In the summer of 2023, everything stopped.
Blog by Viv Grant
One moment I was leading coaching conversations, running Integrity Coaching, supporting others to keep going through change…
The next, I was facing a cancer diagnosis that brought my whole world into stillness.
What followed wasn’t just a medical journey — but a deeply soulful one.
I was stripped back to my core. And in the darkness, I began to ask:
Who am I when I’m no longer holding it all together?
What does leadership mean when the outer world falls away?
Learning to Walk in the Dark is the story of that journey.
But more than that, it’s a reflection on what it means to lead — with courage, wholeness, and soul — when the system expects something else entirely.
This journey is what inspired She Leads — a new CPD programme for female MAT CEOs in their first 1–3 years of leadership.
Because I know the weight of being the “first” or the “only” in a role.
I know how it feels to lead with heart in a space that rarely sees the whole of who you are.
And I know that when everything around you demands strength, what you really need is space.
- Space to reflect.
- To be held in community.
- To lead from a place that’s true to you.
That’s what She Leads offers.
A soul-led space for women at the top of education — who are ready to lead with both strategy and self intact.
💬 If you’re a female MAT CEO navigating your early years in post, we’d love to invite you into our October pilot cohort.
📩 Message Hannah in my team to find out more: hannah@integritycoaching.co.uk
�� Or call: 07958 238 901
#SheLeads #MATLeadership #FemaleCEOs #WomenInEducation #SoulfulLeadership #LeadershipWithIntegrity #PurposeDrivenLeadership #WholenessInLeadership #LearningToWalkInTheDark
