


Monique Carayol
Leadership & Talent Development Coach, Ex-NHS Director
why book monique?
- Award-winning change maker and MD of Your New Avenue, championing diversity and inclusive leadership pipelines
- Her superpower lies in encouraging, influencing, and developing others to take action, fostering confidence
- Climbed from a PA role in 2001 to a high-profile board executive director position in healthcare by 2016
“Monique delivered a thought-provoking and wonderfully engaging leadership masterclass for myself and 70+ healthcare colleagues. Her planning was meticulous, her delivery exemplary and her energy was authentic and inspiring. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with Monique again! Thank you for your brilliant contribution Monique”

Biography
Monique Carayol is an ambitious award-winning change maker and MD of Your New Avenue – a leadership and talent development consultancy supporting people and organisations to grow and sustain diverse talent pipelines, so senior leadership in organisations is more representative of the communities they serve and equipped to lead bravely.
Monique started her career in healthcare in the UK as a PA in 2001 and navigated her way to a high profile board executive director role in 2016.
Throughout her career, she’s built dynamic, diverse teams, encouraged and supported people to be brave, to bring their authentic self to work and to progress their careers.
Monique’s superpower is her ability to encourage, influence and develop others to take action – she describes this as ‘making it happen with an energy that motivates and builds confidence.’

She won the PRECIOUS Outstanding Woman in the Public Sector award in 2017 and is a regular leadership and career progression speaker and panellist.
Monique made the decision to transition her career path in 2021 and leave healthcare to fulfil her purpose of ‘building a movement of brave leaders so that together we tackle society’s fundamental needs’. She also hosts a leadership podcast ‘Be Yourself, Back Yourself and Make it Happen’ to share practical insights and advice with leaders at all levels.
Topics
Be Yourself, Back Yourself & Make it Happen
Monique gives an honest account of her start in life born to teenage parents, starting work at 15 and explains clearly and honestly how she navigated her NHS career from PA to the boardroom – becoming the youngest and only black director on the board. She shares practical insights of how she made it happen – taking opportunities, stepping outside of my comfort zone, determination and how she led bravely and built dynamic, diverse teams, supporting others to be brave, be themselves and thrive. She talks about the next phase of her career; leaving her 20 year corporate career to fulfil her purpose of building a movement of brave leaders and what that means in practice. Audiences will feel inspired and energised to take ownership and overcome their fears in progressing their careers. They’ll also be guided with practical advice on personal and leadership development and a takeaway action to help them start taking those next steps to help make it happen.
Brave Leadership in Challenging Times
Drawing on her own experience as a board level executive including 12 months as lead COVID19 recovery director for her healthcare organisation, Monique gives an honest account of how to be a brave and compassionate leader in challenging times through her clear examples of how she put this into practice, and her engaging and supportive style of conversation with the audience.
She encourages and inspires audiences to feel confident and supported by her to back themselves and start putting brave leadership into action – for leaders at all levels.
Be who you Really are – Supporting you to be Brave
Drawing on her experience of working as a board level executive and leading authentically when she was the youngest and only black board member, Monique shares how she built dynamic, diverse teams and led large, complex change programmes collaboratively. She provides practical insights to guide the audience on how to lead authentically, focus on their strengths and create safe spaces and environments at work that enables and empowers others to do the same.
Monique gives a clear call to action to ‘be yourself, back yourself & make it happen’ and honestly speaks with the audience about dealing with fears relating to this and how to prepare for the courageous conversations that may need to happen when leading bravely.
Monique Carayol
Masterclasses
You may want to go deeper with your audience. Masterclasses can be tailored and developed to suit your audience needs, be it a 90-minute Masterclass, a half-day or full-day workshop or a full online or face-to-face programme. Please contact one of our expert team to discuss.
Be Yourself, Back Yourself & Make it Happen
A masterclass to inspire and energise future leaders to take ownership, overcome their fears and start leading bravely. Monique Carayol shares practical insights throughout the session from her experience of building dynamic, diverse teams, supporting others to be brave, be themselves and thrive, and navigating her own career journey from PA to the Boardroom – becoming the youngest and only black director on the board. She creates a safe space (virtual or in person) for attendees to interact and learn together and covers knowing what you’re great at, being who you really are, taking opportunities, developing your support toolbox and enabling and empowering others.
There is a take away action and book recommendation at the end of the session so attendees can start putting what they’ve learned into action straight away and also continue/deepen their understanding of some of the themes covered via the book recommendation. Both of these steps help to embed the learning, maintain momentum and not let the inspiration and enthusiasm gained from the session fade away quickly.
Resources
Podcasts
“Such a thought provoking and grounding masterclass this evening. Lots of relatable experiences and realism coupled with some great tips on Brave Leadership”
testimonials
“Monique is an engaging speaker who generates enthusiasm and inspires confidence. I have been lifted by her words of encouragement, coaching and positivity.”
“Monique delivered a thought-provoking and wonderfully engaging leadership masterclass for myself and 70+ healthcare colleagues. Her planning was meticulous, her delivery exemplary and her energy was authentic and inspiring. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with Monique again! Thank you for your brilliant contribution Monique”
“Very accessible session- so engaging and refreshing to have you talk directly to us without a ton of slides!”
“You can relate to what Monique says and her leadership advice – it’s simple, straightforward and authentic. I’d recommend her to anyone who wants to learn how to lead authentically and influence others to get on board with what you’re doing.”
“Such a thought provoking and grounding masterclass this evening. Lots of relatable experiences and realism coupled with some great tips on Brave Leadership”