"Seeing and revealing the gold in others" by bringing forth potentials and resources.

Talitha Goldmann Kefalas Coach Profile

There's room for change

Start transforming your career with Leadership Coaching

You know what you want to change, but you are not clear how to achieve it? Maybe it seems too complex?

The tensions of our time demand a lot from us:

Whether it’s for your company, your professional career, or your personal life. There’s need for a realignment: Where am I at now? What are my inner drivers?  What do I want to set in motion and how do I want to have an impact?

We take time for what is important for you and realign your inner compass to where you want to move.

My professional self-concept

What characterizes my work as a
Leadership-Coach

01 // Qualified and Hands-on

My professional journey has allowed me to gain diverse experiences as a leader, Social Worker, Trainer, Change Manager, Agile-, Team- and Leadership Coach. The immediate transfer into practice has always been a priority for me, even during my education, when I aimed to have an impact where it really matters. This has shaped my professional self-concept. Feel free to visit my LinkedIn profile to get a personal impression of my qualifications.

02 // Systemic & Immersive

As a Systemic Organizational Developer (OD), I value a holistic perspective on the individual and the respective environment. The systemic approach allows me to “zoom in and out” of complex contexts in order to better understand dynamics, uncover possibilities, and create spaces for solutions.
In pedagogy, “immersion” describes the concept of “learning by diving in” (as, for example, in the playful acquisition of foreign languages). Applied to my coaching, it represents my commitment to being fully present, approaching my coachees’ realities without judgment, and starting with an appreciation of where they actually are.

03 // Coaching & Consulting

With my mission to “see and reveal the gold in others,” I
shed a light on hidden, yet inherent potential and I uncover existing but unrecognized resources. This opens up new perspectives and possibilities for my coachees, empowering them to courageously try out new pathways to solutions.
As a consultant, I complement my coachees’ perspectives with my interdisciplinary expertise, always focusing on empowering them. I communicate the transition from a coaching to a consulting role transparently.
However, the time between the coaching sessions remains crucial, because both the identified solutions and the experimentation with putting it into practice are in the hands of my coachees.

Talitha Goldmann Kefalas Coaching

04 // Values- & Evidence-based

Lived values serve as an inner compass, providing security and guidance, even in challenging times. In my approach, they form the foundation for effective and sustainable personal and professional development. The evidence-based approach originated in the field of medicine.  The foundation of my professional work as a Coach consists of scientifically based methods combined with empirical insights, as well as regular self-reflection and -assessment, within a professional setting.

05 // International & Intercultural

I am passionate about engaging in transformative work with individuals and organizations from diverse social and professional backgrounds, countries and cultures. Different contexts of international and interdisciplinary work have profoundly shaped my own learning journey.
Currently, I support leaders from over ten countries in Leadership and Organizational Development Coaching.

My story

How it all started…

Beach in Brazil
Talith Goldmann Kefalas as a speaker

Being present, right from the start

I can still see him in my mind’s eye. Sitting here in front of me is the seven-year-old street boy with his brown curly hair. His eyes had scanned the surroundings hesitantly before settling down on the dirty stone ledge next to me. The dark walls of the street corner, smelling of waste, are only illuminated by a flickering lantern. We’re surrounded by the deafening noise of the city streets, here in the Brazilian metropolis, but he doesn’t seem to care. Sure, because this is his home. Before us lies a blank, slightly crumpled sheet of white paper that I brought him. His brown eyes light up, and a smile flits across his face. He quickly grabs the three colored pencils that I offer him, lies down on the dusty ground, and begins to draw. Suddenly, it becomes completely silent around us. As if this moment belongs solely to him. His face is literally glued to the picture he is drawing, he’s leaning in deeply. Gradually, it takes shape. Time flies by as I watch him. Then he pauses. Full of fascination, his eyes wander over the artwork in his hands: “This is what heaven must be like…” he murmurs softly in Brazilian Portuguese, his voice filled with wonder and admiration. And his eyes shine brightly. He whispered so softly, one could almost have missed it.

But only almost. I still carry the picture that this Brazilian street boy painted for me back then with me today. And I remember his words, as he described it to me afterwards: A house with open windows and doors. That was his vision of heaven. Something he could hardly dare to dream of in his harsh everyday life – in the struggle for survival on the streets, which was dominated by violence and drugs. I was simply there, to meet him right there. Together with a team of street workers, I would venture out onto the streets in the evenings, time and time again. To enable him and others to dare to start a new life in a family setting. Step by step. I gave him my full attention and a few colored pencils. That’s all I had with my 17 years of age. Yet, in that moment, it was all that was needed to make a difference for him: to capture a future perspective – his very own snapshots – and together, create a new sense of realignment.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

A decade later – having had professional experience as a Social Worker in the fields of International Social Work and in Human Rights – I was driven by the question of what constitutes good leadership. I had witnessed the significant impact that good leadership has on the development of individuals and the entire organization, as well as the harm that poor leadership can cause.

Values-Based Leadership

Back then, I found myself in a leadership position at a large educational institution shaken by crises. I experienced firsthand how challenging and draining the diverse demands and expectations placed on a leader in the VUCA environment can be – I felt it almost every week. At the same time, I had the privilege of experiencing how much one can accomplish by putting people at the center, starting where the teams truly stand, and giving everyone the opportunity to contribute their best.
“Seeing and revealing the gold in others” as a Servant Leader – where no one expects to find it and even when nobody is watching. It was in those moments, where frustration and anger met me unabated, that this metaphor became deeply meaningful to me. There, it became my mission statement, my inner driver on long workdays and in weekly crisis meetings. And I wouldn’t trade that time for anything!

Organizational Development & Change Management

In my next professional role as a Project Manager at the intersection of politics, business, academia, and NGOs, I had the opportunity to once again experience what is possible when everyone pulls together, resources are strategically deployed, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles are overcome through the coordinated, planned, deliberate use of competencies and strengths. The result was so motivating, convincing and, at the same time, surprising for many… This was my “aha” moment. It became clear to me that the impact of true alignment seems to be far too rarely experienced in organizations.

“Do the right thing, for the right reason, the right way.”

My passion for a solid understanding of leadership seemed unstoppable after that. As a result, I became the first and only German to be selected for the renowned one-year leadership program at the McCain Institute for International Leadership in the USA. Out of over 2000 visionary leaders worldwide, eight participants were selected. They came to develop a meaningful change project for their home country, work as “Change Agents“ in the management of a U.S. company and, as a third pillar of the program, complete an intensive one-year leadership training program with examinations. The values-based training, led by Ambassador Michael C. Polt und General Benjamin Freakley, the intensive course modules with insights from international leaders (impactful leaders from politics, business, academia, and NGOs), and the one-year practical experience in an international organization solidified my understanding ofCharacter Driven Leadership, which subsequently became the foundation of my coaching approach:

“Do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.”
Contrary to the understanding of “positional leadership,” this leadership approach is not about a hierarchical position. Instead, it is about the underlying attitude and mindset, as well as a solid foundation for effective change.

Executive Coach & Organizational Development

Since then, I have been supporting leaders and organizations that want to get things moving- within themselves and together with others (see testimonials). As a People- and Organizational Developer and Agile Coach, I was responsible for the agile transformation of a company: from establishing an agile HR-department and cross-functional teams to implementing OKR and executive coaching as well as founding and scaling a new business unit with coaches deployed to clients, all with the ambitious goal of creating and measuring effective change. As a Transformation Expert, I led the project for the introduction of ‘New Work & Digitalization’ at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Germany.

As a Coach, I continued my education in Systemic Organizational Development, International Project- and Change Management, as well as in Agile Work practices, and I supported organizations, teams and leaders in multiple countries through various transformation initiatives.

What remains…

Through my diverse work experiences, my understanding of leadership and organizations has evolved further. And yet, at the core, it often comes down to being fully present – just like with João, that enthusiastic boy in the streets of Brazil: pausing for a moment and starting with the reality as experienced by my coachee. Right there, amidst the noisy hustle and bustle of everyday life, offering attention and creating clarity. And, just like back in Brazil, handing the blank sheet of
unwritten possibilities, that are yet to be discovered. Revealing those inherent multifaceted resources and potentials, just like a handful of colored pencils. And together, realigning the internal compass, because: When we collectively set our perspective on the goal, something impactful can be set in motion.

Talith Goldmann Kefalas at the McCain Institute for International Leadership
Talith Goldmann Kefalas receives certificate as international leadership trainer
Talith Goldmann Kefalas with coachee

More than…

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Testimonials

Testimonials about my coaching

In her coaching, Talitha is excellent at creating a safe space for discussion and supporting a solution-oriented approach to challenging issues. Both are essential to the leadership learning process and have helped me greatly.

Valeria B.
Program Manager (ES)
Leadership Coaching Journey

Talitha’s work is always characterized by appreciation and her versatile methodological skills. She succeeds in keeping an eye on both the individual and the big picture and setting them in motion. In doing so, she creates trust and reliability, while unlocking unexpected capabilities across all levels of the hierarchy.

Sven S.
CEO (DE)
Sys. OE Coaching Journey

Coaching sessions with Talitha over the past few years have really helped me grow towards reflecting more of my values and self in my work […] She’s a careful listener and an adaptive coach with many tools and exercises at her fingertips to help in thinking through ongoing and new challenges in a personalised way.

Avril A.
Sen. Associate (BE)
Professional Development Coaching

My values

My values at work, as a Leadership Coach

Integrity and Reliability

Teamwork and Commitment

Focus on People and Impact

Discover and Inspire

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