Individual programs
For women who lead and want to work on themselves, not on their team.
Method, not motivation.
I take the program into companies. Sometimes there is no company.
I work with companies on their female pipeline, and that is where the method produces the most visible results. But every week I get messages from women with no company investing in them: entrepreneurs who answer only to themselves, executives who have just stepped into a bigger role, professionals facing a transition they want to handle now, not when the training plan gets round to it.
For them I have opened three individual formats. There are few of them and the places are deliberately limited: company days remain the core of my work, so here I only take on the people the program genuinely fits.
The method is the one I teach in the room, across the three stages of IO SONO, CRESCO and BRILLO: we start from legitimacy, not from self-esteem. We do not work on how you feel, but on how you are perceived, how you decide and how you show up where decisions are made.
Three formats.
A single session
Positioning session
Ninety minutes on one specific decision in front of you: taking that role, presenting to the board, negotiating your own compensation, leading the team you inherited. It is not a taster of the program, it is an answer. You leave with a written plan and your first three moves.
In a small group
Small group program
Three months with a group of no more than eight selected women, across the three stages IO SONO, CRESCO, BRILLO. The value is not only the method: it is working alongside women with comparable responsibilities, who do not need the context explained to them. Scheduled editions, entry by application.
One to one
Individual program
Three months of private work, built around your situation and your pace. Few places at a time, because company days take up most of the calendar. If they are full you join the waiting list and I let you know as soon as a place opens.
All three start with a free thirty-minute call. It is there to work out whether the program makes sense and which format suits you: if it does not, I will say so.
Who it is for, and who it is not.
It makes sense if
- +You carry real responsibility: a team, a company, a budget, decisions that affect other people.
- +You are good at what you do and you know it, but in the rooms that matter you move as if you were there on loan.
- +You have reached a step change in your role and you want to handle it with a method, not on instinct.
- +You want verifiable outputs at thirty and ninety days, not encouragement.
It does not make sense if
- −You are looking for psychological or therapeutic support. That is not my profession and I do not replace it: if you need it, I will tell you on the call.
- −You are looking for motivation, positive thinking and quotes to save. Here we work on behaviour and decisions.
- −You have no time between sessions. The real work happens there, not during the meetings.
- −You want your company to pay. In that case the right channel is the corporate one, with its own outputs and budget.
If the last one is your case, that is, if your company could fund the program, the right channel is the corporate one: objectives agreed with HR, measurable outputs and a formal proposal to take to whoever approves the spend.
Who leads it.
I am Paola Palmesano, an entrepreneur: in 25 years working on people's growth I founded and lead three companies. Ubloom, a benefit corporation for training and organisational development; Effetto Formazione, an accredited training agency; HERvolution, a women's empowerment platform for companies.
I work on women's leadership with an approach born in business, not in coaching: balance sheets, hiring, uncomfortable decisions. That is the difference I bring to the classroom. I sit on the PWN Milan board, on the executive board of Mosaikon, on the Artemide Observatory of Unipegaso, and I mentor for SheTech, Young Women Network and AIDP.
Frequently asked questions.
How much does an individual program cost?+
The cost depends on the format and the length, which is why I discuss it with you on the call. This is not a way of putting you off: I would rather quote a figure for a program that genuinely fits, once I understand your starting point, than publish a price list built for nobody in particular. You leave the call with format, length and cost in writing, and no obligation to go ahead.
How is this different from coaching?+
I do not work on motivation and I do not start from your emotions. I start from your role: how you are perceived, how you make and communicate decisions, how you negotiate, how you show up where decisions are made. I come from business, not from coaching: I run three companies and I know the balance sheets, the hiring and the uncomfortable conversations from the side of the person who has to handle them. The method draws on neuroscience and positive psychology, but the test is always behaviour and results.
Is it online or in person?+
Individual sessions are held online, so we can keep a useful rhythm whatever city you are in. The small group program alternates online sessions with at least one live meeting, because the exchange between participants works far better in a room.
How much time do I need?+
The sessions are the smallest part of the commitment. Plan for one or two hours a week between meetings, for observation exercises, preparing real conversations and reviewing what you tried. If you do not have those hours, it is better to postpone the program than to start it badly.
Can my company pay for it?+
Yes, and in that case we are no longer talking about an individual program but about a corporate engagement, with objectives agreed with HR or leadership, measurable outputs and a formal proposal. It is a different channel, often better value for you and easier to defend for whoever has to approve the spend.
How do I join the small group program?+
By application and an introductory call. The group only works if participants carry a comparable level of responsibility, so I compose each edition myself and I do not accept every request. New editions are announced first in the Io Sono newsletter, on Saturdays.
What if the places are full?+
I put you on the waiting list and let you know as soon as a place opens or a new edition starts. In the meantime, subscribe to the Io Sono newsletter: openings are announced there first, and subscribers get priority.
The first step costs thirty minutes.
A free call to work out where you are stuck and which format makes sense, or whether none of them does. There are only a few slots each week, so come with your situation clear in your mind. The call is held in Italian or in English. If you prefer email: paola@paolapalmesano.it
Book a callNot the right moment? Subscribe to the Io Sono newsletter: every Saturday, and new editions are announced there first.
