DSH International HR

21/05/2026

I am not very regular in my posts I know. The book took a lot of my attention, I had a lot of work and I was also in a period of transition. I needed to think. To reinvent myself somehow. It happens about every 5 years. I need some change. I talk about that in my first newsletter in a year.

The newsletter is about transformation — the kind that doesn’t announce itself clearly, arrives through discomfort and disruption, and only makes sense in retrospect. It´s about the space between what was and what will be.

It is as always also personal, because I think that leadership is more personal than it looks. It is also about what I see happening in organisations and in the world right now. I call it: Between The No Longer and The Not Yet.

I look forward to reading what you think!

Much love to you,
Drissia

Here is my newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/transformation-liminal-space-between-longer-notyet-drissia-2wytf

20/02/2026

Despite all the technological and political changes around us, living and leading remains deeply, fundamentally human.

I am sometimes surprised by how many leaders don't understand how the human mind works. Yet it makes all the difference.

If you want to increase your executive presence and make your communication truly impactful... If you want to keep the spirit and mindset high and creative in your organisation… if you want your culture to shift towards more flexibility, cooperation, proactivity and innovation… if you want yourself and your people to perform at your best most of the time... you have to understand how the mind works. Your mind. And the human mind in general.

Many of the challenges I see in organisations around leading people come from a lack of understanding of the depth of the human mind. It doesn't have to be. It breaks my heart sometimes to see that.

I see everyone rushing — including myself — to better understand AI, learn prompts, create assistants and agents to keep up with the speed of technological evolution. But the consciousness of humanity has to evolve too.

Did you know for example:

-That the ground principles of being human are still the same as they have always been.
-That we always experience life from the inside out, not the other way around?
-That we move up and down levels of consciousness (and moods) all day long, without being aware of it?
-That the quality of our thinking shrinks or expands depending on where we are on the ladder of consciousness?
-That we already have all the wisdom we need inside us — the challenge isn't to learn wisdom, but to access it?

There is still so much to learn about our humanity — not only about technology.

I used to coach in a purely classical way — setting a coaching objective, listening, asking questions, waiting for answers and systemic resonance, asking more powerful questions, helping my clients gain self-awareness and insights. I still do all of that, of course. I have been working as an executive coach for twenty years, and I know how to coach. But in recent years I have gone further and also added something to the coaching conversations that makes all the difference.

Drawing on both psychological knowledge and ancient wisdom, I also help my clients understand how their mind works at a deeper level. This has brought significant, sustainable impact to my clients' lives — because they gain a mental framework that helps them observe and recalibrate themselves and their actions. They become more conscious and wiser leaders.

Dear leaders, please take the time to learn about yourself, about psychology, about what it means to be human — individually and collectively. With me, or with others who are knowledgeable and experienced. You will notice how much more impactful your work and your presence become the more you rise as a human being and as a leader.

Much love to you as always,
Drissia

(It was last week, I had just landed in Munich to deliver a Corporate Leadership Mindset Coaching Programm. No selfy for today because I have got a cold and I don't only look too tired, I have also a low level of energy)

25/01/2026

I’m slowly finding my way back to Facebook, instagram, linkedin and my newsletter after a long break. It is quite a lot of communication for someone who already works a lot.

I’ve listened to some of the talks at Davos, and they’ve inspired me to reflect on leadership and the importance of committing to core human values in the actions we take.

For a long time, humanity has operated under an unspoken and risky game of power: winning mattered more than how we got there, a bit of egoism here or opportunism there were part of the deal, and alliances that were built on shared interests rather than shared human values were good enough.

But I believe we are now experiencing the consequences of what we have accepted for too long. Because human values like respect for life and human dignity, trust in mutual agreements, collaboration and support, safety and justice etc. are not abstract ideals, they are the invisible foundations that not only allow societies and businesses to function — but also to thrive.

While I am aware that there is room for interpretation and reality is complex, I also know that there is a core to those values that is built in humanity and therefore universal. It is when human beings disconnect from them and lose their healthy inner compass that they start behaving astray. Then everything becomes possible: "Why do you do that? Because I can".

As leaders, you are used to navigating by results, growth targets, and performance indicators. But there is a deeper orientation also available to you — one that is anchored in universal human values. Because leadership, at its heart, is not about you, and even not only about achieving outcomes; it is about serving others. And the principles from which you choose to act matter.

Recently, I came across a leadership course about influencing skills. It was well designed. But something was missing: a space to reflect on the values that guide our actions. Would we do anything to achieve our goal? I know it is a difficult discussion to have but isn't it an important one?

When we hold positions of power, we do more than lead. We shape environments. We influence lives. We set tones. We don’t just make decisions; we reveal who we are in how we make them. We don’t just pursue goals; we demonstrate what matters to us along the way.

For me, this is the invitation of our time: to bring universal human values back into the leadership conversation — not as statements, but as lived principles that guide us when the pressure is high, the choices are complex, and the consequences are real.

Universal human values are not “nice to have.” They are essential. They help draw lines we will not cross. They protect us from the darker impulses of the human mind. They help create cultures that feel right.

When we lose them — when the end justifies the means — we lose something far more precious than short-term success. We lose ourselves, and others pay the price. Can you relate?

With Love, Drissia

(By the way, if you haven’t had the chance to listen to the Davos talks yet, you can find many of them here: https://lnk.bio/worldeconomicforum)

01/01/2026

Happy New Year to You! I wish you all a year of good health, peace, love and happiness. ✨💜🤗🍀

We chose a lovely winter wonderland place for our winter holiday this year. We love the landscapes, the snow the wind, the peace and quiet. It is really gorgeous even if not easy to drive in.

After a very productive and very intense year of coaching and writing my book, I’m ready to reconnect. I just couldn’t be everywhere at the same time. Sorry for not being very present here this year. It was just too much to handle at the same time.

“The Smart, the Wise and the Child. A transformative Book for Conscious Leadership“ is currently being edited in the US and will be released this year hopefully. I will share more updates soon. I didn’t know it was so much work but I like it.

Enjoy this beginning of a year that will be a full roller coaster I guess like every year.

Take good care of yourself! I look forward to catching up with you this year. ☺️

Much love to you all!

See you soon, Drissia

#❤

21/07/2025

I have traveled across Europe the last months to coach groups of leaders and executives from various companies and help them reflect about themselves, grow, solve their challenges and learn about how their mind works.

With one group I did an interesting exercise. We talked about their sense of self (I use the metaphor of the ego) and what they perceive about others. We don´t need a phd in psychology to feel when our sense of self (ego) is in a good, healthy and strong state or when it feels threatened, unbalanced, agitated and unhealthy. We can feel this things when we slow down.

So I asked them to describe what a too small ego feels and looks like to them, what a big unhealthy ego looks like, and how it feels to be around someone who has a healthy sense of self, not too much and not too little. (Just present, grounded, open, wise, and feeling good in their own skin, but I didn´t tell them that.)

My intention was not to do a research study, but to raise their awareness and sensitivity for their sense of self and others. We can all do that.

But the next step is also interesting. It is easy to talk about “the others”, put labels on people and take ourselves away from growth. So the next step is very important.

I told them. Nobody is 100% either in a small, a big, or a healthy ego state of mind. We all move from one state of mind to the other depending on the thoughts we produce in our own heads.

So how often are you in the one or the other ego state of mind? 30/50/20? 10/30/60? Take a moment to reflect and be honest with yourself. I was probably often in a 50/40/10 state of mind or something like that a long time ago, I told them. I remember how it felt. Not so good. And it was not so impactful either.

It is ok to feel anything. It is called being human. But we can learn and grow.

This radical self-reflection is deep, very important and the first step towards growth. We talked about more stuff but there is no space here. If you would like to have this kind of transformative conversations for yourself and with your leadership team, drop me a line and we can have a chat.

Much love to you as always,

Drissia

26/05/2025

Who we think we are is different from who we really are. The one is our ego with its ups and downs, and transient experience of life. The other is peaceful, pure, naturally strong and resilient and the essence of who we are. Both are in us.

It is from our essence and not our ambitious, inpatient, confused or insecure ego that we can navigate life most gracefully and wisely. It is our core and never leaves us regardless of the circumstances.

Both are always with us, because we are human, are ego will never leave us. But the question is: who is leading?

How do you know? The difference is in the feeling. The more peaceful and clear, the closer you are to your essence.

Much love to you,

Drissia

20/04/2025

17/04/2025

What I enjoy the most in coaching, whether individually or in teams, is slowing down. It is amazing what we see when we slow down.

Our mind gets finally a chance to quiet down. We see things we didn´t see before. New and fresh thoughts can emerge. A new perspective. A piece of new data that was hiding somewhere in our head while we were busy thinking about stuff. An emotion that was carrying information can finally emerge. An object that has been in a room all the time becomes visible. A solution that has been waiting to be seen can finally show up in our consciousness. Etc.

It is amazing what happens as well in teams when they slow down. Conversations have a different quality, quiet people can finally talk and share what they have always wanted to say; perspective shifts, connections, and creativity rise, problems become understandable, and solutions can emerge.

We rush from one meeting to the other, from one topic to the other, from one person to the other, from one task to the next challenge.

Most people are not used to slowing down at work. They perceive it as a waste of time while it is exactly the opposite that happens.

While I am in wonder about the abilities of our minds to handle so many things at the same time with such intensity, I also see how much gets lost on the way.

It is not only about the exhaustion that we may experience, -at least that’s how I feel when I am too busy-. It´s also about our ability to do the right things at the right moment for the right reason which gets less reliable.

A senior leadership team I had been coaching the day before asked me the next morning if they could use part of the coaching time to discuss a critical topic they had been stuck with for a while. I said, sure. Do you need my help with anything? No, they said. I think we might be fine now after the day we spent yesterday. Ok. As you wish. I told him. I am in the room if you need me.

I observed their conversations and their decision-making process. After not even an hour they were done. The topic was very critical. It went all so smoothly. So I asked him why did you want to have this conversation here now. It seemed so easy. It was all so clear. Why didn’t you keep this topic for your next team meeting? You could have used my resources differently. His answer was surprising: that was the best team meeting we have had in a very long time. The discussion was rich and constructive, everybody was engaged and listening, and we decided quickly. I didn’t know we were able to do that. It was a perfect use of our time.

I loved that! We slowed down the day before. To listen to each other, to understand, to see what we could not see before, to reconnect the dots, clarify misunderstandings and rebuild trust. And then something wonderful happened out of it. Yes, it was slow, but it was so productive!

Do you know this book? Slowing Down to the Speed of Life, from Joseph Baley and Richard Carlson. Nice.

Much love to you and your teams,

Drissia

09/04/2025

A well-deserved cappuccino this afternoon after two intense days about: psychological safety.

It may sound like just a nice to have conversation for a top leadership team, but a fearful organisation isn’t just hard to work in. It’s also hard to lead.

And let’s be honest: it is also less productive, efficient, innovative and sustainable.

So I am glad we did this exercise. They saw so much about themselves, their teams and their organisation a seemingly small topic with such great potential. It was all so new to most of them!

As leaders, there’s so much you can do to help remove the blocks in yourself, your teams and your organisations.

We all deserve to work in a fearless and stress-free organisation.

Much love to you,

Drissia

07/04/2025

On my way to Bergamo to spend the day with the top 20 leaders of a tech company—I can’t help but pause and reflect.

20 years ago, I would’ve never imagined I’d be working on psychological safety with the highest levels of leadership.

Back then, it wasn’t even a conversation. And now… it’s at the centre of the table of leadership, and.. society.

We take it for granted when it’s there and feel the difference when, for whatever reasons, it’s not there anymore. It is so powerful. That’s why it’s important to understand it.

Tomorrow it won’t be just a keynote. We’ll spend the whole day exploring what psychological safety really means—for their teams, their culture, their everyday leadership. The real stuff.

And honestly? It moves me.

Because when leaders and organizations are willing to look inward, question old patterns and go deeper into the human conversations —that’s where change begins for them and their organisations. But also for all of us.

I’m so glad they see the importance, and the urgency of the topic, especially with what is happening in the world right now.

Because a fearful organisation isn’t just hard to work in. It’s hard to breathe in.

And let’s be honest: it is also less productive, and unsustainable.

We all deserve better than fear.

Much love to you,

Drissia

04/04/2025