Thouraya Sayess Coaching

Sometimes the most powerful act of leadership is simply 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the concept of “𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲”.
The term is often used to describe small pockets of clarity and humanity that exist within turbulent systems.

An 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 is 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩, 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭.

A conversation where people pause before reacting.
A room where listening still happens.
A moment where someone chooses steadiness over noise.

These islands are rarely grand or visible.
They are small pockets where something different becomes possible: clear thinking, dignity, curiosity, care.

In times when the world can feel overwhelming, these spaces start to matter even more.
Not because they solve everything.
But because they remind us of the kind of world we are still capable of creating with one another.

Where do you encounter 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 in your life right now?
And what 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 might help create one?

Small islands.
But perhaps they matter more than we realize.

Last week, I joined a group of fellow practitioners in a rich, embodied exploration of coaching and leadership through the lens of 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚- a journey into selfhood, story, and transformation.

𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚 is a deep dive into the stories we tell - to ourselves and to the world - about who we are.

Our narrative identity is the ongoing inner story that gives our lives coherence and meaning.
It’s how we make sense of our past, understand our present, and imagine our future.
These stories are shaped by belief systems that may have once served us… but perhaps no longer do.

- What stories are you living through and from?
- Who’s been authoring these stories?
- How are they shaping the choices and decisions you make everyday?
- And which ones might be quietly asking to be rewritten?

Just wrapped up a couple of days in the German countryside with 60 beautiful souls ✨. What brought us together is our shared commitment to the lifelong journey of Inner Work. Time paused. Deep connections formed. Conversations flowed straight to the heart. Nowhere else I’d rather be. I’ll be carrying these cherished memories and bonds with me for a long time. Until next year 🫶

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝

Over the past few months, I’ve found myself in deep, honest conversations with leaders navigating complexity, burnout, identity shifts, and transformation—both personal and systemic.

These posts are a glimpse into those moments. Anonymized, of course—but very real. My aim is that they’re insightful but not preachy, curious, not conclusive, and personal, yet universal.

I’m sharing them not as answers, but as prompts. Invitations to reflect, connect, and maybe see yourself in the stories.
Welcome to Conversations from the Field.

✨The series continues. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝—true stories, real questions, and a space to reflect.

✨The series begins. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝—true stories, real questions, and a space to reflect.

————————————————————————————
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝

Over the past few months, I’ve found myself in deep, honest conversations with leaders navigating complexity, burnout, identity shifts, and transformation—both personal and systemic.

These posts are a glimpse into those moments. Anonymized, of course—but very real. My aim is that they’re insightful but not preachy, curious, not conclusive, and personal, yet universal.

I’m sharing them not as answers, but as prompts. Invitations to reflect, connect, and maybe see yourself in the stories.
Welcome to 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝.

Welcome to 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝. Come along for a sneak peek into real, human conversations from the field.

A beautiful evening with dear friends and a role model of true leadership.

𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐀𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 is refreshingly simple, relatable, and principled. Through her time in office and her recent book, 𝘈 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, she has taken a less conventional approach to traditional leadership.

Some of my favourite quotes:

“It’s not whether you can survive politics by being thin-skinned, feeling like an imposter, and valuing kindness. Politics needs more of these traits. Politics needs more humility and needs more doubt.”

“The only thing stronger than imposter syndrome is a deep sense of responsibility.”

“Empathy is nothing without Action”

“My main motivation was to save peoples’ lives, but I also wanted to keep people together. And I couldn’t do both. I’ll never regret saving 20,000 lives.”

“When I was grappling between staying in office and leaving, I told three people. None of them supported me. It was a lonely decision. Leaving felt like a selfish act, and I needed to justify it. But there was the responsibility of feeling depleted, and I was mindful of the consequences of leadership when I felt that sense of depletion”.

“Optimism is an act of choice. Please hold onto your optimism; it’s a courageous act in difficult times.”

“The butterfly effect of those people who influence your path, and those micro-moments that could lead you on a pathway.”

Would you do it again? “I wouldn’t do it differently, but I don’t regret leaving.”

It’s great to be back in Riyadh after 7 years and reconnect with old friends and former program participants, many of whom are now in key roles shaping the Kingdom’s future.

I recently spent a few fascinating days working with government leaders on Navigating the Next Normal: Beyond 2030. The pace of transformation here is remarkable, and it has sparked some deeper reflections on culture, identity and values.

As change accelerates, important questions arise: Who are we becoming? What values and behaviors will guide us? What do we want to carry forward from our past, and what is outdated and time to let go of? How do we honor this journey of transformational change from the inside out, ensuring our vision, belief systems, and actions stay aligned?

These reflections have me thinking about behavioral change in such a fast-evolving context—how it will unfold and whether it can keep pace with the transformation we’re witnessing.

If you’re as intrigued by these questions of culture and identity, and you play a role in shaping your nation, organization, and/or team culture, I’d love to connect and continue the conversation.

When a team truly connects, everything else follows.

During this session on leveraging 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 to build stronger organizations, we dove deep into defining what company culture truly is (spoiler alert: it is so much more than just ping pong tables and freebies😉). We also explored the invisible, hidden elements that shape company culture (and that’s an overwhelming 90%).

We also tackled the 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 and discussed the various ways teams respond to change. Resistance to change? It is more common than you might think—and it can be a gift in disguise, waiting to be capitalized on 🎯.

We ended by unpacking the 𝟓 𝐃𝐲𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 that are likely making your life (and many others’) more challenging than it needs to be.

A magical trip to.. Ananda in The Himalayas ✨

Ananda,
A pilgrimage to Reconnect. Remember. Reclaim. And Rejuvenate.

A sanctuary where you’re left to dissolve with the magical force of nature. A gift of solitude. Of oneness with stillness.

A refuge for an effortless and seamless anchoring with self. A deep sense of knowing. Of being. Of surrendering.

Ananda,
A life force - unfiltered.

Ananda,
A Return to Self.

By Thouraya Sayess

𝓦𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓪 𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 2024. 𝓜𝓪𝔂 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓵𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓡𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓬𝓽. 𝓡𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻. 𝓡𝓮𝓬𝓵𝓪𝓲𝓶. 𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓡𝓮𝓳𝓾𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓮.