Member since June 2018
Jen Coken is an internationally recognized Executive Leadership Coach, keynote speaker, and bestselling author of Make Imposter Syndrome Your Superpower. Featured on ABC, MSNBC, and TEDx, she specializes in helping leaders—especially women in male-dominated industries—strengthen executive presence, claim their authority, and lead with confidence under pressure, so they are seen, heard, and taken seriously when it matters most.
With more than 25 years of experience coaching nearly 10,000 leaders worldwide, Jen brings a rare combination of insight and edge to the stage. A former political operative and recovering stand-up comedian, she understands power, perception, and presence from the inside out—and uses humor and candor to make complex leadership dynamics both accessible and actionable.
Known for her dynamic, interactive keynotes, Jen equips audiences with practical, science-backed tools they can use immediately to lead with clarity, credibility, and impact.
That moment when someone stops second-guessing themselves and just goes for it—on stage, in a meeting, or in their life. That’s my favorite thing.
It was day three of a seven-day, 550-mile charity bike ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage Alaska.
That morning I was team lead. Pulling out of a rest stop, I scanned the road. I looked left and sawy a big yellow school bus coming our way so I signaled the group to slow down.
What I didn't see: the massive divot in the pavement right in front of me.
My front tire hit it. I flipped straight over the handlebars and landed on the pavement with a resounding THWACK.
I laid there staring at the beautiful blue Alaskan sky thinking, "Well... that wasn't in the training manual."
My team rode up and checked on me. Everything seemed fine. So I kept riding.
My friend who was an EMT said, "Jen, don't be brave. If you start having trouble breathing, you probably cracked a rib."
I said, "I'm fine." Which was not true.
Thirty minutes before lunch, I could barely breathe. I did the smart thing, got on the support bus, & headed back to camp.
As I stretched out in my tent that night, I heard it. Pop. Pop. Pop.
Every rib sliding back into place.
People hear this story and say, "Wow. You must be really tough." Maybe.
Physical endurance is actually easier than leadership endurance.
When you break a rib, eventually it heals.
But when something happens in a meeting....when someone talks over you, dismisses your idea, shuts you down.....your brain remembers.
Those moments activate the threat centers of your brain. We replay them. Over and over.
What should I have said? Why didn't I speak up? What would I do differently next time?
And the next time we're in that situation, our brain tries to protect us by staying quiet.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
The moment when someone asks for what they want instead of hesitating.
What I know to be true after coaching 10K+ leaders over the last 30years is this:
Most leaders think negotiation starts when you open your mouth. Nope.
𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁.
I didn’t set out to become an executive leadership coach. I started my career in politics, where decisions are made quickly, pressure is high, and perception matters whether you like it or not. It was one of the first places I saw, up close, that the best ideas don’t always win. The people who are trusted in the moment do.
From there, I found myself on a very different kind of stage...stand-up comedy. And oddly enough, it reinforced the same lesson. You can’t hide. You can’t overprepare your way out of the moment. You have to read the room, trust yourself, and respond in real time. You learn quickly that connection, presence, and timing are everything.
Years later, when I began coaching leaders, I expected I’d be helping people get better at strategy, communication, or performance. And yes, we did some of that. But what I kept seeing—again and again—was something else entirely.
I would sit across from incredibly capable, high-performing professionals, many of them women, who were doing everything “right.” Delivering results. Working hard. Being prepared.
And still… they weren’t being seen as ready.
They were second-guessed. Interrupted. Passed over. Or quietly stuck, even though everyone agreed they were talented.
And at some point, I realized:
This isn’t a capability problem.
It’s a visibility and presence problem.
No one had ever taught them how to show up when the stakes were high.
How to speak when the room goes quiet.
How to hold their ground when they’re challenged.
How to be seen as someone who can be trusted in the moments that matter.
That’s the work I do now.
Because I’ve seen what happens when that shifts. When someone who has been holding back—even just a little—steps forward with clarity and authority. The way people respond changes. The opportunities change. The trajectory of their career changes.
And it’s not because they became someone new.
It’s because they finally learned how to show up as the leader they already were.
High-achieving women often reach pivotal moments in their careers only to find themselves battling a quiet internal question:
“Am I really ready for this?”
In this engaging and practical keynote, executive leadership strategist Jen Coken reveals the neuroscience behind impostor syndrome and why it shows up most powerfully in high-performing leaders. Instead of treating self-doubt as a weakness to eliminate, Jen shows audiences how to transform it into a signal of growth and leadership expansion.
Through powerful stories, science-backed insights, and immediately applicable tools, participants learn how to interrupt self-sabotaging thought patterns, strengthen authentic executive presence, and step into leadership opportunities with greater clarity and authority.
This talk is especially impactful for women in STEM, finance, technology, healthcare, and other high-pressure or male-dominated industries where visibility and performance expectations are high.
Key Outcomes:
Reframe impostor feelings as signals of professional expansion rather than evidence of inadequacy.
Strengthen authentic executive presence without over-performing, shrinking, or self-editing.
Executive presence is often described as charisma, polish, or confidence. But real executive presence shows up in a much more specific moment: When the stakes rise and everyone in the room is watching.
In this powerful keynote, executive leadership strategist Jen Coken reveals what executive presence really is: the ability to communicate with clarity, authority, and influence when visibility and pressure increase.
Drawing from years of coaching senior leaders in high-stakes environments, Jen shows audiences how leadership presence is built long before the promotion happens.
Participants learn how to stop over-explaining, communicate recommendations with authority, and demonstrate the readiness senior leadership looks for when evaluating who moves forward.
This talk is especially valuable for leaders navigating complex organizations, high-visibility roles, and environments where credibility must be established quickly and clearly.
Key Outcomes:
Negotiation isn’t just about salary. It’s about how leaders advocate for resources, opportunities, boundaries, and influence.
Yet many high-performing professionals, especially women leaders, hesitate to ask for what they need, fearing they will appear demanding, difficult, or ungrateful.
In this engaging and highly practical session, executive leadership strategist Jen Coken helps audiences rethink negotiation as a core leadership skill.
Participants learn how to advocate for themselves and their teams with clarity, confidence, and strategic influence.
Through real-world examples and hands-on practice, Jen shows leaders how to ask for what they need, negotiate without apology, and communicate their value in ways that build credibility rather than tension.
This session is ideal for organizations that want to strengthen leadership confidence, improve communication around resources and expectations, and help rising leaders step into their authority.
Key Outcomes:
It was day three of a seven-day, 550-mile charity bike ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage Alaska.
That morning I was team lead. Pulling out of a rest stop, I scanned the road. I looked left and sawy a big yellow school bus coming our way so I signaled the group to slow down.
What I didn't see: the massive divot in the pavement right in front of me.
My front tire hit it. I flipped straight over the handlebars and landed on the pavement with a resounding THWACK.
I laid there staring at the beautiful blue Alaskan sky thinking, "Well... that wasn't in the training manual."
My team rode up and checked on me. Everything seemed fine. So I kept riding.
My friend who was an EMT said, "Jen, don't be brave. If you start having trouble breathing, you probably cracked a rib."
I said, "I'm fine." Which was not true.
Thirty minutes before lunch, I could barely breathe. I did the smart thing, got on the support bus, & headed back to camp.
As I stretched out in my tent that night, I heard it. Pop. Pop. Pop.
Every rib sliding back into place.
People hear this story and say, "Wow. You must be really tough." Maybe.
Physical endurance is actually easier than leadership endurance.
When you break a rib, eventually it heals.
But when something happens in a meeting....when someone talks over you, dismisses your idea, shuts you down.....your brain remembers.
Those moments activate the threat centers of your brain. We replay them. Over and over.
What should I have said? Why didn't I speak up? What would I do differently next time?
And the next time we're in that situation, our brain tries to protect us by staying quiet.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
The moment when someone asks for what they want instead of hesitating.
What I know to be true after coaching 10K+ leaders over the last 30years is this:
Most leaders think negotiation starts when you open your mouth. Nope.
𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁.
I didn’t set out to become an executive leadership coach. I started my career in politics, where decisions are made quickly, pressure is high, and perception matters whether you like it or not. It was one of the first places I saw, up close, that the best ideas don’t always win. The people who are trusted in the moment do.
From there, I found myself on a very different kind of stage...stand-up comedy. And oddly enough, it reinforced the same lesson. You can’t hide. You can’t overprepare your way out of the moment. You have to read the room, trust yourself, and respond in real time. You learn quickly that connection, presence, and timing are everything.
Years later, when I began coaching leaders, I expected I’d be helping people get better at strategy, communication, or performance. And yes, we did some of that. But what I kept seeing—again and again—was something else entirely.
I would sit across from incredibly capable, high-performing professionals, many of them women, who were doing everything “right.” Delivering results. Working hard. Being prepared.
And still… they weren’t being seen as ready.
They were second-guessed. Interrupted. Passed over. Or quietly stuck, even though everyone agreed they were talented.
And at some point, I realized:
This isn’t a capability problem.
It’s a visibility and presence problem.
No one had ever taught them how to show up when the stakes were high.
How to speak when the room goes quiet.
How to hold their ground when they’re challenged.
How to be seen as someone who can be trusted in the moments that matter.
That’s the work I do now.
Because I’ve seen what happens when that shifts. When someone who has been holding back—even just a little—steps forward with clarity and authority. The way people respond changes. The opportunities change. The trajectory of their career changes.
And it’s not because they became someone new.
It’s because they finally learned how to show up as the leader they already were.
High-achieving women often reach pivotal moments in their careers only to find themselves battling a quiet internal question:
“Am I really ready for this?”
In this engaging and practical keynote, executive leadership strategist Jen Coken reveals the neuroscience behind impostor syndrome and why it shows up most powerfully in high-performing leaders. Instead of treating self-doubt as a weakness to eliminate, Jen shows audiences how to transform it into a signal of growth and leadership expansion.
Through powerful stories, science-backed insights, and immediately applicable tools, participants learn how to interrupt self-sabotaging thought patterns, strengthen authentic executive presence, and step into leadership opportunities with greater clarity and authority.
This talk is especially impactful for women in STEM, finance, technology, healthcare, and other high-pressure or male-dominated industries where visibility and performance expectations are high.
Key Outcomes:
Reframe impostor feelings as signals of professional expansion rather than evidence of inadequacy.
Strengthen authentic executive presence without over-performing, shrinking, or self-editing.
Executive presence is often described as charisma, polish, or confidence. But real executive presence shows up in a much more specific moment: When the stakes rise and everyone in the room is watching.
In this powerful keynote, executive leadership strategist Jen Coken reveals what executive presence really is: the ability to communicate with clarity, authority, and influence when visibility and pressure increase.
Drawing from years of coaching senior leaders in high-stakes environments, Jen shows audiences how leadership presence is built long before the promotion happens.
Participants learn how to stop over-explaining, communicate recommendations with authority, and demonstrate the readiness senior leadership looks for when evaluating who moves forward.
This talk is especially valuable for leaders navigating complex organizations, high-visibility roles, and environments where credibility must be established quickly and clearly.
Key Outcomes:
Negotiation isn’t just about salary. It’s about how leaders advocate for resources, opportunities, boundaries, and influence.
Yet many high-performing professionals, especially women leaders, hesitate to ask for what they need, fearing they will appear demanding, difficult, or ungrateful.
In this engaging and highly practical session, executive leadership strategist Jen Coken helps audiences rethink negotiation as a core leadership skill.
Participants learn how to advocate for themselves and their teams with clarity, confidence, and strategic influence.
Through real-world examples and hands-on practice, Jen shows leaders how to ask for what they need, negotiate without apology, and communicate their value in ways that build credibility rather than tension.
This session is ideal for organizations that want to strengthen leadership confidence, improve communication around resources and expectations, and help rising leaders step into their authority.
Key Outcomes: