Leadership Coaching, Events, and Resources

Welcome to my profile! With a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from University College London and a Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching from Henley Business School, I bring a unique blend of academic rigor and practical expertise to leadership development. As the Co-founder of Adaptable Minds and an Innovation & Impact Fellow at the Behavioral AI Institute, I specialize in translating cutting-edge behavioral science into actionable strategies for leaders. My experience includes creating award-winning coaching methodologies and leading high-performing teams at organizations like MindGym and Influence at Work. I've successfully coached leaders across various industries, helping them drive impactful change and achieve their professional goals. Let's connect to explore how I can support your leadership journey!

With a robust background in team effectiveness, organizational development, and working hands on with teams at al levels to drive change, I've partnered with leaders to help them develop the skills needed to succeed at the next level, design and implement programs to achieve previously impossible goals (for individuals and groups), and as a thought partner to confront problems that resist resolution. This coaching succeeds because we work together to understand what is actually holding you back at this instant using a combination of design thinking, co-active coaching techniques, and strategic problem solving methodologies. In addition to years of professional experience, I completed a year long leadership and change coaching certificate at Northwestern University as part of my MS in Learning & Organizational Change. Let's work together to unlock your leadership potential and drive impactful change in your organization. Reach out to start your journey!

This leadership coaching engagement is designed for senior professionals who want to strengthen executive presence, strategic communication, and influence in higher-stakes environments. You may be preparing for senior leadership visibility, leading cross-functional work, managing difficult stakeholders, navigating conflicts, communicating with executives, or moving from expert/operator credibility into broader enterprise leadership. Together, we will work with the real leadership situations you are facing — not generic hypotheticals. That may include preparing for a high-stakes meeting, strengthening how you frame decisions, communicating trade-offs, building trust with senior stakeholders, navigating ambiguity, or practicing leading with authority and authenticity under pressure. As an MCC executive coach, I bring a confidential, rigorous, and human-centered coaching approach. My background spans Fortune 100 innovation, organizational transformation, people systems, executive coaching, team coaching, board service, and business building. I have coached 750+ clients across 30+ industries and globally distributed client groups. This work is especially relevant if you are successful in your function but now need to lead through influence, communication, and presence at a more senior level. If this is the leadership edge you are working on, I invite you to book an introductory call so we can explore whether coaching is the right support for your professional growth goals and expected outcomes.

Maya Niksic is a Belgrade-born, Harvard-educated Serbian-American visionary reshaping the contours of women’s leadership. As the Founder and CEO of Adaptive Leadership Atelier, Maya has created a sanctuary where leadership meets artistry and style. Her journey from navigating the chaotic world of Wall Street during the global financial crisis to launching her Atelier highlights her commitment to being at the forefront of women’s leadership coaching. Since 2019, Maya has taught and supported senior military leaders, public officials, and students at Harvard Kennedy School in transforming complex challenges into opportunities for extraordinary growth. As a Leadership Coach and Trainer, she blends her expertise in adult development psychology, adaptive leadership, and vertical development, challenging clients to embrace contradictions and rewrite their narratives. She invites them to confront their loyalties, embrace vulnerabilities, and emerge not just as leaders but as artisans of their destinies. Maya’s clients learn to truly understand the landscapes of their organizations and the people who inhabit them. Her methodical yet daring approach, rooted in a deep understanding of the human condition, reflects her philosophy: the smallest shift in perspective can ignite profound transformations. Maya’s global perspective, honed through experiences in New York, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, enables her to connect with leaders across diverse cultures and professions. In Maya’s world, leadership becomes an art form—each decision a brushstroke, each challenge a canvas. Her Atelier is where leaders come to construct something entirely new that reflects the complexity, paradoxes, and beauty of the world they wish to lead. A passionate stylist since her days at Ann Taylor, Maya views fashion as a powerful medium for self-expression. Beyond her work at the Atelier, she is an executive contributor and columnist for international magazines, sharing insights on life, leadership, and legacy—with style.

You're not paying $1,000 an hour for advice. You're paying for 25 years of decisions made under pressure across 11 countries, four continents, and some of the most competitive companies on the planet. I built Google Play's brand from zero. I've sat in the seat you're sitting in as a 3x CMO, navigated the politics, the board dynamics, the moments where everything felt like it was falling apart. I've also rebuilt my own career from scratch, twice, so I'm not theorizing about reinvention. I'm living proof of it. What you get in our sessions is radical clarity: the pattern you can't see because you're inside it, the hard truth your team won't tell you, and a concrete plan you can execute this week, not this quarter. I work with CEOs and senior leaders who are done collecting frameworks and ready to actually move. If you want someone who will challenge you, hold you accountable, and compress months of indecision into a single conversation, let's talk. If you want someone who will nod along and validate what you already believe, I'm not your guy.

Through out my career at IBM, and as I transitioned from individual contributor roles to people management roles, I attended comprehensive management training and received certifications at IBM, that enable me to support the growth of my team members and their growth. In addition, I learned the techniques and methodologies to be an effective leader whether to the team I manage or to lead without authority to the extended teams that I manage via the programs I lead. Leading and influencing without authority is an art and a science. I received various leadership and management awards because of my passion to support team members and be a servant leader. I can help you in your growth journey to be an effective leader.

I'm Gia Lacqua, a Leadership Behavior Strategist who helps high-performing leaders uncover the invisible strategies driving their decisions, leadership, and success, and redesign the ones that no longer serve them. A former Fortune 100 Vice President with more than 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, including 12 in leadership, I combine real-world executive experience with a neuroscience-informed understanding of behavior. That combination is what lets me find the unconscious patterns shaping how clients think, lead, communicate, and decide under pressure — patterns most coaching never reaches. My work is grounded in one belief: every successful person is running a personal strategy, whether they designed it or inherited it. The behaviors that once fueled achievement often become the exact liabilities driving burnout, overfunctioning, and indecision. I help leaders see the strategy underneath the symptom, then rebuild it intentionally — aligned with who they are now, not who they had to be to get here. I'm a Forbes Coaches Council member, award-winning author of PowerShift, and host of the What The Shift podcast — known for translating complex human behavior into practical strategy that produces measurable change in leadership, performance, and life.

I have over a decade of experience in strategic partnerships and leadership roles at top tech companies like Google and Microsoft. I work with individuals seeking to grow as product, business, and people leaders, and partner with you to maximize your impact.

Welcome to my profile! With over 15 years of experience in leadership roles at top companies like Google and BBDO Worldwide, I specialize in helping professionals unlock their leadership potential. As the Founder of Feed Your Can, I combine growth mindset strategies with practical life hacks to empower individuals to overcome limiting beliefs. My extensive background in business development, strategic planning, and team leadership equips me to provide actionable insights and personalized coaching. Let's work together to elevate your leadership skills and achieve your career goals.

I help make leaders great. I bring my leadership development skills and decades of experience from the tech industry to help those in leadership roles mobilize change in their organizations. I work 1:1 with talented managers and senior ICs who want to strengthen their leadership muscle. Leaders who feel stuck, are struggling to find their purpose, or have work/life balance issues can benefit by working with me. I also work with companies, am available for short- and long-term contracts, and relish working with intact teams.