Hi, I'm Dr. Diana.
Join me on an alternative path
for women in leadership.
About Diana James, PhD
Dr. James is a published researcher, thought leader, and professional public speaker. She helps women advance their leadership careers by speaking about personal experiences and her transformational research results.
Advocating for Women in a Post-DEI World
About The Secret Stairs
Unlike traditional “leadership” presentations, The Secret Stairs keynote series moves beyond surface-level leadership and inclusion and engages entire organizations by showing how leadership advancement impacts everyone – and how managers, executives, and peers can actively help build stronger pathways for talent to rise.
KEYNOTES
The Secret Stairs: Redefining the Climb - A Bold New Path to Leadership
Women’s & Mixed Gender Adaptations
The corporate ladder was never built with women in mind. Dr. James challenges the outdated narrative of leadership advancement and shares her pioneering research findings, offering fresh insight into why women are opting out of a traditional advancement path and the 8 steps they are taking instead.
The Secret Stairs of Entrepreneurship: From Overworked to Intentional
Women are starting businesses at record rates – yet many still find themselves exhausted, underpaid, and unintentionally creating “middle management” inside their own businesses. – sacrificing freedom, growth, and sustainability in the process. Dr. James shares the hidden mindset shifts and strategies that allow women to scale intentionally, take smarter risks, and stop trading time for money.
The Cost of Selling Through the Side Door: What Women in Sales Pay to Be Taken Seriously
Sales organizations are asking more of professionals than ever before, and for women in sales, there is another layer of pressure that often goes unspoken - navigating systems that are unconsciously coded as male. Dr. James reframes the real-world dynamics of credibility bias, opportunity access, male-centric communication norms, and callibration fatigue offering practical strategies for success.
AVAILABLE NOW!
The corporate ladder isn’t just broken –
it was never built with women in mind.
In her powerful and deeply personal new book, Dr. James challenges the outdated narrative of leadership advancement and shares her pioneering research findings, offering fresh insight into why women are opting out of a traditional advancement path and the 8 ‘secret stairs’ they are taking instead.
