About Me
I am a relentless, purpose driven humanist, placing people at the centre of every endeavour.
Why focus on Leaders?
Because leaders always scared me a little and I thought if I got closer, I would get over myself. Sometimes I am still getting over myself.
Because leaders have some skin in the game, it really is tough at the top. Developing leaders is courage building work. And I like courage.
Because leaders can make or break cultures. It pains me to see human potential going to waste. I believe I can help with that.
I believe that what exists beyond our fears, doubts, social conditioning, pressure to conform or fit in, behind the mask of prestige and status, is our inherent human need to belong, to be seen, known and respected, to connect with others, to make a contribution, to make something of ourselves in the way we live, love and lead our lives. We want to matter. I’m yet to meet one person who doesn’t want that.
And so at LeaderKind we believe that everyone has the capacity to discover, develop and express their unique potential in the service of something greater than themselves. We want to work with organisations who believe what we believe.
How did I get here?
Mine is a story of an unlikely Leader. I didn’t set out to be one.
Frankly, where I grew up, you kept your distance when it came to ‘people in authority’. Maybe pursuing what scares you most is the ultimate mastery?
The first remarkable leaders came into my life in my mid 30s. They were everything except what I thought leaders should have been – strong, powerful and commanding. These leaders had the courage to be imperfect and it’s what made all the difference.
My Background
I was born in 1970’s in what was then still a communist Poland.
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I was born in 1970’s in what was then still a communist Poland. Political context matters here and is worth a blog post but beyond that my family, schooling and friendships seemed pretty standard and certainly didn’t focus on making any of us believe we should strive to have an impact on the world.
In fact, being a woman, it took me a good decade to grow out of an unhealthy kind of modesty and another one to understand that being my-full-self and having an ambition to make a difference, beyond just having a passion, is about self-respect. I don’t take it for granted.
Looking back, what perhaps made me different, was my relentless curiosity (perhaps even obsession) about other people, and really not much tolerance for anything else. Whatever I did, my attention would be drawn to people.
I was amazed by what people were amazed by, curious about what made them tick, encouraging of their wildest idiosyncrasies. And, following my very early experience of group therapy, perhaps more aware, compassionate and accepting of their unique stories of struggle.
My Professional Career
In a way I always knew what I was supposed to do but it would take me years to express it in a way that felt meaningful and impactful.
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My initial degree was in Languages and I became an English and Spanish teacher for about 6 years of people of literally all ages: from 4 to 70 years old. I loved it. The classes felt personal, almost like therapy, because I was simply teaching folk to express themselves in another language and I was very successful at it. It felt natural.
I then lived in Madrid, where I met, and New York, where I married my husband Jaime. We moved to our beloved Edinburgh and I faced a professional, a ‘what’s next?’ dilemma. I knew I wanted to work with people so HR or Psychology felt like a natural choice. I chose a quick post-grad upgrade in HR. A few years later I was pacing the pavement outside a very respectable legal establishment where I was forging my way through HR with a very clear sense that this work wasn’t the best expression of my strengths or values. It wasn’t my difference to make. I was good at it but I knew I was never going to be outstanding.
Shortly after I enrolled on the Advanced Counselling Skills training, Co-Active coach training at CTI, Organisation & Relationships Systems Coach training (ORSC) at CRRUK, Leadership Circle Certification and a 10-month deep dive into Leadership Development with CTI and over a hundred smaller events and just as many books on personal and professional development.
Half way through I transitioned from HR to L&D and almost immediately stepped into a leadership role spearheading the function in two organisations before finally surrendering to self-employment. It’s the hardest thing I have ever done and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I sometimes laugh that my overnight success required 15 years of preparation.
Leadership Demystified
The world of Learning & Development was close to my heart and felt like a natural expression of who I was. I no longer worried about feeling confident because loving and believing in the work had a profound internal resonance that carried me forward through the ups and downs. It gave me an understanding of what it really takes to build a business, a few bruises along the way and it also gave me courage. Helping people navigate their leadership development journeys felt weepy-eyed meaningful. It was my difference to make.
It also demystified Leadership.
These men and women I was working with were just like me:
- They wanted to make a contribution, to feel proud of their work and valued by their peers and colleagues
- They hesitated before putting their necks on the line but were inspired by the stories of courage
- They had a sense of responsibility and were frustrated by folk who didn’t get it but didn’t know how to influence effectively or have an impact they longed to have
- They both craved and feared feedback, and they wanted to be accepted for who they were but also wanted to grow professionally
- They always had a unique set of strengths and values that when unacknowledged felt toxic and draining and when expressed gave them wings
Regardless of their positions, they longed to be less of who they thought they should be and more of who they were.
And that’s what I want for you. Leadership comes in many forms. It’s not always easy but in my experience it’s always worth it. I am here to help you re-imagine what it might look like for you.
Follow the Links to get Started
Follow the Links to get Started
Agnieszka’s official biography
Agnieszka is a leading UK expert in facilitating Leadership Development programmes using the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) suite of assessments.
She is the Ambassador & Community Builder for the Leadership Circle in the UK, a unique role she sought to establish to provide a tender loving care for the LCP practitioners in the UK, whose love for the work equals her own.
Agnieszka has worked across Europe in legal, finance, real estate, charity, media and creative sectors, including start-ups. Her 12+ years of experience in the corporate world exposed her to daily challenges of leaders and teams who, overwhelmed by daily pressures and blame cultures, would often cling to ‘busy’ as their last meaning making status symbol.
Agnieszka is a wise and inspiring role model of her vision. Her passion for developing human potential in the business context has led her to set up her own LeaderKind consultancy where she helps leaders and teams better navigate the complex world we live in.
Credentials
Agnieszka is a passionate, perceptive and intuitive coach with an excellent understanding of the professional services industry. Her insight and background in the corporate sphere translates into focused discussions and understanding centred on how to move forward in one’s life and career.
Agnieszka helped me to understand my Leadership Circle Profile, explaining clearly the methodology and research that underpins the model. She is clearly an expert in this field. Together we extracted key points of learning and identified action points for the future. What I valued most was the insight and kindness in the way Agnieszka helped me see real value in aspects of my profile that at first glance appeared as weaknesses and to put behind me some baggage from previous roles and celebrate the important successes.
Working with Agnieszka helped me increase my awareness of the way I lead and inspire people, how my personality and behaviour impact the team and my co-workers. I learned that there is no one-fits-all approach and one should harmonise their own personality with the way they lead. A few months ago I assumed the responsibility for a new project. It was my aim to form a team that is able to manage a large number of complex tasks, allocate task based on their experience and with minimal guidance. These are very busy times, but the team is very motivated and the project is running well. This success is based on the experience I gained during her training and coaching.
Sitting in front of my Leadership Circle Profile and having a debrief of my results felt like I was being shown around a room in my house I never knew existed. By no means was I a newbie to Leadership but the impact of the profile took my breath away. For the first time in my life I really understood the difference between being a Boss and being a Leader.
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