Get to know Vida Škreb – Coach

You’re a neuroscientist and a leadership coach – what first sparked your interest in how our brains shape the way we lead and work?

My PhD was in neuroplasticity; how the brain physically changes through learning and experiences. Watching neurons on a video alter their activity during learning made it impossible to see our brains as fixed. That opened up curiosity for how to really create sustainable change.

As I kept learning about the brain, I realised how much of our basic inner machinery most of us are never taught. For example, why our focus collapses after back‑to‑back meetings, that the brain can’t actually multitask, or how quickly stress can flip us into a different brain state where we lose access to our best thinking and confidence. A lot of my work is about helping leaders notice those states and shift them, so they can get back to the resources they already have.

We also don’t learn that the brain was built for survival, not for being happy and productive all the time, so we blame ourselves for being human when we can’t keep going like a perfect, always‑on machine. Every emotion and thinking pattern we have is there for evolutionary reasons, with upsides and downsides, but most of us were never shown how to recognise those patterns or how to work with them.

When I started sharing some of these insights with leaders, I saw an immediate shift. Understanding the brain gave them language and permission for what they were already feeling, it increased their empathy for themselves and their teams, and it made behaviour change feel possible. That “aha” moment when someone stops blaming themselves for being human and realizes how they can leverage their brain instead of fighting with it keeps me doing this work.

You’ve coached leaders in over 20 countries and in multiple languages – what’s one thing that helps people thrive at work, wherever they are?

People thrive at work when they’re anchored to genuine meaning, but that only sticks when they embrace the difficulty of leading. Leadership is riddled with paradoxes—you need to drive results whilst genuinely caring for people, influence others whilst staying adaptable, project confidence whilst wrestling with self-doubt, and show vulnerability without undermining your authority. The ones who actually flourish are the ones who recognise that struggle is baked in, and they stay connected to why it matters anyway.

You describe your style as ‘empathy with edge’. What does that look like in practice for your clients?

Empathy means having a deep understanding of where people are, of their experience, without judgment. The reality is that all our behaviours, struggles, and feelings have a good reason to be there, even if it doesn’t seem like that on the surface. It’s about meeting someone in that space—really seeing them. But only staying in a space of support and acceptance doesn’t necessarily move the dial.

The edge is the willingness to challenge assumptions, call out patterns, and explore difficult truths together with genuine curiosity. And it’s in that blend of support and direct challenge where the real shift happens. When someone feels understood, accepted, and invited to grow is when they feel truly respected, and motivated to change.

You’re trained in supporting neurodivergent clients – what do organisations often overlook when it comes to creating environments where different thinking styles can flourish?

Organisations overlook that neurodivergent people are operating under a different constraint—they’re often managing both the actual task and the emotional labour of masking or minimising their real experience. So, they may look fine on the surface, but there’s an invisible tax happening, that goes unnoticed or not taken seriously.

Second, even when the struggle is taken seriously, organisations often assume the situation will be hard to solve. In reality, small, reasonable adjustments tend to go a very long way, such as, giving clear instructions, explicitly contracting ways of working together, adjusting noise levels and lighting, or allowing flexibility in how tasks are done. And these adjustments help neurotypical people as well.

Third, organisations often feel they ought to know all the answers in advance. But the most effective approach is collaborative by creating enough trust to talk openly and then co-designing the specific adjustments that will help that individual thrive.

Finally, the biggest oversight is treating neurodiversity as something to accommodate rather than something to actively leverage. Neurodivergent people bring original thinking, deep focus, and the ability to question assumptions. The opportunity isn’t just creating environments where they can survive; it’s designing spaces where those strengths actually drive the work forward.