6-month mentor program for fashion industry leaders. Overcome imposter syndrome, achieve work-life balance, and become the creative leader you aspire to be.
>> Special Offer till January 30, 2025 <<
[ 2 spots open ]
Deadlines are everywhere and my team and I are struggling. Balancing work and personal life feels impossible. Plus, the fashion industry lacks authenticity.
I can't share with anyone how stressed I feel. My CEO avoids conflicts or giving any proper feedback. There's lack of trust between teams. It's lonely at the top.
Despite my experience, I often feel like an imposter. Creative work is subjective, and it doesn't help to have cynical and unsupportive counterparts.
I’m squeezed between C-Suite deliverables and wanting to be a great leader for my team. I’m always putting the pedal to the metal.
If this sounds like you, you're not alone.
Many Directors, VP’s, and C-Level executives in the fashion industry face these challenges daily.
Without addressing these issues, your full leadership potential remains constrained. Your well-being suffers. But it doesn't have to stay that way.
increase your visibility and leadership presence with calm, confidence and higher emotional intelligence
create a sustainable work-life balance and prevent burnout so that you can maintain both creativity and productivity.
learn tools to slow things down, manage the stress levels, and de-complexify the workload
have a safe space to unpack your anxiety, insecurities, and doubts + have a sparring partner to challenge, mentor, and advise you on your leadership journey

It's designed to help you overcome imposter syndrome, achieve work-life balance, and become the confident creative leader you aspire to be
In the first month, we connect weekly via 1:1 video calls, then transition to bi-weekly sessions. During these calls, I teach key concepts, coach, and mentor you throughout the process.
Forbes-backed Energy Leadership® Index (ELI) assessment, a research-based tool to get an in-depth understanding of your personal leadership style and build your customized growth roadmap.
Neuroscience-based stress management, boundary-setting, and time management tools to achieve sustainable work-life balance, prevent burnout, and foster professional growth.
Access to daily text chat for guidance, feedback, and encouragement. Or jump on a 15 minute "booster" call to stay on track and receive support between sessions for brainstorming or quick chats.
I've been working with Jen for over 6 months now, and she continues to inspire me. While her leadership background was impressive, I quickly realized she's also warm, kind, sharp, and intuitive.
Each session feels like a safe space, though challenging. She pushes me to think outside the box, and just when I think we're done, Jen asks a thought provoking question that makes me face uncomfortable truths. Her support has been invaluable, and I look forward to every session.
My coaching sessions with Jen couldn't have come at a better time in my career. Jen's guidance helped me identify the type of imprint I want to make as my career grows.
Jen helped me discover approaches to comprehensively take my career to the next level. I have been able to apply what we covered in other aspects of my life and it is empowering to see how a shift in perspecive can result in more productive outcomes. I look forward to future sessions.
Free 30-Minute Goal-Setting Session Pre-Program Kickoff
Access to the "12 Talents of a Coach-Centric Leader" Development Exercise
Optional 6-Month Extension Package for 50% Discount

ELI (Energy Leadership Index) assessments at the start and end of the engagement. Self-assessment and 360-degree feedback formats are available, as well as values assessment to create the foundation of your “why” and an authentic leadership style that works for you.
Key Results:
Clear understanding of your leadership strengths and opportunities for growth.
Identification of core values to guide your actions.
Personalized roadmap for your leadership journey.

We achieve this by connecting with your "why" as a leader and identify core values to guide your actions and decisions. You'll learn how to embrace imperfections and develop strategies to challenge self-doubt and reframe negative thought patterns. Additionally, we'll shift your impact on team dynamics, and build up trust and collaboration.
Key Results:
Increasing self-awareness, self-acceptance, confidence, and practical strategies to combat self-doubt.
Increasing awareness of others and shoring up emotional intelligence to improve cross functional and team dynamics.


Learning practical tools to manage stress levels effectively, establish healthy boundaries, and achieve a sustainable work-life balance.
Key Results:
Practical stress management tools.
Learn strategies to set and keep boundaries.
Effectively manage time for meaningful and creative work.

Regular check-ins, progress tracking, and booster calls to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.
Key Results:
Regular progress updates and adjustments to the plan.
Immediate support during stressful times.
Ongoing encouragement and guidance.

...We get so used to such a fast pace in life, but Jen uses our sessions to slow things down so I can hear what is really coming up for me. She is very gifted at honing in on impactful nuggets that allow me to go deeper into the issues that are important to me. It's helped me push through the noise in my head so I can prioritize what really matters.
Jen is an outstanding leader and she has helped me grow as a creative and a leader in the retail industry. Thank you Jen for establishing your program. The questions you ask of me are laser-focused and tailored to get to the root of my struggles. And then you lift me up with a plan. Thank you again! Amazing!
You'll get 3 additional one-on-one coaching sessions at no additional cost.

I’m Jen Shaw, a creative leader with over 30 years of experience in the apparel industry, having held executive roles at iconic brands like Levi's and Ariat.
I've led talented teams, turning our shared efforts into multi-million dollar product lines. Over the last decade, I've taken on higher leadership roles, focused on building creative, thriving, and collaborative teams.
Throughout my career, I've successfully navigated the corporate world, climbing the ladder as a creative while challenging and reinventing the status quo. I've learned that confidence and leadership come from using my creative voice-not the other way round.
I've also faced my share of challenges-loneliness, failure, creative blocks, burnout, and self-doubt. I've dealt with layoffs, physical struggles, loss, and anxiety.
Through those experiences, I've built resilience and courage by challenging my internal narratives, embracing non-dual thinking, and releasing the need to have all the answers. These tools have enabled me to sustain growth, both personally and professionally.
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As a certified professional leadership coach (CPC), I specialize in stress management, creative leadership presence, and time management strategies, all aimed at achieving sustainable work-life balance and preventing burnout.
My Go Forward Leadership program is designed to provide you with personalized mentorship and coaching to help you succeed in your professional career and life as a creative leader.
Let's go forward.
Certifications


YES! Below you'll find a link to set up a Discovery call. This complimentary 30 minute call is to discuss your biggest challenges, goals, and what is meaningful for you. It's the first exploration of the coaching work we'd do together, and to determine if we're a good fit. Click the link below to schedule!
Right for me, right now?
You're busy. Deadlines, a demanding job, family, life, mental and physical health all want your attention. "Do I even have time for this?"
You might not have the time. Continuing onward with the crazy deadlines, intense pressure, burnout and stressful thought loops that eat up time and energy is certainly an option.
I'm sure you wouldn't have read this far if that felt like maintaining the status quo is the right choice for you.
What if I told you that by taking time for yourself, you can create more space in your life?
Imagine this: Your mind is quiet, focused and calm, and when it's not, you have tools to quickly ground yourself. Your creativity gets to shine because your thought loops aren't hogging the spotlight. You have the presence to thoughtfully respond to challenge and change, instead of frantically reacting because you "have no time."
You have the confidence to authentically articulate your vision, advocate for yourself or your team, and have a voice in the outcomes.
Your presence in the room has an energy boosting, inspiring, and authoritative impact.
You leave work feeling happy, calm, and relieved that things are on track. You have time to take care of yourself, your family, and you aren't lying awake at night zooming around the thought loop roller coaster in your head.
Would you be the best version of yourself (the one who matters most to you, your family, your team, and your job) if you made the time for this?
What would happen if you didn't?
Who is this for?
You're a creative, work with creatives, or live in the apparel industry. You love your job, your team, the career you've worked so hard to build. You're a creative leader who's working to establish or shore up your leadership skills, cut the noise and manage stress effectively, get better results from your cross-functional relationships, and find more time in your day. You want that just-out-of-reach creativity to come back into your grasp. You want hope, agency, and choice in how you manage your time so you can connect with your life outside of work.
If you see yourself in the above, The Go Forward Leadership program is right for you.
You don't need to have all the answers, and you definitely don't need to continue your leadership journey alone. Just bring an open mind to get to know yourself better, be willing to step outside your thought loops, and have support every step of the way. We'll do this together.
Intake Form & Coaching Contract
Within 24 hours of signing up, you'll receive an Intake Form. Along with general information, this form asks for your key values and goals for our work together. We will use it in later sessions. Plan on 10 minutes to fill out.
Our coaching contract outlines the duration of our engagement, cancellation policies, confidentiality agreements, refund policies, and so forth. If there is a corporate sponsor involved, the contract will outline their role in our work together.
ELI (or ELI 360) Assessment
You'll be emailed a link to take the ELI Assessment. Plan on 20-40 minutes to fill out, and doing so in a quiet, relaxed space is encouraged. Once completed, we will schedule our first session - a 90 minute debrief to review your results.
If you opt for the ELI 360, you'll be emailed an ELI 360 link, with a second document to provide up to 25 feedback participants. Once the self-assessment and participant feedback is gathered, we will schedule our first two sessions: a 60 minute ELI debrief, followed by a second 60 minute session to review the leadership competencies and participant results.
We will do a Milestone ELI at the end of our engagement to measure progress, change, or future work to think about.
Coaching Sessions
Once we've completed our ELI debrief(s), we begin our weekly 50 minute coaching sessions. Typically, we meet weekly for the first 4-6 weeks to build momentum and rapport. After that, we move to every-other-week sessions.
Boosters
Program includes 15 minute booster calls throughout our engagement. These quick calls are useful during stressful times or anytime you need support.
General
Outside of ELI Assessments, our sessions are 50-minutes in duration. You may also exercise 15 minute Boosters weekly.
Homework (wait, what??)
Like physical training, the real benefits of coaching show up between our sessions. Outcomes of our sessions may include "homework" that involves writing, implementing & tracking new habits, or other accountability measures determined by you, the client. Typically this takes an hour or less per week (and good news-some weeks there may not be actual homework, just practicing new skills).
CPC (Certified Professional Coach):
In 2022, I graduated as certified professional coach from a IPEC, a 1-year coach training program. It is ICF accredited, meaning there is both ongoing training and a code of ethics I must adhere to. The coach training transformed my leadership style, my career, and impacted all areas of my life. i know that it is not just a "woowooo" thing - there is immense transformational opportunity in learning about yourself and taking 100% responsibility for your experiences in life and career. With over 100 hours of coaching for creative leaders, as well as consciously observing my own mind drama along my own leadership journey, I understood core themes that tend to show up and hold you back the most.
ELI-MP (Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner):
Rated one of the top 3 assessments "every executive should take" by Forbes, the ELI (Energy Leadership Index) Assessment is a one-of-a-kind assessment designed by IPEC. It takes something abstract - the way you experience the world - and turns it into a tangible metric with profound and practical insights that you can use to reshape your view of the world around you, and transform your life into the ideal one you envision. Coupled with a 90 minute debrief with me, this powerful tool provides hope, agency, and choice as we build your customized roadmap to transform your leadership. Available in both individual and 360. As an ELI-MP, I have received over 30 hours of training and given more than 25 assessments to clients.
Creative Experience:
Throughout my 30+ year career that includes 10+ year roles at both Ariat and Levi's, I have led, collaborated with, built or developed an incredibly broad range of areas. This spans the spectrum of creative visioning, product design and product development to global brand marketing, sourcing, wholesale, retail, and ecomm platforms, to innovation, and project management. This gives me insight and understanding into all aspects of the apparel industry. Why is this important? Because as your coach, we can dig right into what's important instead of spending sessions building an understanding of how you work.
Leadership Experience:
I've been a VP for many years, and I started leading creative teams over two decades ago. Some teams were deeply established, and some were teams that I built from the ground up. Every step of the way, I picked up habits, good or bad, that have bubbled up over the years. This has made me both a good leader and at times, one who bumbles through and makes difficult errors. My own coaches, mentors, and willingness to continuously learn have helped me lead teams of highly talented people who have created cultures we're proud of, products that are loved, and processes that work. Along the way, I've dealt with anxiety, creative burnout, leadership challenges, and crippling self-doubt. I've been lucky enough to lead, work with, and coach folks who have been through the same.
Walking the Talk
Everything I preach and teach reflect methods I've tested and done myself. Every coaching tool, exercise, or practice we work on are ones I've used. Our work is designed to be highly practical with a hack-free approach. The goal of our work together is to give YOU a shift in perspective, repeatable tools to use for yourself, and skills to build long-term growth.
Plan on becoming a more authentic, confident, and relaxed leader. Clients report feeling happier, relieved, and that they've found renewed meaning not only in their work, but in all aspects of life.
If you don't experience significant improvements in your leadership skills, work-life balance, and overall well-being within 30 days of completing the program, you'll get 3 additional one-on-one coaching sessions at no extra cost.
In accordance with my own ethics and ICF (International Coaching Federation) guidelines, our work together is completely confidential. Your name, occupation, title, company name and any other personal information are strictly protected, as is the content of our conversations. This also applies when coaching is company-funded. I am only allowed to reveal whether or not a client has completed the sessions.
As our work progresses, if you'd like to provide feedback, testimonials, or referrals, your name will be used only with your written permission.
Key Results:
Module 1 | Clear understanding of your leadership strengths and weaknesses.
Module 1 | Identification of core values to guide your actions.
Module 1 | Personalized roadmap for your leadership journey.

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