“Confidence isn’t about being loud. It’s about being clear, grounded, and not needing to prove a thing.”
Experience across complex sectors
I have worked across mining and resources, government, infrastructure, financial services, aged care, professional services, family-owned businesses and the not-for-profit sector.
Although the operating environments differ, the leadership challenges are often remarkably similar: competing priorities, unclear decisions, difficult relationships and pressure to deliver change before people are ready for it.
I am based in Perth and work with clients across Australia, Southeast Asia and internationally.
Executive coach and change consultant for senior leaders…
“Change moves at the speed of trust.”
Big leadership shifts rarely begin with big moments. More often, they start with one better conversation, one clearer decision, or one new perspective.
This short video explains what I see every day with my clients and what it is like to work with me.
Curious about what this could look like for you and in your organisation?
Calm under pressure. Clear in times of complexity. Strategic when it matters most.
I’m Louise Zawada, a Perth-based executive coach, leadership facilitator and change consultant.
I help senior leaders and executive teams navigate complex change, improve decision-making and lead under pressure without burning themselves out in the process.
My work sits at the point where strategy meets human behaviour; where a technically sound change can still stall because trust is low, decisions drift, difficult conversations are delayed or leaders are carrying too much themselves.
Leadership gets harder when the pressure rises.
Restructures. Leadership transitions. New technology. Regulatory change. Shifting operating models. New ways of working.
These changes rarely fail because leaders do not care or are not capable.
They become difficult when the pace increases, expectations collide and leaders feel pressure to have all the answers while keeping everyone else steady.
After more than 20 years working across organisational change, leadership and people strategy, I have learned that change itself is rarely what breaks leaders.
It is the sustained pressure to absorb uncertainty, manage competing demands and appear fine while doing it.
That is where I come in.
My edge
I stay calm when others scramble. I coach from pause, not pressure. And I help you create leadership habits that hold steady when things get messy.
My work is built on real experience: I’ve been the one delivering change and the one impacted by it.
I’ve failed, been rejected and carried more than was healthy because I thought needing help made me weak. It doesn’t. It makes you wise.
I’ve supported leaders mid-crisis, coached them through fear, and helped them step into bigger roles .
I’ve lived the juggle as a FIFO partner raising two kids, leading big roles, and with zero margin for error.
And I’ve learned the power of having someone truly in your corner.
Today, I bring all of that to the leaders I work with.
This isn’t about becoming someone else.
It’s about leading like you, with more focus, more strength, and a hell of a lot less self-doubt.
How I help
Executive coaching, consulting and facilitation
I work with individual leaders and organisations through:
Executive coaching
One-to-one coaching for senior leaders navigating change, increased responsibility, complex relationships or high-stakes decisions.
Change leadership coaching
Targeted support for leaders responsible for bringing people through organisational, technological or cultural change.
Strategic leadership consulting
Practical advice for organisations experiencing leadership friction, unclear ownership, decision drift or stalled change.
Leadership and team facilitation
Facilitated conversations and programs that strengthen trust, healthy challenge, decision-making, accountability and team performance.
If you’re a senior leader facing high-stakes change, or a business ready to build next-level leadership capability, I can help.
Because change doesn’t have to be chaotic. With the right support, it can become your strategic edge.
Common Questions I’m Asked (and their answers)
What does an executive coach help senior leaders with?
An executive coach helps senior leaders think more clearly, lead more deliberately and navigate the parts of leadership that are difficult to solve alone.
In my work, that often includes influencing across complex organisations, handling difficult conversations earlier, making decisions with incomplete information, managing competing expectations and stepping out of constant firefighting.
Coaching also gives you a confidential space to test your thinking, recognise unhelpful patterns and strengthen how you show up under pressure. The aim is not to turn them into someone else. It is to help you lead with greater clarity, confidence and impact without burning yourself out in the process.
When should an organisation engage a change leadership consultant?
An organisation should consider engaging a change leadership consultant when the technical side of a change is progressing, but the people side is has slowed down.
Common signs include unclear ownership, decision drift, inconsistent messages from leaders, resistance being dismissed rather than understood, or capable teams becoming stuck in delivery and reactivity.
I work with organisations to identify the leadership friction underneath the visible problem and help leaders create clearer direction, stronger alignment and more practical ownership of the change. This is particularly valuable during restructures, leadership transitions, new operating models, technology implementation and other periods of sustained uncertainty.
Do you work only with mining and resources leaders?
No. I work across mining and resources, government, infrastructure, health, aged care, education, professional services, financial services, family-owned businesses and the not-for-profit sector.
My work is less about the industry and more about the leadership environment. I am most useful where the stakes are high, the organisation is changing and leaders are expected to deliver while managing uncertainty, competing priorities and complex relationships. Those conditions show up in many sectors, even if the language and operating context differ.
What is the difference between executive coaching and leadership consulting?
Executive coaching focuses on the leader. Leadership consulting focuses more directly on the organisation, team or change challenge.
In coaching, I help you examine how you are thinking, influencing, deciding and responding under pressure. I ask questions, challenge assumptions and help you develop your own judgement and approach.
In consulting, I may be more directive. I assess what is happening, identify patterns or gaps and recommend practical ways to improve leadership alignment, decision-making, stakeholder engagement or change delivery.
The two often overlap. A leadership problem rarely sits neatly in one box, so I tailor the approach to what will create the most useful shift.
Can you support a leadership team during a restructure or transformation?
Yes. I support leadership teams before, during and after major change.
That can include helping you align on the purpose and direction of the change, clarify roles and decision rights, improve how you communicate, surface tensions early and build greater trust and accountability across the group.
I also help teams recognise when they are absorbing too much uncertainty themselves, sending mixed messages or avoiding the conversations needed to move forward.
Support may include leadership workshops, facilitated team sessions, executive coaching or a combination of all three. The aim is to help the leadership team become a stabilising force for the change rather than another source of confusion.