When leadership feels hard, it’s often because we’ve inherited broken models. In this episode, coach and author Kate Waterfall Hill shares how we can lead with more clarity, courage and joy, and how to build feedback and reflection habits that truly help people grow. From calling out “Linda the Bad Manager” to helping real-life leaders step up with empathy, this conversation is a toolkit for anyone managing humans.

About the Guest

Kate Waterfall Hill is a leadership coach, consultant and creator of How to Lead – a practical book and podcast that helps people become the leader their team deserves. With a background as an agency MD and, now, as a leadership coach, Kate brings sharp commercial insight and deep human understanding to her work. She’s known by many for her viral TikTok alter ego Linda the Bad Manager, a satirical take on toxic leadership that’s earned her a global following. In this episode, she shares why feedback fails, how to have better conversations, and why brave, compassionate leadership is more urgent than ever.

This Episode Covers

• Accidental managers: why most people aren’t trained to lead, and what they really need
• Making feedback normal: why the annual appraisal is broken and what to do instead
• The SOEROC model: a simple framework for clear, kind conversations
• How to “take a beat”: the power of pause in emotionally charged moments
• Trust, consistency, safety: building cultures that don’t rely on hero leaders
• From satire to systems: how Linda the Bad Manager sparked deeper coaching work
• Scaling a business with values at the core, and why alignment beats strategy
• The rituals and questions that help leaders reflect, recalibrate and recharge

Links

Kate’s Website: https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/

Kate’s Feedback Masterclass: https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/masterclass

Reflect & Plan 2026 Workbook: https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/2026-plan

Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-waterfall-hill/