The Authentic Leader: Organisational Impact
Leading Without Authority
An 8-week programme starting 20 April 2026 for leaders responsible for complex initiatives in matrix and international organisations.
A small peer group exploring real organisational situations.
Request consideration for the April cohort
The Organisational Reality
Work often becomes more complex at senior levels.
Not because capability is lacking, but because results increasingly depend on systems leaders do not fully control.
Important decisions rarely sit with one person or one team. Progress often depends on alignment across functions, regions and stakeholders.
Many experienced professionals recognise situations like these:
decisions stall because several functions and stakeholders need to align.
you are accountable for outcomes but the people influencing them do not report to you.
you spend more time preparing meetings and following up than in the meeting itself.
For those working in Swiss or European contexts inside global organisations, another layer often exists.
You may lead across different markets, cultures and time zones while headquarters or key decision makers sit in other locations.
For example:
leading a European region where each market has different commercial realities.
explaining local regulatory or market constraints to leaders in other locations.
influencing stakeholders whose expectations of leadership differ across cultures.
Leaders in international organisations often find themselves translating between these different realities while still moving initiatives forward across the system.
In these environments, authority alone rarely moves things forward.
When This Becomes Relevant
This programme becomes useful when progress depends less on effort and more on how you navigate the organisation around you.
For example when:
• important initiatives require several stakeholders to align
• outcomes depend on people outside your reporting line
• too much progress depends on your personal intervention
These are rarely capability problems.
They are organisational dynamics.
What Participants Develop
This programme focuses on one critical capability:
Moving decisions and initiatives forward in organisations where authority alone is not enough.
At senior levels, progress often depends on people who do not report to you. This programme helps participants understand how influence actually works inside their organisation so that alignment becomes easier and initiatives no longer depend on constant personal follow up.
Participants develop practical approaches to:
• building visibility with the people who influence decisions
• strengthening relationships across functions and stakeholder groups
• moving initiatives forward without constant personal escalation
The goal is not to work harder.
The goal is to help the organisation move with you rather than depend on your constant intervention.
How The Sessions Work
Each participant brings a real organisational situation from their own environment.
Examples include:
an initiative that requires alignment across several functions or regions.
a situation where stronger visibility with senior decision makers is needed.
navigating stakeholders whose priorities or incentives are not aligned.
During the sessions these situations are explored together.
The facilitator coaches participants live on their organisational situations while the group contributes perspectives from their own environments.
Between sessions participants test ideas in their organisation and return with observations and questions.
Over eight weeks the programme becomes a practical working space for real organisational challenges.
What Participants Will Gain
Participants leave the programme with:
Clearer understanding of how influence works in their organisation.
Stronger visibility and relationships with key stakeholders.
Greater ability to move initiatives forward without constant personal intervention.
Colleagues often experience them as calm, credible and quietly influential professionals.
The Thinking Behind The Approach
This programme sits within the BlueSky Authentic Leadership Model, which describes how authority and influence develop in complex organisations.
Authority expands across three dimensions:
Self → Relationships → System
Inner Authority
Clarity, positioning and presence under pressure.
Organisational Impact
The ability to move outcomes forward across stakeholders and functions.
Systemic Strategy
Understanding organisational context and acting with precision in complex environments.
Authentic Leader – Organisational Impact focuses primarily on the second dimension: influence across organisational systems.
Programme Details
⌛ Duration: 8 weeks
Programme materials available
20 April 2026
First live session
Thursday 23 April, 17:00 CET
🕒 Session length
90 minutes
Total live time
12 hours
Format
Small peer group of 6–8 professionals
Each session focuses on real organisational situations brought by participants.
Executive Schedules
Senior roles often involve unpredictable schedules.
Participants are encouraged to attend live sessions whenever possible.
If a session must occasionally be missed due to travel or urgent priorities, recordings and reflection prompts ensure continuity.
Why The Group Is Small
Complex organisational situations are rarely unique.
Working alongside a small group allows participants to:
• learn from comparable situations in other organisations
• test thinking in a confidential environment
• benefit from coaching conversations across multiple contexts
Participants are expected to treat discussions and situations shared within the group as confidential.
Next Steps
If the situations described on this page feel familiar, the programme is likely relevant to your current context.
Submitting an application simply allows us to confirm that the programme is a good fit for your situation.
Participation in Authentic Leader – Organisational Impact is by application.
Step 1
Submit a short application describing your situation.
Step 2
Optional alignment conversation if helpful.
Step 3
Confirm participation in the April or October cohort, and if relevant finalise sponsorship with your organisation.
Sponsorship
Many participants attend with sponsorship from their organisation because the outcomes affect organisational effectiveness and decision making.
Where sponsorship is not available, some choose to invest personally when strengthening their influence becomes important for their current role or next stage of responsibility.
Investment
CHF 2,950 + VAT (where applicable)
April 2026 cohort
Future cohorts beginning October 2026 will be priced higher.
Participation is limited to maintain depth of discussion.
Final Invitation
This programme is designed for experienced professionals who recognise the organisational dynamics described above and want to strengthen how they move initiatives forward within that reality.
Participation is limited to maintain the quality of discussion.
Request consideration for the April cohort
About The Facilitator
Lisa Sennhauser-Kelly
Lisa works with experienced professionals navigating complex organisational environments.
Before establishing her advisory work, she held senior roles across three continents including Managing Director and C-suite positions in international organisations.
Her experience spans global finance, cross-border operations, regulatory environments and complex transformation initiatives.
She now works with senior professionals seeking to strengthen authority, influence and organisational impact.
Lisa facilitates the programme personally.