Noeli Naima is Heartegy’s Co-Founder & CEO, a unique Brazilian blend combining over twenty years of experience in Holistic Coaching (Corporate Wellness & Stress Prevention through Naturopathy, Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda Medicine and Psycho-Aromatherapy) with Cutting-edge Strategies (Neuroscience, Vibrational Recalibration, Positive Intelligence) and New Work Analytics (Applied Change, 360 feedback and Vibrational Reading).
She is a living example of how outdated corporate behaviours pull us down while updating our approach and focusing on the human aspects elevates us.
In her Project Soul Soup 4 Coaches book series (available through Amazon), she discusses how combining energy work, coaching, and health prevention can positively transform corporate & life environments enabling them to soar.
Noeli Naima & Micaela Buenemann, Heartegy Founders
Dear Noeli and Micaela, you both have been in the corporate world?
Noeli: Yes, that's right. I worked at the Audi AG Forum in Ingolstadt, Germany, from 2002 to 2006 before serving the world with a holistic approach to coaching and well-being.
Mica: Indeed, I’ve spent most of my professional life in the corporate world, of which the last nine years until 2022 were at Shell in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
So tell us more; how did you decide to leave such stable and profitable companies?
Noeli: My last year in the company was challenging on many levels. Clear signs of imbalance, stress and exhaustion had been growing as I was continually exposed to incivility instead of respect, paired with working overtime regularly. It wasn’t a choice between “comfort” and the “unknown”; it was a choice of self-love and preservation, avoiding long-term sickness by just an inch.
We had no assistance at the time, which was a shame because later, I realised that a skilled coach could have helped the company to mediate and improve the situation for the benefit of all.
My definition of a coach at the time was an annoying person trying to over-motivate you without considering the entire situation. At Heartegy, we couldn’t be further from this outdated stereotype, even though we have some great motivational coaches in our collective.
Mica: I was arriving at the end of my last assignment and had achieved results far beyond anyone's expectations starting in an entirely newly created role at the start of Covid 19. Meanwhile, the company had been going through several rounds of internal reorganisation, with another one coming up.
My job wasn’t at risk; staying would have been the safest option, as everyone reminded me.
However, over the years, I’ve experienced plenty of incivilities and consequences of incapable leadership. I continuously educated myself in emotional intelligence, health and well-being to keep myself thriving despite teetering at the brink of burnout for several years.
The suffering I witnessed many times within the company was painful and unnecessary. Having coached colleagues alongside my job, I felt urged to take a leap of faith, reorient my career to fully align it with my purpose and bring the accumulated golden nuggets back into the corporate world through Heartegy.
We understand you both are cosmopolitan polyglots. Would you like to elaborate on that?
Noeli: I was born and raised in Southern Brazil in the Curitiba peripheries and have lived in Germany for the last twenty years. I’ve always been a curious learner, and travelling allowed me to expand my horizons.
Mica: I was born and raised in the mountains of Spain, Andalucia, where my German parents had emigrated to in the early 80s. Curious about the world, I started exploring Europe at seventeen, leading me to live in the Netherlands eleven years ago.
So, how did you come together on your mission?
Noeli: We met online through our coaching formations at Evercoach by Mindvalley beginning of 2022. We immediately sensed an excellent vibration in each other's presence and soon noticed the same heartbeat for a greater purpose was moving us.
During the formation, we started a collective book writing project, Soul Soup 4 Coaches and published two, “Seeds of the Soul” & “Seeds of Transformation”.
Mica: Working closely on the books, we experienced how work can be fun and a steep learning curve simultaneously when complementary forces unite on the same mission.
And that’s how Heartegy was born.
What does Heartegy mean, and what do you do?
Noeli: Heartegy is the junction of two words: Heart & Strategy. We are at the forefront of an avant-gardist awareness movement as a global Coaching and Consulting Collective combining classic tools with cutting-edge next- level holistic solutions.
Mica: We elevate companies to the next level with tailored solutions for their interhuman challenges focusing on preventing health imbalances, enabling sustainable leadership and empowering human capital through collaboration. You can make peace and well-being profitable with us by finding innovative pathways for the New Work Era.
Can you give us a practical example of what you do?
Noeli: We coach leaders, their teams and entire departments, usually combining online learning with individual coaching sessions, team dynamics, diagnostics, bonding days, retreats and more.
As a collective, we bring together seasoned experts in different fields and an infinite amount of tools enabling us to design efficient and tailored solutions for every challenge presented.
Our approach is designed around strengthening the personal understanding of self and others, enhancing heart coherence and elevating vibrations in a lasting way with tools that pick employees up where they are and bring them where they want to be, one step at a time.
Mica: You can find practical examples of our work as case studies on our website under testimonials.
Case Study 1 is the story of a young marketing manager at the World's Largest Nonalcoholic Beverage Company seeking our assistance while navigating through a unique set of challenges.
Case Study 2 is about a middle-sized designer and manufacturer of fittings and accessories for residential and commercial kitchens, bathrooms and washrooms. After a recent merger last year, they still experience a clash in cultures and ways of working from different countries, leaving their departments scattered, confused and far from where everyone wants to be.
You mentioned you complement each other; in which ways?
Noeli: While I have some knowledge of corporate challenges and behaviours, Mica has spent more time exploring these environments from different angles. She always went beyond her assignments to understand the connections between other pieces of the puzzle, positively impacting the company culture through the central staff council for many years.
Mica: I have some knowledge of holistic health and well-being; however, Noeli has in-depth education on these topics, paired with over twenty years of practical experience working as a Yoga Instructor, Ayurveda Medicine Practitioner, Aromatherapy Expert, Vibrational Recalibration Facilitator and many others.
It’s a match made in heaven!
Why did you decide to focus on corporations?
Noeli: We decided to help change the landscape inside one of the most complex and demanding environments because what happens there significantly impacts the quality of the world we share.
Combining our both experience and skills, we bring together a deep understanding of two worlds: on the one hand, company dynamics and their challenges; on the other hand, holistic health, well-being and emotional intelligence.
Much money is lost through incivility or otherwise limited employees going from highly motivated to barely functioning, leading corporations to explore new work paradigms.
The time is ready for Heartegy in the corporate environment as balance, sustainability, and well-being are becoming the centre of the equation out of need.
Mica: Statistics showcase how companies needing to make the necessary shifts towards a more heart-centred approach are losing their most committed employees to the competition and often their customers as they start placing more and more emphasis on fair, sustainable end-to-end business practices.
Together with other pioneers in our field, we are the answer enabling positive change and preventing burnout, unnecessary stress, and anxiety. By creating the needed awareness, we build new bridges to integrate all backgrounds, tribes and teams for the benefit of all.
We also support employees recovering from a long-term illness to accelerate their recovery and ensure they have the tools and knowledge to avoid further health challenges.
Do you have some considerations about why someone should hire a coach?
Noeli: Humans are behavioural beings who can advance faster through proper guidance, leading to new levels of development in life. From an early age, we all learn that it’s easier to walk a path laid out before us to get from A to B while receiving personalised advice.
The best investment I’ve ever made was to hire a coach; it’s the safest and most direct way to achieve your goals, no matter in which area.
Mica: It’s a sign of strength to hire a coach as we acknowledge that we don’t know everything and are open to receiving help and guidance instead of struggling alone.
A good analogy could be teenagers walking home through the wild mountains on a dark and stormy night with a headtorch because they were too stubborn to ask for help from a close-by neighbour who would have driven them home by car with pleasure.
And as Heartegy, you also have other complementary projects on the go?
Noeli: Our earliest project is the Authors Collective Soul Soup 4 Coaches, empowering coaches, therapists and other light workers of this world to share actual vulnerability through their own authentic and heart- touching short life stories on different topics, inspiring and elevating others on their journey of challenges.
Mica: Our latest and most ambitious project is rebuilding my home in Spain into a beautiful and sustainable retreat centre after a ravaging house fire left a blank slate behind. We kept this quiet until now and will start sharing the story and journey as the local authorities have confirmed their support of this impressive endeavour in one of the biggest natural parks in Europe.
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