Ready to lead differently?

I’m Babs Kelly, a leadership coach and facilitator working with executives, managers, and organizations who are ready to lead with more courage, clarity, and care, in their work and in themselves.

How We Can Work Together

Just for You Coaching

Project Coaching

Cohort Coaching

Leadership Team Retreats
Governance Workshops
Courageous Leadership Talks

About Babs

I’ve spent years inside the kinds of organizations many of my clients lead, as a public sector senior manager and as a not-for-profit executive director. I know what it looks like when good people get stuck in difficult systems, when leadership becomes more exhausting than it should be, and when someone finally finds their footing again.

My coaching is aligned with the ICF Core Competencies. My facilitation is endorsed by the International Association of Facilitators. My approach is whole-person, because what happens in your professional life connects to everything else, in ways that don’t separate as neatly as we’d sometimes like.

Learn more about me >

What Clients Say

“Babs is extraordinarily skilled. My coaching sessions with her are the best investment in my career and in my self-care.”

— N., Tech Industry Executive

“Our weekend retreat with Babs was magical. We had been through a tough time and were struggling with trust and safety. Babs held space and guided us through the conversations and healing in a way that was more than we could have imagined and exactly what we needed.”

— G., Executive Director, and D., Board Chair, Non-profit Organization

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Insights

The Failure of Leadership Development Programs

And why we keep propping them up. Finally Forbes published the article that had been stewing in my mind for a handful of years. Admittedly and thankfully, while my article was stewing, some other clever boots had all the right stuff (notion, research, and words) to do...

Public Library Boards, Democracy, and Authoritarianism

Filing away a research project dear to my heart. Admittedly, this is a bit of a self-indulgent post as I regrettably file away a research project that is dear to my heart about about public library boards, democracy, and the rise of authoritarianism. But please stick...

March 2026 List

Uncertainty, the "age of immorality", Brené Brown, AI (again), talking with strangers, and Japanese snack bars. 1 To Lead Through Uncertainty, Unlearn Your Assumptions Harvard Business Review, Anni Peshkam, February 13, 2026 I am ridiculously excited about this...