THE GRIEF INFORMED LEADER
Lead with Empathy.
Communicate with Confidence.
Live with Joy.
Grief Literacy - the conversations that solidify trust.
~ Wanting to show up, but unsure how.
~ Risk losing clients to competitors.
~ Worrying about saying the wrong thing.
~ Missing critical moments of connection.
🔦 Grief Literacy is a learnable skill!
Empathy's Edge in every Conversation
~ Gain essential communication skills in grief & loss.
~ Refine your empathy. Strengthen your impact.
~ Foster deeper connections with your people.
~ Understand the types of loss your clients experience.
~ Be the leader others turn to especially in hard moments.
READY TO LEAD WITH EMPATHY?
LET'S START HERE 👇
Speaking
Need a Speaker for Your Next Industry Event?
Explore how my keynote or training can deliver meaningful, actionable content for your audience—especially on grief literacy, empathy, and communication in high-stakes moments.
Consulting
Is your leadership or firm Grief-Ready?
Grief-Ready Partnership is a strategic retainer designed to equip your team with the language, tools, and confidence to support clients through grief, loss, and life transitions.
Training
Need Training for Your Team?
Let's explore custom training sessions that elevate communication, strengthen empathy, and build grief literacy skills. Navigate sensitive client conversations with confidence.
Kathi Balasek is a consultant, coach and speaker who equips financial professionals and firms to become Beloved Leaders who are ready to guide clients through grief, loss, and transition. With practical grief literacy tools and empathy-based communication strategies, I help professionals build trust, retain relationships, and brand compassion across their practice.
This is personal! Experiencing the loss of my husband first hand, I learned that the relationship between financial professionals and grieving clients are pivotal. Combining 25 years of teaching, coaching and personal experience, I created Grief Smart Professional as a toolkit to help professionals retain, connect and support clients in life's hardest moments.
Leading with empathy solidifies trust, creates referrals and loyalty for generations.
Download my Free Guide
10 Empathy Skills Every Professional Needs
Click on the button below to get the guide
"Kathi Balasek is hands down the best at helping advisors work with clients experiencing grief. Her knowledge, ability to teach, and deep care for women experiencing grief is evident after your first interaction with her. Her class is not just theory but is full of real world tips and advice that I found useful and now use almost daily. I would recommend her class to anyone. She is AWESOME and I am fortunate to have taken her class."
~ Tim Hudson
CFP, Partner at Voyage Financial Partners
~ Stacy Francis
CFP, CDFA, CES; Owner and CEO Francis Financial
"Kathi did a fantastic training for our team of financial advisors on working with clients who are going through grief. We work mainly with widows and women going through divorce, so this was really apropos for us! Kathi was the best presenter I have ever heard on this subject, and she helped us to understand what these clients need and what they don’t need, how to effectively communicate with them in a compassionate and empathetic way, and why all of that is important for us in this industry. Kathi’s talk was highly informative, clarifying, and empowering!"
"After almost 30 years in financial services working with advisors focused on retirement income planning, I have seen that the most successful advisors are those that build strong client relationships. There is no one better to help advisors develop these skills than Kathi Balasek. Her personal experience of losing her husband and working with her advisor through this difficult period gives her a unique perspective, and her expertise as a professional educator and speaker gives her the ability to communicate these complex issues with a level of clarity and compassion that is rarely found in this industry."
~ Sheryl O'Connor
CEO & Founder, IncomeConductor
Empathy Driven Connection
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