About Mais Alhasan

Expertise in leadership and team development

Mais Alhasan is an ICF-accredited leadership coach, team development specialist, and author of The Way of the Catalyst. She works with leaders, teams, and organizations navigating growth, change, and complexity, optimizing how they lead, operate, and create meaningful sustainable results.

Past clients include Shell Abu Dhabi, DEWA, the UAE Prime Minister's Office, and leaders across industries who are ready to lead with greater intention and impact.

If you're seeking change for a sustainable way forward, you're in the right place.

Work with Mais

A note from Mais…

Coach, leadership expert and author

Welcome… Whether you're on the verge of a major transition in your life, seeking change of some sort, or looking to create a meaningful shift in your team or workplace culture without knowing how to go about it, you've already taken the first step by being here.

These moments of uncertainty and confusion are often a gift in disguise because they mark a new beginning that you've been seeking, consciously or unconsciously. And the fact that you're searching and exploring is already part of the forward movement.

Over the years, I've worked closely with individuals, leaders, teams, and organizations navigating change, often under pressure, and without clear answers.

Every system — whether an individual, team, or organization — operates through its own complex patterns (ways of thinking, feeling, and behavior) that shape everything from daily decisions to long-term outcomes.

My role is to make those patterns visible, and to support you in gaining clarity as well as practical tools, so you can cut through the noise and take aligned, timely action in a direction you choose.

If you, your team, or your organization are ready for the next chapter, I'd be glad to work with you.

Love,
Mais

My Story

The journey behind the work

There was a time when my life unfolded exactly as I had planned.

I built a family of four children whom I love more than life itself, and more so every day. And I co-founded a family business that had grown from almost nothing into something substantial. There was rhythm, a clear purpose, and a sense of stability I had set out to create.

For a long time, it was not only enough, it was everything I had hoped for. This was around my mid-thirties and all I wanted was for things to stay the same.

Chapter oNE

A call for change

And yet, change is part of being alive, and life keeps moving, whether we want it to or not.

It started with fleeting thoughts like “Could this be it?”, and a sense of unease around things that, at first, appeared insignificant. Over time, those moments gathered weight. I kept ignoring life’s messages that got louder and harder until my physical health started to deteriorate.

Guilt was eating me up. A voice in my head was saying, “How dare you? That’s ungrateful. Many people dream of where you are in your life and you’re wanting change?!”

So, I did what most people do. I ignored the call for change, and kept going. I showed up. I put on a smile. And, I told myself that whatever I was feeling would pass. But it didn’t.

I felt myself slowly shutting down, and I finally managed to numb myself, because massive change was not an option. I told myself that if I just held things together long enough, I’d see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Little did I know that what I thought was a tunnel was, in fact, a shell that had to crack open for me to connect with a much bigger world, and grow into an expanded version of myself. Life has a way of closing in on what we try to avoid, until that cracking becomes inevitable.

Eventually, I lost my power to resist and I surrendered.

Chapter Two

The moment of surrender

There is one moment from that time that remains engraved in me with absolute clarity.

It was one early morning, just before dawn, most people were still sleeping. I was standing by the door, waiting for a taxi that would take me to the airport. Everything around me was pulling me to stay. I was afraid to disrupt what had already been built.

I stood there in the silence and prayed for guidance. I could no longer pretend that it was ok. The call for change was overwhelming without any sign of clarity or reassurance. I picked up my bag, walked out, and got into the taxi.

As the car moved through the relatively quiet streets, I watched the sunlight gently break through the sky, one moment at a time, as if to remind me that clarity would come, just as gently. For the first time in a long time, I felt I could take a full breath in. Not because anything had been resolved, but because I had chosen to stop abandoning myself.

A couple of months later, the structures I had built my life around, at home and at work, came to an end, making space for a new beginning. That decision did not make my life easier at the time, it just made it real. The gap between my inner world and how I show up was closing, one step at a time. I no longer needed to mask, pretend, or abandon myself to hold things together.

It brought uncertainty in ways I had never experienced before. It required conversations I did not feel ready to have, outcomes I could not fully comprehend, and a willingness to stand in the unknown without having all the answers.

There were moments of doubt, moments of grief, and moments where I questioned everything.

But there was also something else…

Chapter Three

Finding the strength

I had a growing sense of strength that came from inner alignment and trust in my ability to navigate my life’s unfolding. It was then that I had a realization that changed everything:

Not knowing what will happen does not mean you will not know what to do when it happens.

As I moved through that period, I began to see something I had not seen before, not just in myself, but in others.

For years, I had seen people operate under pressure, navigate complexity, and strive for results. Many were intelligent, capable, and ambitious people. Yet, only a few managed to succeed in their journeys. What made the difference was how they showed up, especially when things became difficult.

Some people contracted, others expanded under pressure. Some made noise, others progressed with steady steps. Some blamed the world. Others took responsibility for themselves and for their impact. I saw it first in others, and then I came to recognize my own patterns under pressure. Through that, I learned and grew, as I experimented and realigned where needed.

Chapter Four

The origin of The Way of the Catalyst

My work today emerged from everything I have lived, observed, and tested. I immersed myself in understanding human behavior. I trained, practiced, applied, and refined. I worked with others using these same tools and frameworks, with one question in mind:

How do we create meaningful impact without being consumed in the process?

Over time, that question became the foundation of my book, The Way of the Catalyst.

In chemistry, a catalyst enables transformation without losing itself in the process. In life and leadership, I believe this is not only possible, it is essential. Too many people who are capable, committed, and driven are operating in a way that slowly drains them. They carry too much. They push too hard. They become the center of everything, and in doing so, they lose the very clarity and energy that made them effective in the first place.

A Catalyst remains whole while creating change, not by doing less, but by being more intentional about how they think, how they respond, and how they engage with what is in front of them. They do not withdraw from complexity. They learn how to meet it consciously.

Today, I work with individuals, leaders, teams, and organizations

who find themselves at that exact point…

A point where something is shifting.

Where what once worked no longer does.

Where continuing as before is no longer an option.

They are not looking for quick answers.

They are looking for a way forward that is clear, grounded, and sustainable.

Because in the end, it is about who we become in the process and how that shapes everything we touch.

My Services

Speaker & Facilitator

An experienced guest speaker and facilitator

Mais brings depth, clarity and warmth to keynote stages, leadership conferences, executive offsites and culture summits, drawing on her work with leaders and teams across the region.

Speaking experience

Often, the unpleasant experiences deliver the most powerful pointers for change, because they command our attention and nudge us forward.

Mais Alhasan

Working with Mais

Support and coaching for organizations and individuals

Organizations

Organizations who are:

Experiencing some organizational fragmentation, change or internal friction, looking for synergy and cohesion.
Operating under a reactive, “fighting” culture and are seeking a single, integrated solution to build a dynamic, cohesive workplace, with high-performing teams.
Looking for measurable results in leadership development and seeking to align organizational culture with strategy for predictable, long-term success.

Learn more

Individuals

Individuals who are:

Overwhelmed by stress, conflict, or competing priorities that are compromising their leadership and professional progress.
At the start of a career, stepping into a new leadership role, or in a career transition, and seeking to map out their best pathway for future success.
Aiming to excel in their role, enhance decision-making, strategic thinking, and emotional and social intelligence, ready to unlock their next level of leadership.

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Qualifications

With over two decades of experience

With over two decades of experience co-founding successful ventures and guiding executive leaders. Currently focusing on Culture & Leadership development for organizations, teams and individuals.

ICF Accredited Professional Certified Coach (PCC)

International Coach Federation (ICF)

Organizational Transactional Analyst

The Berne Institute

Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC)

The Co-Active Training Institute (CTI)

Co-Active Leadership Expert

The Co-Active Training Institute (CTI)

Strengths Strategy Certified Coach (SSCC)

Strengths Strategy

Functional Fluency

Certified People Acuity Specialist & Guide

People Acuity

PSYCH-K Preferred Facilitator

PSYCH-K Centre International

Certified Public Speaking Coach

World-Class Public Speaking Certification Program

What to expect

What to expect when you work with Mais Alhasan

Organizational Culture Transformation

Driving meaningful shifts in attitudes and behaviors across all levels, starting with leadership, to align with the organization’s values, vision, mission, and strategy.

A Clear Big Picture

Mapping your intentional big picture and aligning your thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and behaviors into a coherent system, so you can make clear, aligned choices and take courageous action.

Emotional Mastery

Building your ability to understand and process emotions through honest exploration of your inner narrative, so you can consciously navigate and generate emotions in a healthy, sustainable way.

Responsiveness & Creativity

Shifting out of autopilot and reactive patterns into conscious, creative engagement, so you can lead your life and work effectively, with flow, while eliminating wasted effort.

Disentanglement from Problems

Releasing dysfunctional attachments, redefining your responsibilities, and redirecting your time and energy toward intentional priorities, so you can create lightness, clarity, and flow.

Leadership Excellence

Mastering the roles required for effective leadership, so you can create meaningful impact that honors both your needs and those of others, while staying in command of the process, not consumed by it.

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Ready to work with Mais?

Now you have been introduced to Mais Alhasan and her work, let’s learn more about you.

Get in touch

Expertise in leadership and team development

Coach, leadership expert and author

The journey behind the work

A call for change

The moment of surrender

Finding the strength

The origin of The Way of the Catalyst

Today, I work with individuals, leaders, teams, and organizations

who find themselves at that exact point…

An experienced guest speaker and facilitator

Support and coaching for organizations and individuals

Organizations who are:

Individuals who are:

With over two decades of experience

ICF Accredited Professional Certified Coach (PCC)

Organizational Transactional Analyst

Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC)

Co-Active Leadership Expert

Strengths Strategy Certified Coach (SSCC)

Temple Index of Functional Fluency (TIFF)© Provider

Get on the Mat (GOTM)© Facilitator

Certified People Acuity Specialist & Guide

PSYCH-K Preferred Facilitator

Certified Public Speaking Coach

What to expect when you work with Mais Alhasan

Organizational Culture Transformation

A Clear Big Picture

Emotional Mastery

Responsiveness & Creativity

Disentanglement from Problems

Leadership Excellence

Ready to work with Mais?

Now you have been introduced to Mais Alhasan and her work, let’s learn more about you.

Mais Alhasan - Leadership & Team Development Coach