Líder Magazine · 12/10/2026 · Originally in Portuguese.
The article connects shared leadership, emotional intelligence and organisational alignment. Coaching helps teams make decisions with autonomy and responsibility in uncertain conditions.
Authors: Fátima Ribeiro / Susana Azevedo
Originally published in Líder Magazine · 29/04/2026. Original language: Portuguese.
Facing uncertainty, the article advocates psychological safety, clear responsibilities and collaboration across teams. Emotional intelligence and systemic coaching help leaders move from centralised responses towards shared decisions guided by a common purpose.
Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo
Originally published in La Estrella de Panamá · 08/03/2026. Original language: Spanish.
The article explores how coaching supports women in developing executive presence, communication and professional relationships. Self-awareness, questioning assumptions and support networks help shape a career guided by purpose, confidence and wellbeing.
Authors: Fátima Ribeiro
An article about Fátima Ribeiro, originally published in Valor Magazine to mark International Women’s Day.
Translated from the original Portuguese article.
International Women’s Day is an invitation to reflect and act. Fátima Ribeiro, an executive coach with international experience, believes that transformation begins with awareness and structured support for women who aspire to leadership positions.
Fátima Ribeiro built her career in banking, university teaching and professional coaching. From early on, she felt “the need to support people in acquiring skills, deepening their knowledge and expanding their capabilities”. This combination helped her understand power dynamics, decision-making processes and the complexity of organisations. “Working across different regions, from Latin America to North America and Europe, gave me a rich comparative perspective on leadership, diversity and gender equality”, she explains.
For Fátima, three dimensions sustain inequalities: individual behaviours, leadership practices and policies, and organisational culture. “The way each person perceives their context, positions themselves, communicates and builds relationships within the organisation has a significant impact on their career progression”.
Yet many cultural beliefs operate unconsciously. In some cultures, “the idea that ‘our work speaks for itself’ is deeply rooted. This belief can lead women, in particular, to avoid promoting their achievements or building strategic relationships that increase their visibility”. In this context, executive coaching becomes a crucial tool for challenging limiting beliefs.
“The role of coaching is to promote individual and systemic awareness and expand possibilities. We often carry thoughts and assumptions of which we are not even fully aware”, she explains. This process helps identify patterns of reactivity, challenge perceptions of reality and explore new ways of acting, showing how small shifts in perspective can have a significant impact on personal agency and emotional intelligence.
To promote equitable opportunities, she advocates intervention at both individual and systemic levels. “It is essential to support women professionals through coaching, mentoring and skills development that help them in environments that are still predominantly male. Creating real opportunities means examining whether work structures, assessment criteria and informal dynamics support diversity”. Details such as meeting schedules, implicit expectations and informal practices can limit women’s participation if they are not reviewed.
“It is not just about opening doors, but about ensuring that the conditions allow women to actually walk through them”, she argues.
For women experiencing impostor syndrome or anxiety about greater responsibilities, she recommends investing in self-awareness, drawing on their strengths and, above all, building support networks. “Leadership is not an isolated endeavour; it is a community. Having mentors, emotional support and people who challenge us positively makes a difference”.
Her message is clear: “Recognise your skills and achievements, connect with your personal power, be an agent of change, develop relationships, approach others with curiosity and dream”, she concludes.
“Transformation is a marathon made up of consistent steps. Every step taken today strengthens opportunities and opens the way to a better future”.
This article was originally published in Portuguese in Líder Magazine, in the fall 2025 issue.
The online version was later published on the magazine’s website. The original article can be consulted here link.
Geopolitical and global trade tensions, technological disruption with the advancement of artificial intelligence and climate change are among the main risks identified by organisations in 2025.
These factors have a direct impact on leadership, business models and organisational structures. Leaders seek to develop organisations that are more agile and resilient to change.
But how to sustain a strategic advantage of the organisation in the long term? How to face the uncertainty and discomfort of change? And, in this process, how to transform resistance into experimentation, internal competition and silos into recognition of interdependencies, taking advantage of synergies between areas and turning disconnection into authentic collaboration?
There is no immediate answer or single model or solution.
After participating as research partners in the book Team of Teams Coaching: Using a teaming approach to increase business impact, by Professor Peter Hawkins and Dr Catherine Carr, published July 2025, we have developed learning and practices in leadership and organisational development projects. We seek to develop a “team of teams”: a fluid, networked, collaborative organisation with shared responsibility, prepared to face complexity and provide greater agility to organisations.
To achieve this agility, a clear and inspiring purpose is crucial. Values that translate into actions. Goals that align everyone, both on paper and in practice. It is important to prioritise the experience and well-being of employees, because motivated and empowered teams generate stronger connections between areas.
It is also essential to develop systemic awareness, continually identifying stakeholders and systems, to create alliances and collaborations that provide real value to everyone.
The coaching process usually begins with coaching the leadership team and a joint review of the purpose, vision and strategy from the perspective of the various stakeholders and systems. A prior systemic diagnosis identifies strengths, critical areas and opportunities.
We work on the “why” of the organisation, the coherence of the strategy, the clarity of processes and responsibilities, the quality of internal relationships between areas and the opportunities to develop relationships with the different stakeholders.
Subsequently, the coaching process expands its support to the different functional teams, focusing on interdependencies and mutual responsibility. It takes into account the transformation and transition challenges typical of the different life cycles of organisations and their connection with the challenges of the ecosystem.
This intentional approach supports a culture, language, communication and internal dynamics that leverage collective intelligence, along with a strategy that flows and evolves in search of creative responses to change, in a continuous learning process.
Systemic team coaching requires constant experimentation. In the course of work, each team and organisation discovers what works and shapes its collective authenticity, learning, adapting and creating new ways to generate value.
Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo
This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what professional coaching is. It seeks to inform, generate greater awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.
See the original article in this Link.
From my career as a leader in organisational contexts, team development is an important focus in my work as a teacher, in executive coaching, and in systemic team coaching.
As team coaches, we understand that the team as a whole is our client and that our role is to work with each team considering its system and context, encouraging “the team to be more than the sum of its parts”, so that each member is empowered, committed and collaborates with others, considering their unique purpose and vision of the future.
The team exists to serve a purpose, “which precedes the team and is the reason why it was created” (Hawkins, 2017). Discovering the purpose thus involves the team understanding who it serves and the value it creates for its different interest groups or stakeholders, considering both the internal stakeholders, including the organisation as a whole, and the various external stakeholders, such as: customers, suppliers, strategic allies and the community.
This seemingly simple exercise involves an “outside-in” approach, a key principle of the systemic team coaching methodology developed by Professor Peter Hawkins. Doing it in depth, so that it is understood and internalized by all team members, promotes greater team alignment.
With a defined purpose, the team more effectively develops its team map, which includes, among others, its working agreements, what is acceptable and what is not, and how the team wants to relate to each other, its future vision, its objectives, its KPIs, roles and responsibilities. This work brings clarity and transparency and boosts performance.
From my experience, although many leaders believe that team alignment exists, we have verified that in most teams the purpose, vision or objectives of the team as a whole (different from the individual ones) lack clarity or a shared understanding among its members. This makes communication and collaboration difficult among them and with their main stakeholders.
The current context is complex and changing and implies a constant hiring and re-contracting of expectations. The team map, with its rules and agreements, is a dynamic instrument that must be reviewed at different team meetings to confirm that understanding is maintained or if changes are applied to ensure alignment. These team moments enhance relationships, connections and more efficient processes.
Executives and teams feel that they need to do more with less and that time does not allow them to stop. But we know that it is precisely this conscious pause that allows them to gain perspective, clarify expectations, rehire when necessary and be more agile at all times.
A story that I always remember is that of “Alice in Wonderland”, specifically the moment when Alice asks the Cat the way and he answers that “he will always get somewhere.” The important thing is to define and be clear about where you want to go.
Working on the personal dynamics of the team, trust and psychological safety, and the interdependencies between different areas is another factor that has a great impact on the performance and well-being of the teams.
In his recent book “Team of Teams Coaching“, Professor Peter Hawkins and Dr. Catherine Carr explore an integrated approach to systemic team coaching with organisational transformation. This approach can be implemented from two routes. One route is the incremental journey, which begins with Team Coaching of the Leadership Team or Management Team and expands to various teams in the organisation, and the other route is a planned organisational transformation that involves a “big-bang” approach and a culture change with the integration of the systemic approach to team coaching throughout the organisation system.
Team Coaching requires experimentation and development of mental models. As coaches we learn with teams what works and what doesn’t work, and we challenge ourselves on the journey of growth. Together, we create and implement changes to address what emerges at every moment. And it is in this development process that good teams become great, and great teams manage to defy the odds.
Author: Fátima Ribeiro
The author is PCC (ICF Professional Certified Coach), Executive Coach and Systemic Team Coach, and member of ICF Panama.
Fuentes:
This article was originally published in Portuguese in Líder Magazine, in the spring 2025 issue.
The online version was later published on the magazine’s website. The original article can be consulted here link.
A common purpose, a shared vision and dreams allow us to face change more agilely and effectively, and transform leaders, teams and organisations. They create a connection between minds and hearts that enhances communication, collaboration, commitment and teamwork.
Organisational identity provides a sense of community and inclusion and reinforces a set of norms and values that build bridges and contribute to a feeling of belonging.
In one of the organisations we worked with, values such as transparency, autonomy and trust, defined as essential by their leader, were incorporated into their leadership practices and behaviours. This transformed the culture and made the organisation more efficient and better prepared for the future.
Transparency was incorporated to promote clearer communication and proper management of expectations. The structuring of processes and the delegation of tasks reinforced the value of autonomy. Trust, as a way of looking at others, was expanded and integrated into leadership practices to create psychological safety and develop relationships and collaboration.
Authors such as Amy Edmondson and Timothy Clark, and studies in companies such as Google—project Aristotle—, show that psychological safety is the basis of the most effective teams. Based on the perception of inclusion and security, team commitment increases, collaborators develop their curiosity and enhance innovation, and productivity and performance become sustainable.
Amy Edmondson explains that psychological safety helps people take the interpersonal risks necessary to achieve excellence in a rapidly changing, interdependent world.
in the book The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety, Timothy Clark identifies the following dimensions of psychological safety: safety to feel included, safety to learn, safety to contribute, and safety to question.
Leaders, using emotional, conversational and collaborative intelligence tools, coordinate diverse and inclusive work environments. In this way, they enhance relationships and continuous learning and contribute to the whole being more than the sum of the parts.
Relationships are the context that allows us to successfully face change, and sharing helps to strengthen them. As Richard Boyatzis points out in the book The Science of Change, a shared vision drives hope; In shared compassion we experience solidarity, and through shared energy we vibrate at the same frequency as others.
Through systemic team coaching we work on relationships and connections between people, teams and external stakeholders, building bridges towards a successful organisational culture in contexts of uncertainty and complexity.
Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo
This article was originally published in Portuguese in Líder Magazine, in the fall 2024 issue.
The online version was later published on the magazine’s website. The original article can be consulted here link.
In our work as executive and team coaches, and as leadership trainers, we recognise the difficulty leaders have in do more with less and keep their teams motivated in a context of continuous changes, in which commitment decreases and levels of satisfaction increase. burnout.
Leaders suffer tensions at different levels, coming from internal and external stakeholders. They feel pressured to react, to focus on short-term results and to choose the least bad option, instead of acting proactively and working towards the vision of the desired future, developing organisations more focused on human and ecosystem sustainability.
We hear the feeling of disconnection with current leadership, due to the perceived distance between the values communicated and the values present in the daily actions and practices of the organisation.
How to navigate ambiguity, as our caravels navigated previously unknown oceans, and build teams and organisations capable of facing challenges?
Through coaching we work with leaders and teams to identify what they need to change in themselves to promote the transformation of their teams and organisations.
We help them identify the internal and external resources they already have and those they need to develop, to increase their ability to influence and act proactively in creating their vision of the future.
We work on beliefs, emotions, mentalities and relationships, considering a purpose that creates value for both the business and all interested parties.
We create intentional spaces of learning and celebration throughout the development journey, to evaluate progress and recharge the energy that drives change.
We address horizontal development—knowledge and competencies—but also vertical development—being and mental models—considering evolution:
In this development journey, which includes doing, but also thinking and being, we work on skills such as communication, with special attention to active listening, which enhances the commitment and impact of leaders and teams.
We promote psychological safety, trust and the construction of inclusive teams, in which creativity and the implementation of more agile processes and structures are encouraged, and where the whole is more than the sum of the parts.
There is hope and each of us can make a difference in building a promising future for ourselves and for generations to come!
Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo
This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what professional coaching is. It seeks to inform, create more awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.
See the original article in this Link.
Self-awareness is the basis of learning, development, and change. It is a foundation of emotional intelligence, and what allows us to build better relationships, achieve better results, with a higher level of well-being.
in his book Insight, Tasha Eurich tells us that 95% of people believe they are self-aware, but that in reality this number is much lower, on the order of 12% to 15%. The author understands self-awareness as “the willingness or ability to understand who we are, including aspects such as our values and patterns (internal self-awareness), and how others perceive us (external self-awareness).”
The process of developing self-awareness involves spaces for reflection, openness to introspection, but also a willingness to observe and listen to the perceptions of others, to request feedback.
In the coaching processes we verify that when we begin to explore with our clients their values, talents, passions, strengths, patterns, triggers, among others, they identify that it is not so simple and is even more challenging than what they would initially consider. That it is not as obvious as we might think to identify what moves us, makes us unique and differentiates us, nor to identify our behavioural patterns.
It is necessary to dedicate time and reflection to becoming aware of what distinguishes us, of our reaction patterns, of the beliefs and assumptions that live behind our actions. We all have blind spots, at the level of knowledge, emotions and reactions of which we are not aware, and which are difficult for us to access without feedback from others.
The coaching process provides the reflective and creative space, which we often do not have on a daily basis, of moments dedicated to connecting with who we are, what we want, why we want it and to explore action options that enhance better results and well-being.
When we connect with our purpose, with our values, with the essence of who we are and what we value, we access a source of energy and motivation that focuses our actions and supports us to develop the flexibility and resilience necessary to achieve our goals and well-being.
In the process of awareness we access and can leverage our internal resources, and from there also identify the external resources that we need.
The authors Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves, in their book Emotional Intelligence 2.0, They explore some strategies to develop personal self-awareness, including learning to identify emotions cognitively and physically, not to classify them as good or bad, not to ignore them, even when they make them uncomfortable, and to recognise them and let them go.
Other strategies identified are the periodic practice of journaling and obtaining feedback as a way of observing ourselves from a distance, identifying behavioural patterns and triggers in stressful situations.
The practice of periodic reflection or meditation are strategies to connect with our essence, with our values, and to do a regular mental and physical check-up, to maintain our mental health and prevent burnout situations.
In our interactions with others we can also develop our social self-awareness, through the practice of mindfulness, presence, active listening, and empathy.
From curiosity we can observe the other, or others from their world, ask and try to understand others from their life experience, beliefs, assumptions or culture.
A professional coach recognizes that self-awareness is the basis for his client to achieve his goals, and works with him from that basis in defining specific strategies for each case.
Self-awareness is also important in working with teams and in organisational development, in identifying interaction dynamics and behavioural patterns.
Personal and social self-awareness is a learning process, a search for personal mastery.
My favourite strategies are emotional checking and journaling, putting my reflections on paper or recording them, so I can return to them and observe them from a distance.
Dear reader, how do you make sure you develop your self-awareness? What are your favourite strategies?
Author: Fátima Ribeiro
The author is PCC (ICF Professional Certified Coach), Coach in professional development, leadership and teams processes, and member of ICF Panama.
This article was originally published in Portuguese in Líder Magazine, in the spring 2024 issue.
The online version was later published on the magazine’s website. The original article can be consulted here link.
According to Michael Porter, strategy is what will differentiate an organisation: it will provide it with a competitive advantage, create distinct value for the consumer, and allow the company to prosper and achieve superior profitability.
In the current context, strategy is increasingly a dynamic process that involves permanent interaction with a complex and ambiguous environment, evaluating threats, trends and opportunities. To drive this process, the organisation needs teams with the ability to anticipate the future and lead change.
The effectiveness of teams as a whole is, more than ever, essential for the success and sustainability of organisations. These cannot depend solely on the talent of a leader who has all the solutions and controls that others execute their decisions. It is necessary to invest in shared leadership teams because of their potential to achieve higher performance than teams with vertical leadership.
The development of teams with collective leadership skills is crucial for organisations to consistently and lastingly achieve a high level of performance and innovation. These skills allow the whole to create more value than the sum of the parts and for each member to assume responsibility for their contribution (individual leadership) and for the functioning of the entire team (collective leadership).
An effective team needs clarity and alignment around its purpose and vision for the future. Based on this clarity, work together to define the strategic axes that will allow you to achieve results and reflect on the culture, governance, processes and leadership necessary to support the execution of the strategy. The team reviews the best ways of working, the technical and behavioural competencies and the internal dynamics necessary to fulfill its purpose.
Creation of value with and for all stakeholders.
The internal environment of the team includes: a) a shared purpose, b) support among its members and c) voice—psychological safety and willingness to express oneself—elements that precede shared leadership. Trust is another vital element: it is built on integrity and credibility, and is developed through direct communication, clarification of expectations, keeping commitments and an environment of continuous learning. Coaching support is especially important when the team’s internal environment is less favourable.
We work in alliance with leadership teams, in a process that stimulates reflection and creativity from a systemic perspective. We help them clarify the purpose, vision and strategy, and lead the change towards a sustainable transformation of organisations, creating value for all stakeholders.
Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo