Thursday, June 18, 11:00 am – 12:pm EDT
with: Abiola Orojo, MCC, ACTC | Inga Bielińska, MCC, SP, ACTC, ESIA, ITKA | Dr. Michelle Thompson, PCC, ACTC | Shalini Matai, MCC, ACTC
moderated and hosted by Katerina Kanelidou, MCC, ACTC and Whitney Luther, ACC
Every experienced team coach has a story they don’t usually tell. In this panel, our speakers open up about engagements that went sideways — missed early signals, mismatched expectations, organizational interference, moments when it became clear the team wasn’t the problem, and more. This is not a session about polished case studies. It is an honest conversation about what coaches avoid saying, what they wish they had done differently, and why “fails” are often the most diagnostic and developmental experiences.
Abiola Orojo is a certified trainer, an ICF master coach (MCC), a certified team coach (ACTC) and an experienced HR practitioner who supports organizations and their teams to embed leadership capabilities, align team dynamics, and promote culture shifts. She also trains coaches and mentors them towards accreditation and credentialing with ICF.
Inga Bielińska works globally with leaders and teams navigating change, cultural complexity, and communication challenges. She helps teams clarify mission, vision, and collaboration while reducing conflict. Based in Silicon Valley, she supports engineers and leaders in fast-paced environments. She is Chair of the EMCC USA Ethics Committee and Faculty at TCGA.
Dr. Michelle Thompson is Assistant Dean at Concordia University Irvine’s Townsend Institute, overseeing the Executive Coaching and Consulting program. She is a coach educator and team coaching practitioner focusing on leadership development, organizational change, and professional dispositions, bringing a systems and relational lens to team coaching “fails.”
Shalini Matai is a Master Certified Coach, team facilitator, and founder of Conscious Leadership Pathways. With 20+ years, 3,000+ coaching hours, and affiliations with McKinsey’s Aberkyn and INSEAD, she works at the intersection of systems thinking, conscious leadership, and transformation, helping leaders across Asia and globally lead from the inside out.