Elevate Your Leadership: Strategic Use of Coaching, Leadership & Sponsorship
When it comes to supporting a team, what’s the difference between coaching, mentorship, and sponsorship? They’re not interchangeable, and treating them as if they were can limit both individual and organizational growth.
Executive and Leadership Coach Kirsten Dubreuil will break down the real differences between these three forms of support and show how each one plays a distinct role in developing talent, building confidence, and accelerating careers with practical insight leaders can use immediately.
Participants will explore how to choose the right approach for the right moment, how to shift out of default advice-giving, and how to recognize when someone needs not just guidance but active advocacy. They’ll leave with simple tools to elevate their conversations and a clearer understanding of how coaching, mentorship, and sponsorship work together to create stronger, more capable teams.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:
- Distinguish between coaching, mentorship, and sponsorship, and understand the unique purpose of each
- Identify when someone needs a thinking partner (coaching), a guide (mentorship), or an advocate (sponsorship)
- Use three practical coaching moves that improve conversations without adding time or complexity
- Spot the common traps that pull leaders into unhelpful advice-giving and learn how to redirect
- Apply a simple decision filter to choose the right development approach in real workplace scenarios
- Leave with one question and one action you can use immediately to strengthen your next 1:1.
Kirsten Dubreuil, Leadership & Executive Coach at Maven Executive Coaching, helps leaders strengthen their leadership and elevate the way their teams work together. Her approach is practical, strategic, and grounded in lived experience. She focuses on what strengthens decision-making, relationships, and team culture; the work that changes how leaders show up.
With 25 years as a senior officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Kirsten has led in one of the most male-coded, high-pressure environments in the world. That experience shaped how she sees power, politics, communication, and culture — and it’s the lens she brings to every coaching engagement. Clients value the steadiness, perspective, and pattern recognition that come from a career spent leading in complexity.
As a coach and leader, Kirsten helps clients see what matters, act with intention, and lead in a way that aligns with their values. They leave our work with clearer insight, stronger conviction, and a renewed sense of direction — individually and with their teams.
Kirsten is also an avid global explorer, having lived on three continents and travelled to more than 40 countries. She's happiest outdoors with her husband and kids — hiking, cycling, snowboarding, or camping. Her days usually start with a workout, end with a book, and include strong coffee, great food, and a very snuggly dog.
Please register by the event start time to confirm your attendance.
Please note, we do not offer refunds. If you need to cancel you will be issued a credit to use toward a future event.
If you are having difficulty registering or if you have inquiries about our membership, please contact info@womensbusinessnetwork.ca