Dr. Katharina Schmidt (PsyD)

Leadership & Team Developer | Executive Coach | Sensemaker

Newport Beach, California, United States Contact Info
3K followers 500+ connections

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About

A leader‘s purpose is to envision, engage, energize, empower and enable people to contribute. To do so a leader needs to bring clarity, connection, coaching and commitment. Leadership is challenging in complex, constantly changing, information overloaded organizational dynamics. Are you open to discover your authentic way of leading people in an inspiring, inclusive and energizing way?

I am a coach for start-ups and entrepreneurial organizations. My clients call me the leadership whisperer. I create safe and productive spaces for reflection and sparring. I work as executive coach and leadership team developer. My purpose is to create space for leaders to think clearly and connect to purpose, values, talents and ambitions to become a force for good in the world (even more).

After a career as professional volleyball player I completed an executive MBA at Kellogg Business School. I had an international career with various professional services firms as CEO and in general management and business development roles during the 20 years before I started my own "leadership inspiration & learnership discipline" initiative (www.inspirationanddiscipline.com #inspirationanddiscipline). I have lived, studied and worked all over the world: Barcelona, Vienna, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Maui, Denver and LA Metro Area. I speak 5 languages fluently.

I believe in connected organizations and the collective intelligence and resourcefulness of people working in them. Every organization (like every individual) holds so much wisdom to cope with challenges.

I design and facilitate organizational, leadership and culture development journeys with the companies and individuals I work with. Here are some themes I come across regularly: a new perspective on leadership: more co-creation and team-building oriented, the need for more functioning teams in highly complex tech environments, healthy feedback cultures, a growing need for a shared purpose in times of accelerating change, a wish for connection between purpose, plans, technology and behavior, real personal development dialogues and the case for more individual accountability. I believe leadership behavior strongly influences people behavior. People make organizations and drive performance. Change and (high) performance come more smoothly when people know why, how and what to do and/or break through. And: it helps to have some fun, regardless how tough the situation. Her coachees describe her as inspiring, disciplined, challenging and energizing: a safe space to reflect, reconnect and discover yourself.

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Contributions

Activity

Experience

  • Inspiration & Discipline Graphic

    Executive Coach & Leadership Team Developer

    Inspiration & Discipline

    - Present 10 years 7 months

    The World

    Facilitating personal leadership & organizational development journeys by creating space to reflect, dialogue and learn. Research-based and highly practical interventions to develop practices for leaders and high performance teams to bring clarity, connection, coaching and commitment into the contexts they engage in. Every intervention works on closing the knowing-doing gap!

  • UpdateAI Graphic

    Executive Advisor

    UpdateAI

    - Present 3 years 2 months

    Sparring partner for this start-up that is supporting the quest to improve productivity, sort through clutter and create conversational intelligence in Customer Success.

  • Forbes Coaches Council Graphic

    Official Member.

    Forbes Coaches Council

    - Present 4 years 10 months

    Denver

    Being a member of the Forbes Coaches Council is a great source of inspiration. The network of coaches and the branding support helps to bring new coaching wisdom into the world.

  • HappyCo Graphic

    Leadership Coach

    HappyCo

    - Present 5 years 4 months

    Global

    Leadership & Team development at this amazing start-up!

  • BCG X Graphic

    Executive Coach & Leadership Developer

    BCG X

    - 6 years 5 months

    North America

  • TPC Leadership Graphic

    Associate (project-based)

    TPC Leadership

    - 6 years 5 months

    San Francisco Bay Area

    Co-design and deliver leadership development workshops: support leaders to reconnect with their purpose & values, develop leadership and coaching awareness, mindsets & skills and make them aware of the impact of their behavior in the lives of the people they work with

  • Galapagos Graphic

    Leadership Coach & Team Developer

    Galapagos

    - 1 year 3 months

    Zoom

    Inspire, support and coach the development of the German Galapagos team through ongoing dialogue; lay the foundation for a team that cares, discovers and dares; develop a shared vision; onboard people smoothly; create strengths-based culture

  • German International School of Silicon Valley Graphic

    Board Member

    German International School of Silicon Valley

    - 1 year 4 months

    San Francisco Bay Area

  • Meyn Food Processing Technology B.V. Graphic

    Vision 2020 & Leadership Development (project-based)

    Meyn Food Processing Technology B.V.

    - 1 year 8 months

    Amsterdam en omgeving, Nederland

    Vision 2020 = daily work in progress: leadership inspiration and development for follow-up discipline to inspire, activate and work towards Vision 2020

  • PVH Corp. Graphic

    Leadership & team development (project-based)

    PVH Corp.

    - 1 year

    Amsterdam Area, Netherlands

    Design self-service team-development approach; PVH continuous team development wheel; based on the idea that psychological safety ("how to interact") and a clear vision where to go ("where do we want to go") are key ingredients for high performing teams

  • Domus Magnus Graphic

    Leadership & Strategy Engagement (project-based)

    Domus Magnus

    - 1 year 1 month

    Netherlands

    Building the leading coalition team of directors and location managers, developing strategic principles, leadership development workshops and a process to bring strategy into hearts, minds and behaviors of all Domus Magnus co-workers

  • PinkRoccade Healthcare Graphic

    Strategy Inspiration & Organizational Development programs (project-based)

    PinkRoccade Healthcare

    - 3 years 7 months

    Apeldoorn Area, Netherlands

    Systemic strategy & culture development programs: strategic dialogue, leadership development & coaching and culture (personal/behaviour) inspiration

  • FD Mediagroep Graphic

    Strategic Dialogue Facilitator (project-based)

    FD Mediagroep

    - 2 years 11 months

    Amsterdam

    Facilitating quarterly leadership conversations and team workshops around strategic priorities and progress

  • Board Member

    Little Universe School

    - 3 years 1 month

    Amsterdam

  • Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal Graphic

    Strategic Dialogue Facilitator (project-based)

    Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal

    - 1 year 1 month

    Amersfoort

    Supporting strategy engagement and follow-up discipline: developing a clear and understandable strategy message, supporting and coaching management, engaging people per location around the strategic principles, facilitating strategy progress workshops at each of the 9 locations

  • Nike EMEA Graphic

    Organizational Effectiveness Director (a.i.)

    Nike EMEA

    - 6 months

    Hilversum

    Supporting the translation of strategic priorities into organization and leadership development initiatives

  • MeyerMonitor Graphic

    Chief Executive Officer

    MeyerMonitor

    - 4 years

    Amsterdam Area, Netherlands

    Managing Director of MeyerMonitor: MeyerMonitor facilitates and innovates the strategic dialogue within organizations with the aim to connect strategy with people and passion. Research has shown that organizations in which people know and believe in the strategy perform better (Watson Wyatt workstudy).

  • Krauthammer International Graphic

    Managing Partner

    Krauthammer International

    - 9 years 1 month

    Various general management roles and business development of various Krauthammer branches in Europe; selling, developing and running leadership & cultural change programs for international clients

  • THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY GROUP (IHG) Graphic

    Office Development Manager

    THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY GROUP (IHG)

    - 1 year

    Human capital and office development initiatives of this fast-growing internet consulting firm: a.o. the development of a recruitment process and an appraisal methodology. Projects: development of various business cases, e.g. an electronic market place for the construction industry and a digital television system

  • European Foundation for Business Qualification (EFBQ) Graphic

    Project Manager and Consultant

    European Foundation for Business Qualification (EFBQ)

    - 2 years

    Supporting Management Teams of organizations to write their strategic plan, get it audited according to the EFBQ standards and develop initiatives to implement the strategic plan.

  • ABN AMRO Graphic

    Trainee ABN AMRO

    ABN AMRO

    - 2 years

    Various personal and professional development trainings; trainee project: cultural analysis of the special credit department in ABN AMRO's headquarter

Education

Licenses & Certifications

Volunteer Experience

  • Founder

    Run4Air

    Health

Publications

Languages

  • English

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • Dutch

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • German

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • French

    Full professional proficiency

  • Spanish

    Professional working proficiency

  • English

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • German

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • Dutch

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • Spanish

    Limited working proficiency

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