How to Lead With Confidence Even When You Don’t Feel Ready, with Maria Sinclair

For 20 years, Maria Sinclair watched other people get promoted while she stayed stuck in her own head. She questioned whether she belonged, worried about how she was perceived, and doubted nearly every decision she made.

Then Covid hit, and everything changed.
Cobalt furloughed 45 of its 55 UK staff, leaving only ten people working. Maria picked up multiple desks, supported clients across new specialisms, and kept the operation steady during one of the most challenging periods the industry had ever seen. That moment revealed a capability she had never fully recognised in herself.

Today, Maria is the Managing Director of Cobalt, ranked 49th in the UK’s Hot 100 list based on GP per employee. After 23 years with the business, she has worked her way up from recruitment consultant to MD while helping build a culture known for tenure, trust, and consistent performance.

In this conversation, Maria explains how she built confidence later in her career, why she focuses on job quality over call volume, how openness about challenges like perimenopause strengthens team culture, and how Cobalt hires for work ethic and trains for market expertise.

If you have ever doubted whether you are ready to lead, this episode shows what becomes possible when you start backing yourself.

You’ll learn:
• How Maria entered recruitment after being rejected eight times
• Why confidence took decades to develop
• How she navigated the 2009 crash, Brexit, and Covid
• Why the COVID-19 crisis became the turning point in her leadership
• The cultural principles that support performance
• Why job quality matters more than call volume
• How Cobalt assesses work ethic and validates billings
• The patience required to train recruiters from other sectors
• Why expertise beats activity in the built environment

Timestamps:
[6:00] Breaking into recruitment after eight rejections
[18:29] The confidence struggle
[24:09] Navigating economic shocks
[25:36] The Covid moment
[28:49] The promotion that shifted everything
[30:44] Being open about perimenopause
[36:17] Culture and retention
[41:37] KPIs that matter
[50:18] Hiring for work ethic
[54:29] Training recruiters from other sectors
[58:13] Becoming an industry expert
[1:01:06] Closing rate problems and what they mean

Guest Bio:
Maria Sinclair is the Managing Director of Cobalt, operating across the built environment with offices in the UK, Germany, and the US. Cobalt ranks 49th in Recruiter Magazine’s Hot 100 list based on GP per employee. Maria has been with Cobalt for 23 years and was appointed UK MD in January 2024.