ABOUT NOVA
Leaders who have support THRIVE.
NOVA | noun (/ˈnōvə/): the sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star
We help you tackle challenges, weather change, and clarify your dreams.
Given decades of F500 leadership and years of executive coaching, Kathleen and Lisa offer practical guidance bounded in theory, creativity, and community.
We push you forward – and we’ve got your back.
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
Following successful executive careers in the corporate world, we founded Nova Leadership to offer development with a focus on the individual – knowing that change at the individual level has a ripple effect that is profound.
Because we served on the leadership team of multi-billion-dollar businesses, we understand the challenge that is leadership. We’ve lived and led through hyper-growth and through periods of instability and uncertainty – and we bring these lessons to clients. We quickly assess the culture of an organization and understand how leaders can be successful. We know the triggers that can derail performance. We know what it takes to lead with impact.
And we don’t just scratch the surface…Nova builds deep client relationships to bring engaging, thought provoking learning to you and your team.
Together, Nova brings the knowledge, capabilities, and credentials to ensure a profound and memorable experience.
WAYS TO WORK WITH US
MEET THE WOMEN BEHIND NOVA
Lisa Mink
Lisa Mink is the Co-Founder of Nova Leadership. She is an accomplished consultant, coach, and business practitioner who works with senior leaders to help bring about sustainable change and improved personal performance.
Her extensive experience with C-Suite leaders and their successors focuses on talent management, leadership development, change management, and communication. Her tenure as the Chief Diversity Officer for a Fortune 30 company combined with her global leadership roles makes her uniquely suited to address the complexities and sensitivities that often challenge leaders.
Through her work, Lisa guides executives to gain clarity on who they are, build confidence in what they know, and change the conversation about how they are perceived. Her approach always focuses on practical solutions and teamwork, and her distinct style is characterized by a combination of warmth, insight, and directness.
Lisa is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified Executive Coach, is Hogan-certified and a guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School. She is a regular contributor to leadership publications and a speaker addressing forums such as the United Nations in the Middle East, and Catalyst in India.
MEET THE WOMEN BEHIND NOVA
Kathleen Woodhouse
Kathleen Woodhouse is the Co-Founder of Nova Leadership. Her coaching focuses on increasing leadership and organizational capability to drive business results. A former Fortune 50 executive, Kathleen understands the challenges of managing in a complex, ever-changing environment, and served as an executive leader in multi-billion-dollar businesses.
Her expertise is working with leaders and their teams to create an environment where people excel. Kathleen’s hands-on approach ensures that clients get a realistic assessment of strengths and opportunities, and the actions required to achieve higher levels of performance. Kathleen is Hogan-certified, and a guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School. She holds a Masters degree in Human Resources Development and Leadership.
Kathleen is direct, insightful, results-oriented, and holds clients accountable for their commitments. Her work has proven to be effective at multiple levels in the organization, and across multiple functional areas. She coaches C-suite clients and their successors and has a passion for developing women and high potential talent.
You’ll often hear us say,
“We know you, because we ARE you.”
We say this because we want you to know that WE GET IT. We spent years in the corporate world; always high-achieving, yet with a feeling of sleepwalking. Until one day, we woke up; we realized that WHO we are and HOW we show up is so much more important than WHAT we do.
Our desire to guide others to feel alive, awake, and attuned to themselves in corporate leadership grew from there.
We wanted leaders to know that they have the permission to create the life and work that they love – and we knew that our experience, insight and empathy could help them unearth it.
So when we started this company in 2015, with weekly meetings at Kathleen’s dining room table, we were clear: we want to help leaders discover the brilliance within. And to shine. And so, together, we made a pivot.
By creating Nova Leadership (and our signature Women's Leadership Retreats), we found our paths back into joy, fun, and freedom…and now we help our clients discover the same, both in and outside of work.
We’ve been described as:
Inquisitive, non-judgmental, and non-formulaic
Sophisticated and soulful
Complementary (we’re the classic introvert/extrovert, dog person/cat person, sedan-driving/SUV driving duo!)
Valuing fun and adventure, along with grace and space
We’d love to work with you if:
You value candor and transparency
You’re ambitious and self-aware
You’re inquisitive (like us!) and looking to grow both professionally and personally
You care about having fun through the process!
We might not be the best fit if:
You don’t have the time, space, or willingness to do the work
Being “top dog” sounds more appealing than building a coalition
You believe you already have the formula, and are not open to creating lasting change
