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Maria Katsarou-Makin Psy.D. CPsychol, HCPC Registered, PCC

Founder & Managing Director at Leadership Psychology Institute

Frodsham, United Kingdom

Maria grew up in Lagos Nigeria, has lived and worked in various countries, and while operating globally is based in the UK, where she is the founder of The Leadership Psychology Institute. She has more than 20 years of experience in partnering with senior teams (Middle-level Managers, Management Teams, Boards and CEOs) for several multi-national organizations.
As a Professional in the field of Organizational Development she specializes in providing Organizational Solutions that answer to today’s ever increasing business needs around leadership, managing change and increasing both individuals’ and teams’ effectiveness through the implementation of bespoke Leadership Programmes, Group Dynamics workshops, Executive Coaching. Coming from a multi-cultural background herself and having to negotiate her own path in the corporate world for 13 years in organizations like SCA Hygiene, Johnson & Johnson, Henkel-Ecolab and Diageo, allows her to provide an insight into an organization that is practical, pragmatic and challenging. Her achievements include the effective leading of various HR initiatives, the successful introduction of various HR & organisational initiatives and action as a catalyst for organizational change, as well as leading multi-cultural leadership programs in Greece, Germany, South Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey.
She has a BA in Management and Organizational Behaviour, MA in Human Resources Management and an MSc in Psychology. Her Doctorate in Leadership Psychology at William James College (former Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology) in Boston gave her the opportunity to specialize further into Leadership Teams and to break new grounds in measuring trust. She holds the Henley Certificate in Coaching, is a member of the Henley Register of Coaches (UK), and is an accredited (PCC) Coach by the International Coaching Federation (ICF – USA). At the same time she is accredited by The Kantor Institute (MA, USA). She is certified in various psychometric instruments (e.g. MBTI, FIRO-B, CPI, 16PF, etc.) by the British Psychology Society and has also been a tutor in Management courses at The American College of Greece and other Academic Institutions, and delivering workshops, seminars and training programmes to Executives since 2002. Her professional affiliations include the British Psychology Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist, the International Coaching Federation (ICF, USA) and the Institute of Leadership and Management (UK) – Fellow Member and the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC – UK) – Registered Member.
Maria has co-authored the book ‘Under Pressure – understanding and managing pressure and stress at the workplace’, published by Marshall Cavendish International (UK). The book has been released in English, Portuguese and Chinese. ‘Factions of A Mind - Understanding the physical and psychological effects of caring’ and ‘Group Dyna-Mix - Investigating team dynamics, from leaders to corporate gatekeepers’.

Available For: Advising, Authoring, Consulting, Influencing, Speaking
Travels From: Manchester, UK
Speaking Topics: Leadership, Group Dynamics, Facilitating Transitions

Maria Katsarou-Makin Psy.D. CPsychol, HCPC Registered, PCC Points
Academic 0
Author 186
Influencer 122
Speaker 6
Entrepreneur 20
Total 334

Points based upon Thinkers360 patent-pending algorithm.

Thought Leader Profile

Portfolio Mix

Company Information

Company Type: Company
Minimum Project Size: Undisclosed
Average Hourly Rate: Undisclosed
Number of Employees: Undisclosed
Company Founded Date: Undisclosed

Areas of Expertise

Change Management
Culture
Health and Wellness 42.87
Leadership 32.47
Management 34.61
Mental Health 35.58
Social 30.11

Industry Experience

Consumer Products
Financial Services & Banking
Industrial Machinery & Components
Manufacturing
Media
Pharmaceuticals
Professional Services
Retail
Telecommunications
Wholesale Distribution

Publications

6 Article/Blogs
Are high-performance teams an illusion?
HR Future
October 01, 2022
It is possible to develop a team to be high performing. If I were to pick the most popular enquiry I have received in the last fifteen years from an organisation it would that on supporting a team on their way to becoming "high-performing".

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Tags: Social, Leadership, Mental Health

The psychology of queueing Human behaviour can rarely be reduced to a single motive and it’s more often than not, a much more complex answer.
Maria Katsarou
September 18, 2022
The last few days, anyone I spoke to (friend or client) would have something to say about the Queen’s passing. “So much change, a new Prime Minister and a new King” one client said immediately after saying hello during our session. Different emotions have been evoked and many of us have been triggered in various ways.

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

Spotlight on Leadership
LinkedIn
May 11, 2022
Covid19 and working from home have had a tremendous impact on the working environment leading to even greater gaps in affinity in teams and affecting trust. If you have recently conducted an employee engagement survey you may have witnessed a decrease in aspects like “speaking up”, “voicing a contrary opinion”, “feeling safe to challenge”. These are all aspects related and linked directly to psychological safety. Psychological safety is not about being nice or having no conflict; quite the contrary actually. We know from research and experience that psychologically safe teams have more productive conflict.

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

And Just Like That … 2021 is over! What did life smell like in 2021?
Maria Katsarou
January 02, 2022
Tired. It seems as the most prevalent state for 2021. Tired from 2020, tired from working from home, tired from covid19, everybody has a valid reason to be tired. Or beyond tired. Exhausted. 2020 marked the loss of human touch while 2021 seemed to mark the loss of our sense of smell through the wearing of face masks. Smell is a very powerful sense linked directly to our emotions and memories. Smelling can take you right back to a place, a person, an incident, just like that, and you can even fall in love with a person just by their scent. So, what did life smell like in 2021?

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

Why leadership psychology is essential, not a ‘nice to have’.
The Institute of Leadership & Management
July 28, 2021
Like cars, organisations must have regular MOTs – and leadership psychology provides the right set of tools for keeping their human engines in healthy, working order, argues Dr Maria Katsarou-Makin

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

A grim anniversary… but are we ready to face the world? The effects of prolonged isolation on our brain
Maria Katsarou
February 28, 2021
In Spring 2020 our initial response was adrenaline-driven and we thought (or hoped) that it would all end by the summer. During that first lockdown we had a psychological emergency response called arousal. Arousal is important in regulating our attention, our consciousness and our ability to process information. And we did the best we could. Whether that was bulk buying or throwing ourselves into reskilling online, we really did the best we could. The second and more so the third lockdown was a completely different story, and it required a different kind of resilience, a stamina that is different for each individual and it depends on their personal histories, experiences and personalities. So, even though we didn’t have the element of surprise the third lockdown feels unbearable, and most of us feel exhausted, fed up, and feel the need to just cry. There is another difference between 2020 and 2021… In 2020 the reported deaths to most people were about numbers… this year it’s about names.

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

3 Books
Group Dyna-Mix: Investigating team dynamics, from leaders to corporate gatekeepers
LID
May 05, 2022
Since the 2008 financial crisis, existing methods of executive leadership have experienced in-depth scrutiny beyond their control. In reference to Patrick Lencioni, to understand teams is to comprehend an "inattention to results, an avoidance of accountability, and a lack of commitment." Executive leaders have been operating through silent, lucrative and confidential team dynamics that are difficult to access, and subsequently difficult to challenge and understand. Dr Katsarou-Makin explores the team-to-trust and trust-to-team relations between executives and their associates - pertaining to the familial relations between these members and their unconventional codes of conduct. Under this umbrella of governance, directors, leaders and corporate gatekeepers operate in teams that are selected and trusted through unorthodox relations which must now come to light. Upon entry, Maria seeks to explore how these teams operate through a collective consensus of trust, the values this trust demands, the actions it produces and the failures it can cause.

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Tags: Management, Leadership

Factions of a mind
LID
September 10, 2020
In suffering the unexpected loss of her husband in the space of three months, Maria has navigated this passing into an honest awakening to the stages of grief. Exploring the changes to one's character, its effects on those around them and the difficulties we face as carers when confronted with the responsibility to manage and comfort our loved one in this process.

In Factions of a Mind, Maria examines our role as the carer. Learning how to manage the responsibilities to this role and the suffering it extends. To thoughtfully and honestly discuss our duty to care. As carers, our obligation to 'care' for the other has inexplicably meant that we do not equip ourselves with the tools and resources to 'care' for ourselves after their passing. Our inability to comprehend their loss and the stages of grief we are experiencing leave us vulnerable and open to further pain.

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Tags: Health and Wellness, Mental Health

Under Pressure - Understanding & Managing the Pressure & Stress at Work
Marshall Cavendish International
January 30, 2011
Everyone needs a certain level of pressure in order to achieve things at work. But when we go beyond pressure, we start to experience stress which is negative, counter-productive and potentially disastrous. Yet stress, especially at work, is a subject that is often ignored because to recognise it can be interpreted as a sign of weakness. This book looks at the challenges facing people in today s fast-moving world where the issues encountered by people at all levels in organisations are unprecedented. It provides practical techniques to help people cope with a much misunderstood but potentially devastating and naturally occurring state: stress. It gives readers a clear understanding of one the most difficult subjects to define and ways to deal with a topic that is usually only recognised when the results are dramatic and potentially damaging.

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Tags: Health and Wellness, Leadership, Mental Health

1 Founder
Leadership Psychology Institute
Leadership Psychology Institute
May 01, 2007
The Leadership Psychology Institute was created following the success and ever increasing demand of its sister company Our World Group with the view to serving a broader global client base, illustrating that the world of business to LPI has no boundaries.
Managing your transition through Organisational Engineering.

…architect your way to a greater future and secure your return on investment… together!

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

4 Media Interviews
Navigating the Trust Gap with Maria Katsarou-Makin & Doug Strycharczyk.
Leadership at the Egde
November 08, 2023
On this special edition episode of Leadership at the Edge, ⁠⁠The Institute of Leadership⁠⁠ CEO John Mark Williams, engages in a captivating conversation with Dr. Maria Katsarou-Makin and Doug Strycharczyk. Together, they delve into the intriguing findings of the latest research that sheds light on the evolving dynamics of trust in the workplace, focusing on key topics such as:

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Tags: Leadership

Leadership Psychology with Maria Katsarou-Makin.
The Institute of Leadership & Management
December 16, 2021
On the new and final episode of Leadership at the edge for 2021, the Institute of Leadership & Management’s CEO, John Mark Williams, joined by the founder of The Leadership Psychology Institute and co-author, Maria Katsarou-Makin, explore:
Trust and its role as the foundation for organisational effectiveness,
How organisations can help their teams differentiate between pressure and stress, and
Positioning the psychology of leadership in today's world.

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

Killing the Buddha on the Road with Dr. Maria Katsarou-Makin
The Coaching Show Podcast | Accomplishment Media
October 27, 2021
-The personal impact of authoring 3 books
-Training for acceptance vs self awareness
-Nothing ends, everything continues and evolves
-Ever evolving coaching experiences and their impact in coaching
-How coaching is impacted by our story
-How do we find success outside of “high performance”
-How organizations approach change
-Writing books as a process
-Team dynamics and trust
-Online virtual team workspace and the changing of professional landscapes

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

How to navigate the physical and psychological effects of grief with Dr. Maria Katsarou-Makin
Apple Podcasts
September 29, 2020
Dr. Maria Katsarou-Makin is the founder of the Leadership Psychology Institute and has more than 20 years of experience in organizational development and executive coaching. She combines business and consulting experience and has done extensive work and research in team dynamics. https://drmariakatsarou.blog/


In her book, Factions of A Mind, Dr Katsarou-Makin examines our role as the carer, learning how to manage the responsibilities as well as the suffering and pain that comes with it, thoughtfully and honestly discussing our duty to care. As carers, our obligation to ‘care’ for the other has inexplicably meant that we do not equip ourselves with the tools and resources to ‘care’ for ourselves after their passing. Our inability to comprehend their loss and the stages of grief we are experiencing leave us vulnerable and open to further pain.

See publication

Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

2 Webinars
How to manage the changing workplace
The Institute of Leadership & Management
November 25, 2021
The new psychological contract with workplace
The changing workplace - The demands of the pandemic have changed the way we work. With a new psychological contract with workplace and the impact on talent management. Audrey Clegg, Group Talent Director, Coca-Cola HBC in conversation with institute Fellow Maria Katsarou-Makin

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

The psychology of collaboration
The Institute of Leadership & Management
April 21, 2021
How has the move to leading virtual teams affected our attitude to collaboration and why is it so important?
Collaboration is an effective, group problem-solving process of which trust is a major prerequisite, but how has the Covid-19 crisis reshaped the trust between teams, networks, coalitions and partnerships.
Join Maria Katsarou-Makin to discover how successful collaboration can determine the investment and engagement in our organisation, and ultimately its success.

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Tags: Management, Leadership, Health and Wellness

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Maria Katsarou-Makin Psy.D. CPsychol, HCPC Registered, PCC