A summer exhale

And just like that, the summer vacation came to an end. The kids are off to school again, and the apartment is quiet.

Most of my summer holiday was spent away from the screen, fully present with my family, myself and nature, which offered its incredible abundance. I've filled my outdoor life cup, and if I could summarise it in one image, this GIF would be it, as tiny as we are - a true Sound of Music moment (I’m the one in front, wildly waving my hands while singing The hills are alive).

I’ve been trying to hold space for everything happening in Palestine, as devastating as it is to watch the horror unfold, live-streamed. It broke my heart, but fixed my vision, this genocide, and it rooted my values deep into the soil of my ancestors, my land and my soul. And so I have a deep commitment to move forward in integrity with things that matter to me - like collective liberation from oppressive systems (capitalism, white supremacy, colonialism, patriarchy, etc.).

The question of how we reclaim our collective power and agency, and show up with courage, is on my mind every single day. It’s a paradigm shift, and I’ll be sharing more about it all going forward.

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Highlights from my work

My virtual leadership program, Creative Catalyst, which teaches relational skills to leaders and changemakers, will relaunch this autumn for its third iteration. I’m excited to tell you more about it soon (a website update is on the way).

Since last year, I’ve been supporting the Swedish Institute and Impact Hub Stockholm as an executive & business coach on their She Entrepreneurs program for women impact entrepreneurs across the Middle East and Northern Africa. I work with brilliant women in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, and Palestine, helping them build regenerative businesses, engage their communities, and model new ways of leadership.

I’ve been at full capacity with individual coaching since I started (hello, referrals 🤩), but I will have room for a few new clients starting in October. If you’re curious about how we can work together, get in touch.

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In March, a former studio mate invited me into a project mobilising a team for a generative AI transformation at a large global brand in Switzerland. They needed a facilitator with culture-building skills and a creative approach. We formed a coalition of four independent consultants and worked with 40+ people for three months to help them explore AI from the bottom up and embed experimentation into their culture.

We are now developing a leadership training program to help their managers lead well in the age of AI. If your organisation is starting to embed AI into your ways of working and you want to explore what it means for your culture and how to do it ethically, get in touch.
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A few other things in the making:

• A culture change process for a long-time client of mine, a creative team
• Feedback training for a design team who want to strengthen their relational work
• Hatching a workshop about our creative inner wild with my fellow coach Chuva​
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(Sociocratic) community work

On June 25th, in the light of a beautiful Scandinavian summer evening in Gribskov (and on Zoom), we founded Regenerative Stemmer (Regenerative Voices), a non-profit, volunteer-run association (forening is the nice Danish word) with the purpose of gathering and nurturing the regenerative field in Denmark and abroad. We’re building a flat, circle-based governance structure inspired by sociocratic and teal principles. I’ve been enjoying putting down specific principles and guidelines and reminiscing on my own leadership experience and all the experiments around distributed leadership we’ve done with the design teams I was leading at ustwo and Vertical Strategy.

Our next gathering is the Regenerative Stemmer event on September 12th at Skovskolen in Gribskov. It’s in Danish, featuring a collective dreaming/visioning session. We have an open call for contributions if you feel called to host a session. You can read all about it here.​

So, lots is bubbling and emerging, and from October, I will have space to take on new clients. If you’re looking for support in growing your leadership, team culture building, or change-making efforts, get in touch and we’ll explore what we can do together - for you and a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible (to paraphrase Charles Eisenstein).
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My next step in my inner work is to bring more of my truth and experience out into the world, including in this newsletter.

Until next time - be well, stick together and love fiercely,

Martina ❤️‍🔥
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Curious poke Where in your leadership do you feel most called to take a stand right now and what for? ​ What part of your team, organisation or community culture most needs a shift? ​ If your leadership could catalyse one lasting change in your ecosystem, what would it be? ​ What is the next small, meaningful action you can take to build a more beautiful world?

Hi, I'm Martina. I coach creative leaders, change-makers and teams through defining transitions. My approach is relational and focused on growing vibrant, trusting cultures full of life. Our work together serves a systemic paradigm shift towards a regenerative, life-affirming worldview. ​ I am committed to anti-racism and decolonisation, and all my paid client work enables me to support impact leaders and communities of the global majority through scholarships or pro-bono work. ​ And as for me - I am wildly intuitive, ancestrally rooted and happiest in treetops. 🌳 ​

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