For Organizations

Unarmored Leadership empowers leaders to shed these limiting behaviors and lead with clarity, courage, and connection. This approach enables them to foster stronger teams and healthier organizational cultures.

Through customized workshops, group coaching programs, one-on-one executive and leadership coaching, and the Unarmored Leadership Assessment, I partner with organizations to:

  • Develop leaders who communicate with authenticity and presence

  • Strengthen psychological safety and trust within teams

  • Navigate conflict and uncertainty with resilience and grounded authority

  • Build leadership pipelines rooted in alignment, not performance

Whether you're preparing managers for larger roles, supporting senior leaders through organizational change, or cultivating a culture of authenticity and accountability, Unarmored Leadership provides a research-grounded, practical pathway for growth.

Leadership goes beyond individual performance; it shapes culture, engagement, and long-term organizational success.

Yet too often, high-potential leaders advance by relying on protective behaviors such as over-preparing, micromanaging, avoiding conflict, or performing instead of leading authentically. While these behaviors may yield short-term results, they can erode trust, hinder collaboration, and lead to burnout over time.

Book a discovery call to explore what Unarmored Leadership could look like for your organization.

UNARMORED LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS

Unarmored Leadership workshops are designed to help leaders recognize and shed the protective “armor” that hinders them from leading with authenticity, confidence, and connection. Each pillar of Unarmored Leadership addresses a key leadership challenge, such as communication, presence, conflict, ambiguity, empathy, or confidence - all of which directly shape culture, trust, and performance. Leaders often armor up in these areas by over-controlling, avoiding conflict, or diluting their voice, which can limit engagement and results.

Whether you choose the signature workshop, Unarmored Leadership: Leading with Clarity, Confidence, and Connection, or a deep dive into one of the six pillars, every session blends storytelling, reflection, and practical tools leaders can immediately apply. These workshops provide research-based strategies that not only enhance individual leadership but also create ripple effects throughout teams, leading to improved communication, greater resilience in uncertainty, stronger collaboration, and healthier relationships.

Organizations can opt for a single workshop to address an immediate need or combine multiple pillars into a tailored series that builds lasting leadership impact and effectiveness.

“Unarmored Leadership: Leading with Clarity, Confidence, and Connection”

This signature workshop introduces Unarmored Leadership and the guiding principles that support it. Participants will explore how protective behaviors, often referred to as "armor," manifest in their leadership styles, and how these behaviors erode their confidence and trust, and drain their energy. Through real-world examples, values-based exploration, and practical tools, participants will begin to dismantle their armor and develop strategies for leading with greater presence, authenticity, and impact.

Workshops on the Pillars of Unarmored Leadership

Effective Communication

Teams thrive when communication is clear, authentic, and direct. This workshop helps leaders move beyond filtered or guarded communication, building trust and alignment across teams.

Executive Presence

Authentic presence increases influence. Leaders learn to show up with credibility and confidence without relying on performance or polish, helping them model steadiness and inspire trust across the organization.

Managing Conflict

Healthy conflict strengthens collaboration. This workshop equips leaders with the tools to address issues directly and constructively, reducing avoidance and reactivity that can fracture team trust.

Navigating Ambiguity

Change is constant, and ambiguity is inevitable. Leaders learn to stay grounded, resilient, and decisive in uncertain contexts with skills that create stability for teams and momentum for organizations.

Emotional Intelligence

Effective leaders manage themselves and their relationships. This workshop covers emotional intelligence dimensions – self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills – and how dismantling armor enhances these abilities.

Embodying Confidence

Confident leaders create confident teams. This workshop gives leaders the awareness and tools to move past perfectionism and self-doubt, cultivating confidence that builds morale, retention, and resilience across the company.

Each workshop can be delivered as a standalone session (90-120 minutes) or combined into a custom learning journey for teams, groups, or organizations, with or without LEGO®.

“I had the pleasure of participating in a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® workshop led by Susan Eckstein, and it was both enjoyable and impactful. Even those who were initially skeptical about using LEGO® in a professional development workshop were impressed by the process. This unique approach allowed everyone in the room to share their ideas and work together in a new way towards a shared goal. Building LEGO® models together enabled the entire QuotaPath team to see that they all have similar aspirations when it comes to effective collaboration. This event also brought our team closer together. I highly recommend Susan Eckstein for her exceptional facilitation of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®.”

— Carrie Carroll, Director of People Operations

UNARMORED LEADERSHIP GROUP COACHING PROGRAM

Professional Development for Sustainable, People-Centered Leadership

High-potential leaders often rise into bigger roles by relying on protective behaviors that once served them well – such as perfectionism, over-preparing, micromanaging, staying silent in conflict. However, these behaviors can increasingly limit their effectiveness. Over time, this “armor” can create stress, erode trust, and hinder collaboration.

The Unarmored Leadership Group Coaching Program is designed to help leaders dismantle these patterns, enabling them to show up authentically, communicate clearly, and foster a greater sense of psychological safety within their teams. For organizations, this leads to higher engagement, improved retention, and leaders who navigate uncertainty with confidence.

Program at a Glance

Details

Eight 90-minute group coaching sessions

Optional 1:1 coaching sessions to personalize growth

Cohort model that builds trust, community, and peer accountability

What Participants Gain

Awareness of leadership patterns that hinder trust, collaboration, and impact

Practical tools for clear communication, conflict resolution, and building stronger relationships

Confidence to embrace new or expanded roles without relying on performance pressure or defensive armor

Organizational Impact

Leaders who model authenticity and foster psychological safety

Improved collaboration across different functions

Reduced burnout and turnover

A stronger leadership pipeline well-prepared to navigate change

Rising managers and high-potential talent preparing to take on greater responsibility

Team leads and mid-level leaders seeking to lead with confidence and alignment.

Executives and senior leaders stepping into bigger roles,

Leaders in transition who want to strengthen resilience, presence, and impact.

Who it’s For

The Unarmored Leadership™ Group Coaching Program isn’t just another professional development initiative. It’s about transforming how your leaders show up for themselves, for their teams, and for the people who count on them.

“You can't see the picture when you are in the frame." It's hard to have an appreciation of how armored you might be until you are made aware.  And the Unarmored Leadership™ Archetypes and group coaching program helps us to do just that.”

- Reg Crane, Founder & Chief Relevancy Officer, Next Level Coaching & Consulting

“Becoming unarmored is a journey filled with intentional behavior and choices.  This program is a way to start the process and build awareness that will continue throughout your career.  That's the fun part about it.  Being unarmored doesn't have an endpoint; you will continue the work as you develop and your roles shift.  I think we all need to be a little more unarmored if we want to see change in the world.”

- Abbey Wick, Soil Health Upskilling and Outreach Group Leader, Syngenta Group

1:1 EXECUTIVE AND LEADERSHIP COACHING

Leadership growth often requires a private space for reflection, experimentation, and accountability. One-to-one coaching enables leaders to move beyond awareness into sustainable action. Rooted in the Unarmored Leadership model, these coaching sessions help leaders identify blind spots, dismantle barriers, and unlock the authentic presence their teams need.

What Participants Gain
Participants develop greater self-awareness of how their protective behaviors—like over-preparing, holding back, or over-controlling—shape both their leadership and their team’s culture. They walk away with stronger executive presence and confidence in high-stakes situations, along with practical strategies for authentic communication, trust building, and navigating change with resilience.

Impact on the Organization
The ripple effect is powerful: leaders begin to model authenticity and confidence, inspiring higher performance and collaboration across their teams. Communication and decision-making improve throughout the leadership spectrum, retention of high-potential talent increases, and organizations benefit from a more positive, connected culture where trust and innovation can thrive.

Program Structure
Leaders can engage in Unarmored Leadership coaching in the way that best fits their needs. Short-term focused coaching (3 months) helps build momentum on key goals and shift limiting patterns, while longer-term transformational coaching (6–12 months) provides deeper integration of Unarmored Leadership practices for sustained growth and measurable impact. For those seeking immediate breakthroughs, half-day or full-day executive intensives offer rapid clarity and actionable strategies in a concentrated format.

Every leader’s path looks different. Whether you need focus, depth, or acceleration, there’s an option for you. Let’s connect to design the right experience together.

  • "Susan transformed the way I approach my communications and manage my time and energy. She introduced me to techniques for organizing my thoughts and presenting them clearly and concisely, saving me time and increasing my effectiveness. Another game-changer for me was incorporating pausing, breathing, and transition statements to manage my stress levels and respond more thoughtfully in high-pressure situations. Setting boundaries and establishing non-negotiable time for myself was another critical area. The coaching experience has been invaluable, and I highly recommend Susan – she has appreciably impacted my life!"  

    Adrianne Collins, SVP & Chief Procurement Officer, Southern Company

  • "When I reached out to Susan, I asked her to work with me to build my confidence so I could walk across a stage, accept an award, and give a short speech. Susan guided me through some of the most rewarding work I have ever done. I learned more about myself – my real self – than I ever thought possible. With Susan as my coach, not only did I walk confidently across that stage several months later, but I learned to step into my full power as a woman and as an executive, as I transformed into my true authentic self. Susan changed my life. She can change yours, too!"

    Liz Meyers, Executive Vice President of Purchasing and Global Procurement, Darby

  • "Susan is a powerhouse of a coach! She always shows up with such presence and she consistently asks powerful questions. Each session with her pushes me to reflect and consider the lens I am using to look at situations. Through this work, I gain incredible insights and perspectives that help me shift my behavior and thinking patterns. As a coach myself, I am very picky about who I work with, and Susan is one of my go-to coaches whenever I need to think something through. That is the highest compliment I can give. If you are feeling stuck or need a powerful reframe, Susan is your woman. I cannot recommend working with her enough!"

    Dominique Mas, CEO of Group Coaching HQ

  • "I feel very fortunate to have found the right coach for me! Susan is truly amazing and an expert in her field. Her honest, straight-forward, laser focused approach was appreciated. Our thought-provoking sessions inspired me to become who I was meant to be, and her direct advice was spot on every step of the way. She instills confidence, balance, and harmony in her clients and provides them with lifelong tools and knowledge to move ahead not only at work, but in life."

    Cami Cooley, Dean of Academic Operations, College of Southern Maryland

  • "When I first began working with Susan, I was stepping into the COO role at a rapidly scaling marketing agency. I felt uncertain about where my responsibilities and authority began and ended, so I tried to take on everything. I was wearing an armor of compulsively proving, pleasing, striving, and solving. Through her coaching, she helped me see my strengths more clearly and ask better questions of myself and those around me. Our sessions gave me the clarity to recognize the value I bring and the confidence to stand more firmly in the expertise I’ve built. I finished our time together not only stronger in my role, but also ready to take the leap into starting my own business. Susan’s incisive insight and deep empathy has made a lasting impact on how I show up in my professional life, and I’m deeply grateful."

    Lindsay Noyes, Founder and Principal