One that helped Brenda re-centre her sense of value, reclaim her confidence, and reshape how she shows up in leadership and life.

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Connecting with Peers and Inspirational Women

Joining the Network for Black Women Leaders Coaching Programme gave Brenda a rare and welcome opportunity to be in an inclusive space with other Black women. This alone was something that immediately began to shift how she saw herself and her experiences.

“Hearing their voices, I realised maybe I’m not the problem. Maybe it’s society that’s the problem.”

Brenda had long internalised the challenges she’d faced at work: being erased, underpaid, and gaslit, even by other Black professionals operating within white-led structures. Being in community with other women who had experienced similar dynamics helped her begin to shed the confusion and isolation.

Within the NBWL space, she observed group dynamics that prompted her to reflect on how leadership, recognition, and power can manifest in environments intended to be safe. That too became part of her learning:

“I had to ask myself, how do I want to lead? How do I protect my ideas, my energy, and my voice? Even among Black women, there are patterns we need to break.”

Coaching at the Right Time

At a time when Brenda was experiencing the emotional load of care work, friction within her family, and financial instability, the NBWL coaching sessions led by Ruth Heron became an anchor. Ruth’s guided prompts and coaching structure supported Brenda to look inward and ask deep questions about value, boundaries, and purpose.

“It made me strip everything back. I had to go deep—sit with myself—and find answers.”

Alongside these sessions, Brenda also formed a smaller peer coaching group with three other participants. Meeting weekly, they further supported and encouraged each other, sharing reflections on self-worth, identity, and healing. 

Impact on Confidence, Career Progression, and Financial Resilience

Brenda’s breakthroughs came with clarity and force. She began to challenge longstanding patterns of over-giving and undercharging, and understand how this also played out in personal relationships, not just professional.

“I had to ask, 'What is my time worth? What is my care worth?'”

After years of providing without answers to these questions, Brenda decided to start charging a fair rate and asking for what she felt she deserved. The backlash was intense, but she stood firm. 

“That took confidence. The kind of confidence I didn’t have before the programme.”

Her newfound strength also showed up in her professional life. When invited to speak at a conference, she refused a low speaker fee and advocated squarely for the value of her work.

“It felt like my first test after my coaching sessions. And I passed it.”

She’s now in the process of protecting and copyrighting her creative work, ensuring collaborators or clients no longer exploit her. The programme gave her both the emotional permission and the practical mindset to own her worth and protect it.

Learning Through Coaching

Brenda describes herself as an introvert–extrovert. The NBWL coaching process revealed to her how often she had been hiding.

“I’ve learned that I was hiding. Hiding some of my gifts. Hiding my truth.”

She now sees leadership not as dominance or visibility, but as presence and alignment. She’s learned to ask: What is the energy I want to bring into this space? What impression do I want to leave behind?

The coaching journey helped her understand boundaries not as walls, but as care structures for the self.

“Boundaries are not about keeping people out. They’re about keeping me whole.”

Shaping Leadership and Supporting Other Black Women

“I don’t need the spotlight. I need peace. That’s how I lead now.”

Brenda’s leadership now comes from a place of discernment. She speaks about having “the confidence to be humble,” “the confidence to be silent,” and “the confidence to fight—when necessary.”

She’s now seeking mentorship of her own, reaching out to senior women leaders to refine her leadership style and build up areas she identifies as weaknesses.

She’s also conscious of the unique dynamics that can emerge even among Black women, such as competition, envy, and unhealed wounds. She hopes to create spaces that feel genuinely safe, creative, and nourishing.

Advice to Other Black Women Considering Joining the Network for Black Women Leaders

“Do it. Whether or not you believe you need it—do it.”

Brenda encourages Black women to come to the Network for Black Women Leaders Coaching Programme open and ready: ready to be challenged, ready to be honest, and ready to change.

“Be ready to chop off your nasty bits. We all have them. Be ready to ask: Is there another way of doing this, of dancing through this? How can I lead differently? How can I live differently?”

Above all, she says, the programme reminds you that you are more than your job, your trauma, or your to-do list.

“You get to be all that you can be—even though... Even though the world tries to shrink you. Even though it doesn’t always make space for you. Even though it often tries to rob you of your authenticity, or define you with the world’s eyes, The programme allows you to step into your confidence, define it for yourself, own it and show up fully.”