about esther walker
ROOTED IN WISDOM. SHAPED BY EXPERIENCE. COMMITTED TO CHANGE.
I am Esther Walker and my leadership career spanning over two decades, saw me reach the top of the ladder in a senior global role for a Fortune 500 organisation, where I learnt a great deal about leadership.
Largely how not to lead.
Leading global teams, navigating high-pressure environments gave me direct insight, seeing first-hand how outdated leadership models diminish human potential and create dysfunction and pain.
The Psychology of Being™ emerged through years of walking my own spiral of transformation: from burnout and rock bottom, through a journey of recovery through self-discovery, I turned my pain into gain and my stress into serenity.
The Psychology of Being is not about adding more strategies or theories. It isn’t another leadership programme where you are told how to be, based upon someone else’s definition of leadership, that disregards and does not acknowledge the wisdom already within. It is about remembering who we truly are, restoring unity in the self, and leading from that place.
I teach what I have lived: how to return to coherence, embody your unique purpose, and lead with truth.
My consultancy blends corporate expertise with a unique philosophy of leadership change: the Psychology of Being and the I-ACE Method™.
These are not abstract ideas, but proven pathways that help leaders and organisations return to clarity, purpose, and sustainable growth.
I don’t offer “one-size-fits-all” leadership coaching. I work with leaders at depth — helping them transform themselves first, so they can transform the systems and cultures they lead. Because when leadership is rooted in wisdom and aligned with humanity, it creates lasting impact — for people, business, and the world.
my story: why this matters
I entered the corporate machine differently from most. At 32, I had already spent a decade leading global loyalty and CRM programmes, where people, creativity, and connection were the heart of success.
I was headhunted into the oil & gas industry to fix a failing global business unit. Within six months, I had turned it around and delivered operational excellence — not by mastering endless processes, but by doing what I’ve always done: putting people at the centre.
But the higher I rose, the more I saw how leadership was stripped of humanity. Leaders were expected to switch off their senses to survive. It wasn’t individuals at fault, but a culture that reduced people to cogs in a machine, prioritising profit above all else.
I also experienced the full effect of what can happen when leadership becomes completely unconscious and devoid of human emotional intelligence, at the height of my leadership career.
My career ended not because I failed, but because I refused to conform to a way of leadership that creates pain in people.
Despite my own personal pain; this didn’t break me. It became me.
It showed me that leadership must be re-rooted in humanity, emotional intelligence, and purpose.
That truth is the foundation of my consultancy today.
MY PERSPECTIVE
I care deeply about organisations like Shell, where I held senior leadership roles for a decade. It was a place of great colleagues, global responsibility, and immense learning. It was also where I discovered the cost of imbalance in leadership.
In the male-dominated world of commercial B2B fleet, I succeeded as a “square peg in a round hole” — thriving in an environment that was highly sales-driven, performance-focused, and profit-led. But I also saw, and lived, the truth: it wasn’t “bad people,” it was a system that had lost balance.
The same challenges remain today. Diversity has become a target, not a transformation. Even when women are present at the decision-making table, they are often expected to lead in the same way as their male colleagues. Feminine qualities — reflection, compassion, collaboration — are dismissed as weakness, while fear, pressure, and control continue to dominate.
This is where my work becomes vital. My consultancy shines the spotlight on leaders — not to criticise, but to illuminate. To show what becomes possible when leadership is re-rooted in wisdom, humanity, and higher awareness.
I’ve lived the imbalance. I’ve felt the pressure and the pain. And I’ve walked through it. That lived experience has become wisdom. It’s why I now help leaders reclaim authenticity, create cultures of care, and redefine success in ways that honour people, planet, and purpose.
My mission is simple: to transform leadership from the inside out — aligning purpose with performance, and connection with results.
Because when leaders are rooted in wisdom, they grow cultures where people thrive, businesses grow, and impact reaches far beyond the bottom line.
career & credentials
Former Senior Global Leader, Fortune 500 — led major B2B programmes with budgets exceeding €60m across 35 countries.
- Negotiated and managed global outsourcing contracts valued at $350m, introducing the first Global Contract Framework recognised externally as “Best in Class.”
- Delivered $2.2m annual cost savings within 12 months through service delivery transformation and operational excellence.
- Oversaw a loyalty programme with 1.3 million cardholders, recognised as a global best practice model.
- Awarded seven consecutive global service recognition awards for outstanding performance.
- Experienced in building and leading multicultural global teams, managing operations, customer loyalty, marketing strategy, and organisational restructuring.
- Founder of The Psychology of Being™ and developer of The Oak Tree Leadership Ecosystem™ and I-ACE Method™, pioneering models that integrate conscious leadership and organisational transformation.
- Today, I partner with CEOs, boards, and leadership teams to deliver bespoke consultancy and education designed for lasting cultural and organisational change.