Episode
Leading your Way: Sarah Holey on Confidence, Influence & Authentic Leadership
- Podcast
- Unstuck & Unstoppable
- Published
- Jul 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1435
- Processing state
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Summary
Have you ever felt like you needed to become a different person to succeed as a leader? In this episode Sarah is joined by senior HR leader Sarah Holey, who shares her inspiring journey from retail shop floor assistant to leading international people functions across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and APAC. Together, we explore what it really takes to grow into senior leadership without losing yourself along the way. Sarah speaks openly about navigating self-doubt, moving from being the expert to becoming a beginner again, building credibility in a new organisation, and discovering that her collaborative leadership style wasn't something to change - it was one of her greatest strengths. If you're stepping into a bigger leadership role, managing challenging stakeholders, or wondering whether your leadership style is "enough", this conversation will leave you feeling reassured, empowered and inspired. In this episode we discuss: Sarah's unexpected journey from studying textiles to becoming an international HR leader Why working on the shop floor shaped her leadership philosophy The confidence challenges that came with moving from one market to leading across 16 countries Learning to stop expecting yourself to know everything Why senior leadership can feel surprisingly lonely The value of proactive coaching before starting a new role Building trust and credibility with new stakeholders Why you don't need to copy louder leadership styles to earn respect The power of leading with your values What authentic leadership really looks like in practice Sarah's advice for women stepping into leadership for the first time Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Sarah Holey and today's topic 02:00 From textiles graduate to international HR leader 06:00 Career turning points and movi…