Maria Takaendisa
Chatham,Kent
Summary
My work is grounded in the belief that people and organisations cannot be understood in isolation. Drawing on Systemic and Systems-Psychodynamic approaches, I help surface the unseen dynamics that shape behaviour, relationships and performance. Through an Ubuntu lens- “I am because we are” I use storytelling as a tool for reflection, meaning making and change. My approach emphasises meaning over mechanics, story over surface and why over what to bring about multi-level interventions across organisational, team and individual levels.
I have extensive experience partnering with senior leadership to identify performance blockages, shape organisational strategy and enhance change capability within politically and socially complex environments.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
4
4
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Relationship & Change Manager
Westminster City Council
01.2019 - 05.2026
- Diagnose organisational culture and systemic dynamics across departments, identifying barriers to collaboration, inclusion and performance.
- Design and deliver organisation wide OD interventions to improve communication, leadership alignment and organisational effectiveness
- Partner with senior leadership to address equality, diversity and inclusion challenges translating insight into strategic actions
- Facilitate high stakes, politically sensitive engagements across internal and external stakeholders.
- Lead organisation initiatives to enhance change capability, including psychological safety, leadership development and cultural transformation
- Design and implement interventions addressing organisational inequalities, including unconscious bias and structural inequality
- Manage cross agency programme (Including Metropolitan Police Partnership) to improve systemwide cohesion and stakeholder relationships
- Provide inhouse coaching to leaders supporting individual and team effectiveness.
Organisational and Leadership Development Consultant
Maria Takaendisa Consultancy Ltd
01.2019 - 05.2026
- Advise senior leaders and boards on organisational effectiveness, culture and systemic change
- Design and implement multi-level OD interventions across organisational, team and individual systems.
- Apply systems psychodynamic and process consulting approaches to diagnose organisational challenges and inform intervention design.
- Deliver leadership development programmes focused on impact, inclusion and systemic awareness
- Facilitate leadership alignment, team effectiveness and organisational coherence through group based interventions.
- Provide executive, team and group coaching to enhance leadership capability
- Design and deliver bespoke programmes of psychological safety, anti-racism and inclusive leadership
- Facilitate restorative and cross agency conversations to address relational and systemic challenges.
Freelance Tutor & Leadership Development Facilitator
Maria Takaendisa Consultancy
01.2016 - 05.2026
- Design and deliver systemic leadership and supervision training for managers and senior practitioners.
- Facilitate leadership development cohorts integrating systems thinking and reflective practice
- Mentor emerging practitioners and leaders supporting the development of their systemic and professional capabilities
- Deliver training on organisational dynamics, systemic practice and relational leadership
- Provide academic coaching to students from marginalised communities.
Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist
Royal Borough of Greenwich
01.2019 - 01.2020
- Consulted on multiagency project addressing serious youth violence and exploitation
- Designed dialogical processes to enhance team functioning and stakeholder collaboration
- Built organisational capability through systemic learning and reflective practice
- Supported leadership development and team effectiveness within complex partnership systems.
Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
01.2018 - 01.2019
- Advised project board on systemic implementation of new assessment frameworks
- Designed and delivered systemic interventions across multiple youth offending teams
- Supported organisational transformation and embedding of systemic practice.
Family/Systemic Psychotherapist
Westminster City Council
01.2015 - 01.2019
- Contributed to organisation-wide change programme embedding systemic practice.
- Facilitated reflective spaces to strengthen organisational learning and practice.
- Consulted on complex cases, leadership decision making and service development
- Co-delivered training programmes to build systemic capability across services.
Education
Doctoral Candidate - Organisational consultancy
Tavistock and Portman NHS
09.2023 - 09.2027
MSc - Family/Systemic Psychotherapy
Institute of Family Therapy
BSc - Mental Health Nursing (Addiction)
Kings College London
Diploma of Higher Education - Mental Health Nursing
University of Greenwich
Skills
- Organisational development and effectiveness
- Systems theory and Systems-Psychodynamic Consulting
- Process Consultation
- Organisational Culture and change
- Organisational diagnosis and performance blockers
- Leadership development and executive coaching
- Group dynamics and unconscious processes
- Strategic stakeholder engagement (ExCo Level)
- Diversity, Inclusion and belonging interventions
- Multi level intervention design(Organisation, team, individual)
PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS
- ICF Accredited coach(ACC)
- Systemic leadership and consulting
- Brain Based coaching
- Ubuntu Coaching
- Agile project management
- Emerging strategic leader programme(Windsor Leadership)
ADDITIONAL STRENGTH
- Ability to work with complexity and ambiguity without oversimplification
- Strong interpretive and thematic analytic capability
- Skilled in facilitating insight led organisational change
- Deep expertise in relational dynamics and systemic patterns
- Clear and impactful communicator cross diverse audience
Timeline
Doctoral Candidate - Organisational consultancy
Tavistock and Portman NHS
09.2023 - 09.2027
Relationship & Change Manager
Westminster City Council
01.2019 - 05.2026
Organisational and Leadership Development Consultant
Maria Takaendisa Consultancy Ltd
01.2019 - 05.2026
Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist
Royal Borough of Greenwich
01.2019 - 01.2020
Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
01.2018 - 01.2019
Freelance Tutor & Leadership Development Facilitator
Maria Takaendisa Consultancy
01.2016 - 05.2026
Family/Systemic Psychotherapist
Westminster City Council
01.2015 - 01.2019
MSc - Family/Systemic Psychotherapy
Institute of Family Therapy
BSc - Mental Health Nursing (Addiction)
Kings College London
Diploma of Higher Education - Mental Health Nursing
University of Greenwich