Release and Rise
Release the Stress. Rise Beyond the Struggle.
You're capable, trusted, and respected - the kind of person others turn to. But the way you're working right now is not sustainable. The self-doubt, the limiting beliefs, the pressure to be more - they're draining you. And somewhere beneath the exhaustion, you're wondering if this is what success is supposed to feel like, whether it's all worth it and if there's another way.
Release & Rise is designed to help you find it.
Through our signature framework - Poise. Purpose. Partnership. - you'll cultivate real not pretend confidence, define and create success on your own terms and build relationships that support you rather than add to the load.
Because your next chapter doesn't begin by becoming someone new.
It begins by releasing what no longer serves you and rising into the woman you've always been capable of becoming.
The greatest transformation doesn't come from adding more.
It comes from releasing what's holding you back and stepping fully into who you already are.
Developed for women working in wealth and financial services
Participants and alumni have worked within organizations including
The progression gap
The industry does not lack capable women. It lacks a reliable path from capability to influence.
Many women in finance are technically strong, commercially capable and already trusted by colleagues and clients. Yet at the moments when they should be stepping forward, something changes.
They hesitate before contributing in senior meetings. They minimise their achievements. They over-prepare because being merely well prepared does not feel safe enough. They wait to feel completely ready before pursuing opportunities. They take on more work, apply more pressure and quietly wonder whether everyone else is more capable than they are.
These are not signs of limited potential. They are learned attitudes and behaviours — and they can be changed.
"I know I have something valuable to say, but I hold back."
"Other people see me as successful, but I still feel as though I have something to prove."
"If I step up to a more senior role, I'm afraid I'll burn myself out."
"I have been promoted, but I do not feel fully comfortable at this level."
"I want to lead authentically rather than imitate somebody else's style."
"Others think I am capable of more, but something keeps getting in the way."
What changes
Participants do not simply learn more. They operate differently.
The program is designed to create observable changes in confidence, behaviour and presence.
01
Communicate with authority
Contribute more clearly in senior discussions and express ideas without excessive qualification or apology.
02
Make decisions with conviction
Trust your professional judgement, make decisions more confidently and stop repeatedly second-guessing yourself.
03
Own your achievements
Recognise the expertise, experience and value you have already earned.
04
Work out what success actually means to you
Get clear on what would bring you real fulfilment - not just more responsibility - and understand your strengths well enough to use them fully at work, whether that means a different direction in your career or reclaiming more time for the people and things you care about outside it.
05
Build resilience
Respond to setbacks, pressure and difficult feedback without becoming overwhelmed or excessively self-critical.
06
Build stronger professional relationships
Develop the trust, communication and influence required to work well with teams, clients and senior stakeholders.
The program
Six months. A small cohort. Change that lasts.
Release and Rise is a six-month online group coaching and development program created specifically for women working in wealth management, financial advice, investment, private banking and related areas of financial services.
At its heart, it's about working out what you want success to look like for you - both personally and professionally - and finding a way to get there without sacrificing the rest of your life along the way.
It combines structured learning modules, practical tools and exercises, live group coaching via Zoom, real workplace application, peer support, personal accountability and lifetime access to program materials and recordings.
The program is deliberately delivered to a small cohort. This creates the trust required for honest conversations, personalised support and meaningful professional relationships.
Change happens at different speeds for different people. Because the tools are designed to be applied straight away - in real meetings, real conversations and real decisions - many women notice a shift early on, and that shift builds steadily across the six months.
Poise. Purpose. Partnership.
The program develops three connected areas that shape how women experience and use their capability.
Poise
Be at your best, whatever the circumstances
Build an internal confidence that does not disappear when a meeting becomes difficult, a decision is questioned or an outcome is uncertain.
- Recognise emotional and behavioural triggers
- Manage unhelpful internal dialogue
- Recover more quickly from setbacks
- Develop resilience
- Feel more secure in the value you bring
- Access a more resourceful state under pressure
Purpose
Know where you are going, and what is getting in the way
Clarify what success genuinely means to you and develop the motivation, focus and structure required to pursue it.
- Define professional and personal goals
- Separate genuine ambition from outside expectations
- Identify the habits and beliefs causing delay
- Overcome procrastination
- Manage energy and competing priorities
- Progress without sacrificing everything outside work
Partnership
Build the relationships that carry careers forward
Learn to communicate with authority, influence stakeholders, navigate conflict and develop professional relationships based on trust and mutual respect.
- Speak so that your contribution is heard
- Feel comfortable giving and receiving useful feedback
- Approach difficult conversations with ease
- Manage conflict constructively
- Develop a stronger professional network at all levels
- Confidently ask for support, sponsorship and opportunity
"Confidence is not a personality trait. It is a skill that can be learned."
The Six Modules
A new module unfolds every four weeks, each paired with live group coaching.
Delivered over six months, each pre-recorded training module gives you tools you can apply immediately - supported by live coaching sessions for accountability, discussion and real-world application.
Module 1
Be Your Best Self, Whatever the Circumstances.
Identify the triggers and internal patterns that cause you to react rather than respond - and learn how to shift your state, at will, so you can show up at your best regardless of what's going on around you.
Module 2
Harness the Power of Purpose.
Unlock the keys to achieving your goals, work through the obstacles getting in your way, overcome procrastination, and build motivation that keeps you moving even when it's hard.
Module 3
Feel Confident from the Inside Out.
Explore what confidence actually is (and isn't), what inhibits it, and how to build self-esteem so you feel secure in your value - irrespective of what others think or do.
Module 4
Build Mutually Beneficial Partnerships.
Develop a relationship strategy for your career, learn to build partnerships that work both ways - even with people you find difficult - and remove what's blocking real connection.
Module 5
Inspire Others and Getting Results.
Get comfortable giving and receiving feedback, listen in a way that builds trust, speak with confidence and get heard, delegate effectively, and navigate difficult conversations without damaging the relationship.
Module 6
Onwards and Upwards.
Consolidate your Release & Rise toolkit, get clear on what's next, and build a clear, deliberate path forward — so the changes you've made continue well beyond the program.
Evidence of change
The difference can be felt by participants - and be seen by the people around them.
Recent participant and line-manager feedback recorded significant changes in confidence, clarity, professional contribution and willingness to step up.
9–10/10
for greater career clarity
9–10/10
for confidence and professional presence
10/10
feeling more comfortable speaking up
10/10
line-manager rating for improved mindset
10/10
willingness to take on more responsibility
10/10
value of peer support and community
Based on recent participant and line-manager feedback submissions. Individual experiences and outcomes will vary.
What senior leaders have observed
"I am delighted with the results. The women who participated feel more empowered and confident in their roles and alongside their peers, and this has had a positive effect both on their teams and the wider business."
"This individual had always been very capable but had some confidence issues. She was promoted into a senior management position and it was important that she had the self-confidence to feel that she could be a leader and that she could project that to others. She loved the program and the increase in her self-confidence was palpable. She embraced her new role with the confidence of a leader, which has been beneficial to the wider business. She is able to take on complex issues and navigate these with different stakeholders. I can clearly see that the program has given her self-belief, poise and presence and that she is fulfilling her potential."
Is this program right for you?
This Release & Rise program is for women working in wealth management, investment, financial advice, private banking and related areas of financial services who are ready to define and achieve what they want success to look like for them - personally and professionally - without giving up the rest of their life to get there.
Over six months, as you apply the tools, follow the approaches and get consistent support and accountability, the change becomes palpable. And because everything is designed to be used straight away, in real situations, that change can sometimes happen fast.
Caroline will help you decide honestly whether the program is right for you now.
- →You have achieved success in your career, but privately wonder whether it's the right kind of success for you
- →Others say you're capable of more, but the idea of “stepping up” feels more stressful than appealing
- →You don’t put yourself forward for opportunities you're qualified for - often without fully knowing why
- →You feel like you're mostly keeping the plates spinning, with little left over for yourself
- →You want to feel more fulfilled at work without sacrificing the time and energy your life outside needs
- →You know your strengths but don't feel you're using them fully
- →You want to work out what genuinely matters to you, rather than what you think you “should” want
- →You have achieved professional success but do not always feel as capable as others believe you are
- →You want a trusted peer group of women who understand your professional environment
Choose the next step that feels right for you
Primary
Speak with Caroline
A private, no-obligation conversation.
Discuss where you are in your career, what you want to change and whether the program is likely to help.
Book a Call with CarolineParticipant voices
What women in the program say
Participants have gone on to become
across some of the most respected firms in financial services. And, most importantly, are thriving in these roles.
"I was dealing with senior stakeholders who were older and more experienced than me and often felt intimidated. I believed my views were not worth as much as theirs. The program helped me identify the voices undermining my confidence, manage them, and recognise what was fact and what was fiction. I can now manage self-doubt and progress more confidently."
Compliance Officer
Investec
"Before I joined the program, I would say that I came across as a calm and collected person. The reality was that if any little thing seemed to be going “wrong” in my work, I would be tying myself up in knots on the inside and I just didn't think there was any way out of feeling like that. Even from the first session, Caroline provided us with tools to deal with scenarios just like this and it made a huge difference from the off. Now my confidence is higher, I have a better relationship with work and am able to make space for a life outside of work."
Business Improvement Manager
Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management
"Over the course of the program, I felt less small, more worthy of my place at work, less threatened by more confident colleagues, and more self-assured. I began the application process for a promotion to investment director - and secured it."
Investment Director
Rathbones
"I now feel completely comfortable with unknown senior people and don't think twice about picking up the phone to them. I'm no longer as reactive or stressed, and an unexpected benefit was becoming far more productive - I procrastinate less."
Director of Operations
SS&C Technologies
The wider conversation
Women in Finance: from representation to real influence
Release and Rise is part of a wider commitment to exploring progression, culture and influence across the financial profession. Modern American Advisor's Women in Finance platform brings together commentary, interviews, research, events and international perspectives on the forces shaping women's careers and financial influence.
Editorial · 01
Leadership, Resilience and the Future of Wealth Management
Modern American Advisor ↗
Editorial · 02
The Industry Is Hiring More Women. It Is Not Yet Rewarding Them Like Leaders
Modern American Advisor ↗
Editorial · 03
The Industry Does Not Have a Talent Problem. It Has an Access Problem
Modern American Advisor ↗
Editorial · 04
Behind the Boardrooms: The Reality for Women in American Finance
Modern American Advisor ↗
Your coach
Meet Caroline Holt
Caroline Holt is a leadership coach, speaker and founder of Attitudes for Success. She helps professional women overcome imposter feelings, self-doubt and limiting attitudes so they can fully own their success and reach for more.
With a twenty-year career in communications and innovation, including leading a global innovation consultancy and co-founding an agency later acquired by Accenture, Caroline understands the territory from the inside.
She combines senior commercial experience, professional coaching and lived understanding of imposter syndrome. Her methods are practical tools developed from the same challenges many highly capable women experience every day.
You do not need to become somebody else.
The purpose of the program is not to change your personality or teach you to imitate anyone else's style. It is to help you recognise your existing capability, remove the attitudes that restrict it, and use your skills and experience with greater confidence and impact.
Places in each cohort are intentionally limited.