Your Integral Coach Gunda Johannes
Professionally Certified Integral Coach
Master’s in Psychology, PhD in Neuroscience
Full-time Senior Leadership Development Professional
Ex-McKinsey
Human on a Journey
I strive to help people cultivate a deeper sense of fulfilment and ease
in their relationship with life.
My Approach
I have studied and worked across a range of human-centred disciplines for over 15 years. This includes Psychology and Brain Science, Bodymind approaches and Adult Development, and Leadership and Management Consulting.
In my coaching practice, I combine these fields into an integrated approach, tailoring each element to the unique needs of my clients.
The goal of a coaching engagement is for you to become more skilled, self-correcting, and self-generating in your coaching topic. In short, the goal is for your coaching topic no longer to be as much of a “topic” for you once our work concludes.
I intend to meet you with compassion, rigor, and wisdom, in a coaching relationship grounded in mutual trust, respect, and freedom of expression.
I live and breathe human development.
My Qualifications
I hold a Masters of Science in Psychology from the University of Göttingen and a PhD in Neuroscience from ETH Zurich.
I am a professionally certified Integral Coach through New Ventures West, which is accredited by the ICF.
I am a trauma-sensitive NARM®-Informed Professional. The NeuroAffective Relational Model is a developmentally-oriented, neuroscientifically-informed model for addressing attachment, relational and developmental trauma.
I am a Leadership Circle Certified Practitioner. Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) is a comprehensive 360-degree assessment tool designed to measure and provide feedback on leadership effectiveness.
I live and breathe human development both inside and outside of work:
I work full-time in Senior Leadership Development through Mobius Executive Leadership, where I manage, design, and facilitate transformational leadership programs for global corporations.
I commit a significant amount of time and resources to ongoing personal and professional development, with a current focus on Leadership and Adult Development, Somatic Awareness and Energy, and Systemic Intelligence.
My Background
I grew up in South Africa in a community of German ancestry. Nowadays I live in Zurich, Switzerland, with my Italian partner. I work for a global company and travel a lot, both for business and fun.
Coming from this multicultural, multi-denominational, and multilingual environment, I do not identify with a single place as home but rather consider myself part of a global community. I am fluent in German, English, and Afrikaans, and am learning Italian, which now competes with my half-knowledge of French.
I enjoy creating visual arts and crafts, and you may have noticed some of my self-made sketches on this website, such as the one above illustrating my approach to coaching. I often think and express myself through images and metaphors, which you’ll soon notice in our discussions.
On the subject of images, you’ll find pictures of succulents throughout this webpage—my personal symbol of hope and beauty: It took me years—my ‘desert years’—to understand that fulfilment cannot come from hard work alone, especially when it sacrifices joy and flow.
When I finally asked for help, I could begin my journey toward a more fulfilling life. Like a succulent, I found ways to exist with beauty and ease in what had become a very sparse and rugged life terrain. I also learned to appreciate the resilience and compassion that these tough times had taught me. Over time, my life transformed into something more wholesome, and now, I feel I am truly directing my own path.
If you’re at the start of your journey, know that there is hope. All it takes is to start small and continue to do so. The rest will automatically follow.
