I combine leadership experience, neuroscience-aware self-leadership, positive psychology and practical change work.
I'm Kaija Alliksaar, a coach, trainer and development partner with a leadership background.
I help people, leaders and teams notice what is holding back their real potential, and move towards greater clarity, self-trust and more conscious action.
Coach · trainer · 15+ years of leadership experience
My story
I didn't arrive at this work through training alone. I got here through two worlds: working life and real life.
For over 15 years I led teams in an international company, in the middle of change, responsibility, deadlines, pressure and people. I saw up close how even very capable people don't always operate at their real potential. Not because they lack skill or don't care, but because pressure, uncertainty, defensive behaviour and old patterns start driving more than conscious choice does.
I saw it while leading. I saw it in teams. And honestly, I saw it in myself too.
My personal life has held a lot of responsibility, carrying things alone, raising two children, work pressure, difficult relationships and mental health issues within the family. There have been periods where everything worked on the outside: the work got done, people were cared for, the home held together. But inside, my body had been on alert for a long time.
That taught me something no leadership training on its own could have: "coping" doesn't always mean a person is truly doing well.
A person can be very capable and very tired at the same time. A leader can know exactly how they want to lead, yet still react from an old pattern under pressure. A team can be made up of good people and still operate from defence rather than trust.
My work today grew out of this.
Today I help people, leaders and teams notice what is really driving them, and what has helped them cope so far but may now be holding back their clarity, self-trust, responsibility or real contribution.
My work does not start from the question: “What's wrong with you?”
It starts from the question: “What has helped you cope so far, and what do you need now to move forward?”
My work brings together
Over 15 years of experience in an international company, in the middle of teams and change.
How pressure, safety and defensive patterns shape decisions, communication and collaboration.
What repeats in a person's, leader's or team's behaviour, even when everyone knows it could be different.
Who a person has learned to think they are, and which inner parts hold them back or want to move forward.
Not only what holds a person back, but also what they want to build instead: strengths, meaning, self-trust and a life that feels more their own.
Tools and understanding that help change actually reach everyday life.
My approach
I don't see a person as a problem to be fixed. I look at the patterns, defences and inner strategies that once helped them cope, but may now be holding back their real potential.
The same applies to leaders and teams. Often the question is not that people don't want to perform better. The question is which pressure, uncertainty, learned behaviour or inner defence is driving more than conscious choice.
My work combines leadership experience, coaching, a nervous-system aware approach, positive psychology and practical self-leadership.
That means we don't only look at what holds a person back. It's equally important to build what helps them move forward: inner safety, self-trust, using strengths, meaning, responsibility and more conscious choices.
My work helps make visible what is really driving a person, leader or team, and from there build more clarity, inner safety, responsibility and real contribution.
Training and background
- 15+ years of leadership experience in an international company
- Positive Psychology Practitioner Certification, EfficientCoach.com, 2025
- Neuroscience Coach Certification, EfficientCoach.com, 2025
- Somatic Trauma-Informed Coaching & Leadership Certification, The School of Trauma Informed Positive Psychology, 2023-2024
- Solution-focused coach, Erickson Coaching International, The Art and Science of Coaching I-IV, 2017-2018 (128h, ICF ACSTH Solution-Focused Coach Training)
- High Performance Team Coaching, Erickson Coaching International, ICF CCE, 21h
- Additional training in narcissistic abuse, recovery and deeper change work