For Organisations
She already has the answer.
So why does someone else say it first?
Go First is a two day, in person or virtual leadership programme for women of colour. Built on the A.C.T. framework, measured from start to beyond completion, for organisations who want to see the talent they already have.
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Why Organisations Should Commission Go First
Being overlooked is not an individual problem.
It is an organisational one.
Being overlooked is not an individual problem.
It is an organisational one.
Nearly a third of women of colour in the UK have had an idea ignored or dismissed until someone else repeated it.
Most organisations read what follows as a confidence gap. They offer presentation training, a leadership course or a mentoring scheme and the pattern carries on.
What's usually happening is something else. Over years, many women of colour learn that being visible carries a cost their colleagues don't pay. So they wait to be asked. They let the moment pass. They hold back the challenge, the idea or the application. They stay less visible and when promotion comes round, nobody is looking for them.
That pattern doesn't stay in one place. It shows up in the meeting, the interview, the stakeholder conversation, the room they talk themselves out of entering.
The Go First Programme works on what's underneath it. Then it gives participants real evidence, from their own working lives, that what they feared isn't what happens.
The result isn't a group of women who've learned to perform confidence. It's a group who understand what's been holding them back and have already started to move past it.
Two days in the room, with real work in between.
Go First runs across six weeks. Each part has a distinct purpose and the sequence is deliberate.
Day One
Participants identify what's been holding them back, in their own words, and set one clear goal for the weeks ahead.
Mindset comes first, before any technique.
In Between
Participants put their goal into practice in their real working lives, wherever their voice needs to be heard.
They're supported throughout and keep a record of what they learn.
Day Two
Participants bring back what actually happened. Part of the day is shaped by the cohort's own experience, so it works on their real situations rather than general ones.
Every participant leaves with a leadership commitment of her own.
Go First
What participants move through.
What participants move through.
Go First is built on the A.C.T. framework, Amarkai's own methodology.
Accept: Name what's been holding you back and what it's been costing.
Create: Decide what you want to change and what you're willing to do differently.
Transform: Do it, in real situations and track what actually happens.
Going first isn't about risk.
Go First isn't about putting anyone's job on the line or working against policy. It's about the things people are already allowed to do and don't. Saying the thing. Volunteering before being asked. Turning up to the room they'd normally find a reason to avoid.
Sometimes the path doesn't exist yet. Someone has to walk it first.
The Speaking Confidence Index
Evidence, not goodwill.
Most leadership training is measured on the day it ends. Go First is measured long after.
Every participant completes the Speaking Confidence Index (SCI), Amarkai's own assessment tool, at six points: before the programme, at the midpoint, on completion and again at 30, 60 and 90 days.
Baseline
Before the programme begins. Establishes where each participant is starting from and what sits beneath the silence.
Mid-Programme
At the halfway point. Tracks early shifts in mindset and confidence and allows facilitation to be adjusted where needed.
Completion
On completion. Documents the transformation and provides the organisation with a clear, evidence-based picture of what has changed.
30 Days
The first test. The programme has ended and ordinary working pressure has returned.
60 Days
Whether the new behaviour is becoming normal or quietly reverting.
90 Days
The point at which change has either been embedded into daily habits or it has not.
The final three measurements are the ones that are most important, because they happen after the room has gone quiet and the enthusiasm has faded. That is where most training quietly stops working and where nobody usually looks.
The SCI measures across three domains:
Physical, meaning the body's response before and during speaking.
Mental, meaning the beliefs driving that response.
Behavioural, meaning what people actually do in real situations.
Results are translated into behaviour rather than reported as a score. This is where the SCI gives organisations something most training providers cannot offer: a credible, structured record of return on investment. Not anecdotal. Evidenced. A number on its own tells you nothing. What matters is what your people are doing differently in situations they used to avoid.
Your organisation receives an anonymised cohort report at completion and a further report at 90 days. Individual results stay confidential to the participant.
Investment
Built for organisations. Priced by cohort.
Built for organisations. Priced by cohort.
Up to 16 participants. From £12,000. Pricing is based on cohort size and format (in person / virtual).
Includes:
Two programme days (in person or virtual)
Structured support between the two days
Speaking Confidence Index at six points
Participant workbook
Lead facilitation by Anthea Armar
Anonymised cohort reports at completion and 90 days post completion
Best for: Organisations where women of colour are not visible in senior grades, staff networks with a development budget or any organisation that wants evidence its investment in this talent has changed something.
Small Print
Amarkai Group is not VAT registered, so no VAT is added to these fees. Bespoke pricing available for organisations requiring multiple cohort cycles or a customised delivery model. Travel is included within London Zones 1 to 4 and charged at cost elsewhere.
Why Amarkai
Anthea has been the only one in the room.
Go First is designed and delivered by Anthea Armar, founder of Amarkai Group. She is a Black woman, born and raised in London, with over 20 years experience in learning and development and five years focused on what stops professionals speaking up.
When she was training to become a trainer, a woman told her she had never seen anyone who looked like her at the front of the room. That's part of why this programme exists.
Anthea delivers the keynote on Network Rail's Elevate Your Excellence leadership programme, which supports progression for ethnic minority colleagues and was Highly Commended at the Women in Rail Awards 2026.
Our SCI gives organisations something most training providers cannot offer: a credible, structured record of return on investment. Not anecdotal. Evidenced. Long after they've completed the programme.
What others are saying
Hearing from someone who wears the same shoes creates a different type of impact.
"You can hear so many motivational speeches, but it's different when you can relate to the person speaking. I felt that she was not just speaking because she was hired to. She was speaking because she's lived it. One of my main takeaways was that it reinforced the belief that it is possible for someone like me."
Orisha Blissett-Ffrench, Business Change Manager, Great British Railways
Participant on Network Rail's Elevate Your Excellence programme
Getting Started
A discovery call is all it takes to begin.
Four steps:
Step 1: Book a 30-minute call
We discuss your organisation, the women you want to support and what you want to change. A conversation to establish whether Go First is the right fit.
Step 2: Scoping and proposal
If there's a fit, we put together a proposal covering cohort size, dates, location and investment. A follow-up call is scheduled to discuss and agree the detail.
Step 3: Onboarding
Once the programme agreement is signed, all participants are onboarded and complete their SCI baseline assessment before day one.
Step 4: Delivery and impact
The programme runs across six weeks. The SCI tracks progress throughout and for 90 days afterwards. At the end, the organisation has the evidence to show the changed behaviour in the cohort and the situations they experience.
Next Steps
She already has the voice.
Go First gives her the reason to use it.
She already has the voice.
Go First gives her the reason to use it.
If women of colour in your organisation are being overlooked, holding back or stalling below the roles they're ready for, let's talk about what Go First could change.
Or submit an enquiry on our contact page with your organisation's details and we will come back to you within two working days.
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