Career & executive coaching · Sydney & online
Success doesn’t happen by chance. Neither should your next move.
Senior appointments are shaped long before the interview. I bring an insider’s view of how organisations plan, hire and promote to help you build a career strategy that turns your experience into a business case for your next level.
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The problem
Hard work got you here. It won’t get you promoted.
You’ve delivered, year after year. You’re trusted, capable and the first person people call. But lately you feel stretched thin, running on overdrive and stuck at a level you outgrew a while ago. Somewhere between senior and executive, effort stops being enough on its own.
- 01You’re the one everyone relies on, yet you’re rarely the one put forward for the top job.
- 02Your results speak for themselves, but in the rooms where decisions are made, no one is speaking for you.
- 03You’ve been told you’re “almost ready” for longer than you’d like to admit, and you’re starting to feel stuck.
- 04You’re exhausted from proving yourself, but you don’t know what to do except work even harder.
- 05You’re so busy delivering that there’s no time or energy left to plan what comes next.
And the longer it goes on, the more it costs.
Another promotion round passes. An external hire lands the role you were quietly preparing for. You start to suspect you’ve hit a ceiling where you are, so you look outside, and the interviews come, but the offers don’t. Meanwhile the stress builds, and the extra hours start costing your energy, your confidence and the time you’d rather give to the people you love. Eventually the real risk isn’t staying stuck. It’s leaving for the wrong role just to feel progress again.
The shift
Businesses grow through strategy. Your career needs one too.
Careers rarely stall from a lack of talent. They stall from a lack of strategy. When you understand how organisations plan, hire and promote, you stop waiting to be noticed and start building a case that’s hard to ignore.
The result: clarity about where you’re going, confidence in the conversations that matter, and real progress you can point to.
I left feeling inspired, energised and with a clear direction. Rather than offering generic advice, Debora challenged my thinking, helped me refine my positioning and provided actionable strategies for building my personal brand, attracting opportunities and setting up a sustainable model. The sessions were incredibly insightful and worth every minute.
Why work with me
An insider’s view of how careers are really decided.
Good coaching helps you feel ready. Insider knowledge helps you get chosen. I bring both.
For nine years I led teams and managed businesses across Brazil and Australia, in a range of service industries. I’ve built org charts, planned succession, made promotion calls and sat on the hiring side of the table.
As an executive recruiter, I now see the other side every day: how hiring managers really decide, what makes one candidate stand out from a strong shortlist, and why good people get overlooked. Professionals tell me first-hand what’s happening inside their organisations, from the politics to the stalled promotions and the restructures nobody saw coming.
Add an early career as an employment lawyer and three businesses of my own, and you get a coach who understands careers from every side of the table, and who will tell you honestly what it takes to move forward.
The headhunter’s lens
How hiring really works
What hiring managers look for, how strong candidates stand out and how senior shortlists are really decided.
The lawyer’s lens
Your leverage
Contracts, negotiation, workplace dynamics and difficult conversations, handled with precision rather than hope.
The operator’s lens
How organisations plan careers
Org charts, succession and promotion decisions, explained by someone who has made them.
Ways to work together
Start with one conversation, or plan the whole next move.
Every engagement is 1:1, confidential and built around practical outcomes you can see and measure.
Targeted support
Integrated Strategy Session
One private session · 60–75 minutes
One challenge, one focused session. You leave with a clear plan and the exact words to use.
- A promotion or pay conversation
- A high-stakes meeting or interview
- An offer or role decision
- Resetting after a period of intense pressure
12-week career strategy
Integrated Career Blueprint
8 private sessions over 12 weeks
An executive search-grade career strategy. We look at your experience the way hiring decision-makers do, find where you’re best positioned to grow and build a practical plan to get there.
- An honest, market-based view of how you’re positioned today
- Clear direction for your next move and beyond
- A practical plan with milestones you can measure
- Bonus: on-demand interview masterclass
For women leaders
The Integration Code™
3-month 1:1 programme
For ambitious women who feel stuck, stretched or overlooked. Rebuild how you operate so you can grow your career with clarity and confidence without burning out.
Discover The Integration Code™Debora’s coaching was exactly what I needed at this stage of my leadership journey. As I stepped into a bigger leadership role, she helped me strengthen my foundations, reframe the challenges I was facing and step back to see the bigger picture. I walked away inspired, motivated and more confident in what I bring to the table. Her energy is infectious, and her guidance is both practical and empowering.
About Debora
Honest advice from someone who’s seen it from every side.
Leader. Headhunter. Employment lawyer. Founder. Coach.
I’m Debora Lengler, a Sydney-based Career & Leadership Coach. My career has spanned employment law, leading teams and businesses across Brazil and Australia, founding three companies and working as a headhunter.
I also know what it takes to succeed in demanding environments, because I’ve done it. My coaching is direct, practical and warm. I’ll tell you what the market will think, then help you change it.
Read my storyI found Debora warm, engaging, insightful and knowledgeable. She listened to and acknowledged how I felt, whilst also providing constructive ideas and a clear strategy to move forward with my career.
Free resource · Coming soon
The Shortlist Test
The 10 questions I ask before I put a candidate forward for a senior role. Score yourself in 5 minutes and see what’s holding your next move back. Join the waitlist to be the first to receive it, along with my occasional notes on careers and leadership.
Your next move
Stop waiting to be noticed. Start building the case.
In one confidential conversation, we’ll look at where you are, where you want to be and the fastest honest route between the two.
Book a consultation →Prefer to start small? Ask about the Integrated Strategy Session.