Hi, I'm Ulrika.
At a certain level, leadership changes.
The work gets bigger. The rooms get sharper. What you say, when you say it, and how you show up starts to matter as much as what you know.
Most of the leaders I work with are already highly capable. They’ve earned their seat. But the context around them has shifted. The expectations are higher. The dynamics are more complex. The margin for error is smaller. What worked earlier in their career doesn’t always land the same way now.
That’s where I come in.
I work with senior leaders navigating expanded scope and higher-stakes roles - when judgment, timing, and presence start to carry real weight.
I didn’t come to this work through theory. I came through experience.
Before founding Ulrika Gustafson Advisory, I served as an attorney, a City Manager, and a C-suite executive. I’ve led large systems under public and political scrutiny, made decisions without a script, and carried responsibility where credibility and trust were constantly tested.
I’ve also rebuilt my own leadership identity across countries and sectors, including re-establishing myself professionally after relocating to the United States. That experience of entering new rooms, reading unfamiliar dynamics, and earning authority again informs how I work with leaders today.
My clients are Managing Directors, General Counsels, COOs, Chiefs of Staff, and senior leaders across finance, legal, tech, healthcare, biotech, energy, industrials, and public institutions. They don’t come to me because things are falling apart. They come because they want their influence to match the level they’re now operating at.
The work is practical and direct. We look at how you enter rooms, how you communicate under pressure, what you’re signaling without realizing it, and how decisions are actually shaped around you. As those things shift, confidence follows. Conversations move. Authority settles.
I’m known for being clear, grounded, and direct. I don’t teach scripts. I don’t manufacture personas. I help leaders trust their judgment, read what’s happening in real time, and operate with more ease and impact at this level.
If you’re in a high-stakes role and sense that how you show up now matters more than it used to, this work will resonate.
/Ulrika❤️
What Actually Shifts Leadership at This Level
At senior levels, leadership isn’t limited by capability.
It’s shaped by pressure, politics, and what no one says directly.
Decisions travel further.
Reputation moves faster than facts.
Feedback thins out just as the stakes rise.
What matters here isn’t motivation or insight.
It’s judgment.
Timing.
Presence.
The ability to read the room without needing it explained.
This is the terrain I work in.
Where influence is shaped quietly.
Where credibility is tested in real time.
Where small missteps carry outsized consequences.
The work is calm and precise.
It sharpens how you think, how you show up, and how you move when the pressure is real.
WHY SENIOR LEADERS WORK WITH ME
1.
Lived Executive Judgement
I’ve led from the inside complex systems - legal, public, and executive leadership - where decisions were visible, political, and irreversible.
I know what it means to carry authority without insulation.
To make calls without consensus.
To rebuild trust when credibility is under scrutiny.
That experience shapes how I work.
Quietly.
Directly.
With respect for what leadership actually costs.
2.
Precision Under Pressure
This work isn't about insight for its own sake.
It's about clarity that holds when things get tense.
We focus on:
How decisions are really made around you.
What your presence is signaling.
Where influence is stalling - and why.
As those things shifts, movement follows.
Conversations change.
Authority settles.
3.
A Strategic Partner in Critical Moments
When the stakes are high, leaders don't need reassurance.
They need someone who can think with them - clearly and without agenda.
I work as a confidential partner in moments where judgement matters more than performance.
The work is focused, grounded, and built for leaders who already carry real responsibility.
SVP, Operations,
Global Company (U.S.)
"Look - on paper, we were good. Smart people. Strong performance. We were a “great team” in all the ways that get you awards. But something was off. We were holding back with each other. Playing it safe. Agreeing too quickly. No one was pushing.
Ulrika picked up on it right away. She said, “You don’t need another strategy deck. You need to get out of the room - and out of your roles.” She chose this offsite location - middle of nowhere Wyoming. A working ranch. No suits. No slides. No titles. Just dust, fire pits, bourbon, and conversations we’d been avoiding for a year. And damn if it didn’t work.
We had hard talks around campfires. Real laughter. Real honesty. I saw sides of my team I hadn’t seen in years. And for the first time in a long time, it felt like we were actually with each other - not just working next to each other.
We left there with roles re-leveled, blind spots exposed, and actual energy behind our direction. One of my peers said, “That was the coolest thing we’ve ever done as a team.” And he was right.
If your team’s been running hard but quietly drifting - get Ulrika in. She’ll pull you out of the corporate fog and right into what matters. It’s uncomfortable, yeah. But it’s also the best decision we’ve made in years."
How The Work Typically Unfolds
Most engagements begin with a private conversation - the work starts with getting very clear about where you actually are. We look at your role, your context, and the pressure points you're navigating - not in abstract terms, but as they show up day to day: decisions, relationships, rooms, and expectations.
Most leaders come in with a sense that something has shifted, but they can't yet name it clearly. That's normal at this level. Part of the work is bringing language and structure to what you're already sensing.
From there, we work directly with the situations that matters most - the work is shaped around what you actually need at this level.
The rooms you're walking into.
The people whose reactions actually shapes outcomes.
The moments when timing, tone, and judgement matter more than content.
We look closely at how you're entering those spaces, what you're signaling without realizing it, and how decisions are forming around you - often before the meeting even starts. Small adjustments here tend to change the entire dynamic.
Conversations move. Resistance softens. Authority lands without force.
As the work deepens, the focus shifts from fixing moments to stabilizing how you operate at this level.
You stop over-preparing.
You trust your read of the room.
You communicate with more economy and impact.
You make decisions without carrying unnecessary tension.
People respond differently - not because you're performing, but because you're clearer.
The work is ongoing, practical, and grounded in real situations as they happen. We work with what's live: board conversations, executive dynamics, partner relationships, high-visibility decisions, political undercurrents.
Over time, what changes isn't just outcomes - it's how the role feels.
There's more ease. More traction. Less second-guessing.
You're no longer trying to "get it right".
You're operating from judgement.
That's when leaders usually know the work is doing what it's supposed to do.
The common thread is discretion, precision, and work that fits the reality you're operating in - not a program, nota framework, and not a public process.
Start With a Private Conversation.
Ulrika Gustafson Advisory
Main Location
info@ulrikagustafson.com
+1 214 809 6522
Warren Pkwy, Frisco 750 34 TX, USA
© 2026 by Ulrika Gustafson Advisory.
All Rights Reserved.