IMUA OLA

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We guide high-performing leaders through transitions—when success no longer feels aligned. Deep coaching, bold clarity, trusted partnership. Life Moving Forward.

At IMUA OLA, we guide high-performing leaders through pivotal transitions—when clarity fades, roles no longer fit, and success stops feeling like success.� Through deep coaching, immersive experiences, and trusted advisory partnership, we help them reconnect with their intuition, reclaim energy, and move forward with purpose.� Our work bridges insight and action—so they don’t just perform better, they lead with presence, impact, and authenticity. �Because everyone deserves to live and lead in alignment with their boldest dreams.

10/07/2026

What is the role of humans in the age of AI?

Loved talking with Thomas Bertels about AI and how I coach my clients to embrace what makes us uniquely human while also embracing what the machine can do for us.

Discernment. Judgment. Wisdom. Connecting the dots.

There is room for both. AND I believe the leaders who learn to use both will have an advantage.

Listen to the full episode here: https://youtu.be/Q89Arr-C57E?si=MjBWLYIgLI7QP1GL

10/04/2026

Our founder, Andrea Schwarz, joined Thomas Bertels on the Work Matters Podcast to discuss leadership in the age of AI.
They explored fear, uncertainty, human judgment, the future of coaching, and why leaders still need a place to speak the real truth.

Thank you, Thomas, for the thoughtful questions and for creating space for a deeper conversation
Curious? Have a listen.
https://youtu.be/Q89Arr-C57E?si=hEhqBut7KfyCYK3E

10/02/2026

Lack of trust is one of the most common issues I see in organizations.

And yet, it is rarely openly discussed. Instead, it often shows up disguised as a technical problem, an organizational design issue, or a team dynamic that just isn’t working.

The consequences are very real. Hard conversations don’t happen. People hold back what they really think. Leaders don’t get to hear the truth.

Trust doesn’t just magically appear on its own. It can be built intentionally, through what we choose to do every day.

That is why I use the 8 Cs of Trust in my coaching:

Character – standing by your values.

Communication – creating space for open and honest conversations.

Composure – staying grounded under pressure.

Credibility – walking your talk.

Caring – showing genuine interest in others.

Commonality – finding what connects you with others.

Competency – bringing the expertise the situation needs.

Consistency – doing what you say you’ll do, again and again.

The 8 Cs make trust less abstract. They give you, your team, and your organization tangible behaviors you can work on intentionally, every day.

What are you doing today to build trust?

09/29/2026

Trust takes a long time to build.
You either have it, or you don’t.
Once trust is lost, there is no way back.

These are limiting beliefs we often carry about trust without even realizing it.

We hear these things so often that we start treating them as facts.

But what if they are not facts? What if they are limiting beliefs that influence how you lead and what you believe is possible with your team?

Trust can be created. It can grow faster than we often assume. And when it is lost, in many cases, it can be restored.

Changing what is possible starts with questioning what we believe to be true.

09/25/2026

My friend Selvin and I will both be teaching at the ISS 2026 pre-conference this year, but we are doing two VERY different things.

I am taking the leadership track with Being Heard as a Nerd. Selvin is going technical with Introduction to Digital Forensics.

And I actually love that.

If you want to work on how you show up, communicate, influence and lead, come spend the day with me. If what you need right now is to deepen your technical Information Security knowledge, go spend it with Selvin.

We both want the right people in the right room, so we decided to help each other spread the word.

Two different tracks. Two nerds. Pick your room. :)

October 26 at ISS 2026. Registration link in the comments.
https://www.informationsecuritysummit.org/2026-pre-conference-training-classes/

09/24/2026

You can sit through another day of conference training. Or you can bring the leadership challenge that is frustrating you right now into the room and actually work on it.

That is what we are doing on October 26 at Being Heard as a Nerd: The Workshop.

This full day is for CISOs, aspiring CISOs, technical leaders, women and men, and really anyone who knows their expertise is there but sometimes struggles to be heard.

We will work on real situations: communicating with executives and boards, building trust, and leading through conflict and change. There will be coaching, teaching, practicing, and applying, because knowing another leadership framework is probably not what is going to change how you show up on Monday morning.

My goal is that you leave the room differently than you walked in: more confident in your voice, more intentional about your impact, and better equipped to influence the people around you.

This is a small, interactive workshop, and seating is limited.
October 26 | 8 AM–5 PM | ISS 2026

Registration link in the comments.
https://www.informationsecuritysummit.org/2026-pre-conference-training-classes/

09/23/2026

A senior technical leader had been groomed for the CISO role for two years. The expertise was there. The track record was there. Then came the promotion conversation, and the answer was NO.

The reason? Lack of Executive Presence.

I work with technical leaders at this exact transition. For years, your expertise moves you forward. Then you reach the C-suite, where your expertise is assumed, and your competence is expected. The skills that matter start to shift.

Negotiating. Storytelling. Executive Presence.

That is why I created Being Heard as a Nerd. I want our nerds to be heard AND I don't want them discovering these expectations when someone else gets the promotion.

On October 26, we are taking this work into a full-day workshop at ISS 2026.

Registration link in the comments.
https://www.informationsecuritysummit.org/2026-pre-conference-training-classes/

09/22/2026

You act as the CISO. You own the senior leadership role, carry the responsibility, do the job, and know your stuff.

Yet someone else gets the promotion. Your budget is rejected. You leave another executive meeting knowing they didn't really understand the risk you were trying to communicate.

You are not being heard.

I see this often among CISOs and technical leaders moving toward the C-suite. Once you reach that roundtable, people expect competence, and the challenge is to communicate it persuasively at that level. How you engage people needs to look different now. You will no longer influence just by having the best data in the room.

I get why that is frustrating. A NERD KNOWS A LOT AND CARES A LOT. You want people to see what you see so clearly. But your data will not speak for you.

Being heard requires understanding who is across the table, translating complexity into their language, listening, pausing, and sometimes telling a story instead of showing another slide

That doesn't mean becoming someone else. Executive Presence is not a mask.

The CISO in the boardroom and the nerd can both be authentically you. You can adapt to the audience without losing who you are.

09/21/2026

I am a nerd. I have always loved nerds, and they have a special place in my life AND my heart. I share a table and a bed with one, AND I am one myself, even if I am not always recognized as one.

So, it is a real privilege that Gary Sheehan invited me back to Ohio for ISS 2026.

Last year, I was there as the keynote speaker with “Being Heard as a Nerd,” and the topic resonated so much that this year we are taking it deeper and turning it into “Being Heard as a Nerd: The Workshop”
https://www.informationsecuritysummit.org/2026-pre-conference-training-classes/

I believe nerds know a lot AND care a lot. I also believe that what you know and what you have to say deserve to be heard. That is why “Being Heard as a Nerd” is super personal to me, and why I am excited to do more than talk about it this year. We are going to work on it together.

I’ll also be bringing something new to the stage: Core Values. Not corporate values on a wall, but your own values and how they serve as a compass for the way you lead, decide, and live. Once you discover them, you cannot unsee them.
https://whova.com/embedded/speaker_detail/eweCGRIBXUPZt3CeSY9Nqg64QdN1GOPv-1jHGCZ57OA%3D/52530933/

I am looking forward to being back with an audience I genuinely love, seeing familiar faces from last year AND meeting some new nerds along the way.

Who will I see at ISS 2026?

09/18/2026

So why did a Coaching House buy an outrigger canoe?

At first, the answer was practical. I wanted to take leadership onto the water because a team reveals itself quickly out there. But I kept running into the same obstacle: access to a canoe.

Renting or borrowing one isn't easy and club boats come with restrictions. I wanted to create something free, adventurous and unique, and ironically, I wasn't free to do it.

And then this boat showed up on the beach when I needed it.

Manifestation can sound a little out there, coming from someone who spent much of her career in IT and Operations, but I have become a believer. When you get clear about what you want to create, things start moving. Maybe you notice opportunities differently or are ready to act when they appear. Whatever it is, there she was.

So we bought the boat and removed the obstacle.

What I didn't fully appreciate was the freedom that decision brought. We can take people onto the water when we want and create the experience our way. We can also give more people access to paddling, important to Peter and me beyond IMUA OLA.

For IMUA OLA, the possibilities open up.

Imagine a CIO and CISO in the same canoe when trust is shaky. A brilliant scientist next to a natural leader. A quiet introvert next to a big extrovert.

On land, we have titles, expertise and answers. On the water, that falls away. Someone gets nervous, frustrated, takes over or goes quiet. The person with all the answers may need help. The quiet person may see exactly what the team needs.

The canoe becomes a mirror.

Ego shows up. Trust shows up, or the lack of it. So do confidence, fear and our inner narratives. You experience it rather than talk about it, leaving less room to intellectualize your way around it.

That is the experiential learning I believe in. For me, it has always been the water, where I feel most alive, AND have learned hard lessons about leadership and teams.

It brings together business and adventure, challenge and vulnerability. Building it with Peter and sharing the magic of the ocean and paddling makes the dream come true.

We kept running into an obstacle. So we removed it.

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https://imuaola.com/

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