Executive Coach & Advisor

For leaders who dare to challenge everything — including their own assumptions.

Because leadership only gains real power when it starts within.

ICF ACC ICF Member

Associate Certified Coach (ACC) · ICF · 20+ Years Experience

Christian Naundorf – Executive Coach & Advisor

Who I Work With

Do You Recognize This?

You bear the brunt of difficult decisions and most of the pressure largely on your own.

You ask yourself how you actually want to lead — and how you want to proceed professionally.

You see structures and processes that tend to slow down good people rather than support them.

There is a lot of talk in management circles, but responsibilities and priorities remain unclear.

You want an environment in which you can lead effectively and people can act independently.

These are not coincidences. They are the typical challenges of leaders who are ready to make a real change.
And this is exactly where I come in.

Clients & References

I have had the privilege of working with executives from these companies, among others:

BMW E.ON adidas Deutsche Bahn EnBW BayWa r.e. Koenig & Bauer Uniper Yello MediaMarktSaturn
PAYBACK Sandoz / Hexal TP Infinity A/V/E Cursor Software AG Majorel Loyalty Partner Solutions RedBlue Relias Learning

Executive Coaching

How I Work With Executives

No motivational coaching. No standard programs.
Professional ICF coaching – advisory only when you explicitly ask for it.

01

Become Aware

Coaching is not about me understanding you – it's about you seeing yourself more clearly. We create a safe space where you can recognize patterns, blind spots, and the impact of your actions – on your team, your organization, and yourself.

02

Take Ownership

From this clarity, ownership emerges. You decide what you truly want to change, and formulate your own goals and commitments. I hold the space, ask the hard questions, and make sure you no longer settle for "activity" when what's needed is impact.

03

Transform

On this foundation, we work on concrete changes in your leadership behavior and your system. In coaching, the solutions stay with you – only when you explicitly ask do I complement the process with professional advisory. This is how real transformation happens: more self-leadership, more effectiveness, more freedom from unnecessary authority.

Organizational Development Advisory

How I Work With Organizations

No slide battles. No "best practice" recipes.
Strategic organizational development measured by impact and value delivery – with The Masterful 8™ Model as compass.

01

Understand What Truly Works

We don't start with structures and charts, but with the outcomes your organization needs to achieve. Using The Masterful 8™ Model, we make visible which capabilities actually exist in the system today – across departments, levels, and teams.

02

Align the System

On this foundation, we develop a clear development agenda: Where do you need different decision paths, more self-organization, more constructive dissent, better protection against overload. Instead of stacking isolated measures, we align architecture, processes, and leadership models to enable high-performing behavior rather than hinder it.

03

Guide Implementation & Build Learning Capability

Organizational development is not a project, but a learning process. We define concrete experiments, metrics, and feedback loops that help your organization mature over time – from "Crawl" to "Walk," "Run," and "Fly." The Masterful 8™ Model serves as a recurring reference point to measure progress and derive course corrections.

Testimonials

What Clients Say

"Christian has been my Executive Coach for almost three years now, and in this time I've come to trust him deeply."

— Davide Villa

Global SVP Energy Retail E.ON Group & CEO E.ON Drive

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Christian has been my Executive Coach for almost three years now, and in this time I've come to trust him deeply—both personally and professionally. I truly value his honesty, his compassion, and the way he challenges my thinking while always having my back. Our work together has had a significant impact on how I grow and show up as a leader. Grazie, amico mio!

"The best coach I had the pleasure of working with in my career."

— Jonas Steigertahl

Director at TP Infinity

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He has helped me tremendously in growing on a personal level and also gave me the tools to succeed in my professional career! His empathy and his ability to put himself in my shoes guided us to many unforeseen findings. I feel blessed to have him as a coach and I strongly recommend him.

"Should I again get the chance to work with Christian – I'd do it in a heartbeat."

— Mathias Wiecher

General Manager Energy & Charging at Einride

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Christian has been the leadership coach (ICF) to me, personally, and the entire leadership of E.ON Drive. Very early in the journey Christian was able to create a circle of trust allowing to have open and honest conversations. With his deep experience and expertise, but also his calm demeanor, Christian brings gravitas in 1-1 but also team settings and is thus able to really influence the thinking and changing perspectives.

"Competent, friendly and approachable – a great asset to any organization."

— Marius Lückemeyer

Former CDO MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group

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Christian is a highly motivated individual, diligent with attention to detail, skilled in modern ways of coaching and change management, who creates a very strong motivation across individuals and teams.

"You are lucky to be picked as coachee – by a great coach."

— Kirsten Sons

Former Senior Director Projects & Programs at adidas

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After experiencing some of Christian techniques in bigger groups, I directly jumped into the coaching journey and never regretted a minute of it. Christian inspired me to look at challenges from different angles and after his coaching sessions I usually had a plan to continue with new energy. Coming out of a session and knowing what to put focus on.

"If you get the chance to work with Christian, do it!"

— Lise Østergaard Källman

Digital Product Development & Change Management

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Christian's starting point is not the theories. He goes beyond and explains the "human Design" – brain physiology and human psychology – behind them, adding a new dimension to the understanding of how to apply it in your leadership. His passion and ability to communicate complicated theories in a clear manner has given me valuable insights.

"Christian is your guide to elevate your leadership skills."

— Christina Hambraeus

Former Global Head of IT - E.ON Drive

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Christian stands out compared to my other experiences by blending classic leadership theories, scientific research & human biology. The result is thought-provoking and provided new insights on myself and my leadership style. As a coach and leadership guide Christian creates a truly safe environment which enables sharing of experiences & learning from each other.

"I can really recommend working with Christian."

— Paul van Doorne

Former Global Head of Service, Operation & IT - E.ON Drive

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During 2023 and 2024 Christian coached the leadership team of E.ON Drive and my global management team. He gave us many insights in team and people development. I learned a lot on psychological needs of teams and individuals and how to address them to make employees and teams more effective. The sessions also brought my team more together and he created the right atmosphere to talk openly about our challenges.

"Deep expertise with an engaging delivery style – an excellent choice!"

— Kata Sváb

Team Lead Solution Management B2C

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I highly recommend Christian as an outstanding business coach. He masterfully connects psychological principles with business objectives, offering practical methods to improve collaboration, enhance leadership, and build motivated teams. As a speaker he is engaging, dynamic, and incredibly skilled at capturing and maintaining the audience's attention.

"In very good hands with Christian."

— Matthias J. Weber

CFO / Board Member

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I got to know and appreciate Christian first as a sparring partner and later as a creative, inspiring, and captivating conversation partner. Anyone looking for this in a professional leadership coach is in very good hands with Christian.

"One of those rare coaches that knows what it takes to transform an organization."

— Tamara de Wit, ICE-EC

Transformation Coach & Change Agent

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I worked with Christian at adidas in Germany. He is aware that transformation starts with Conscious Leadership and knows how to guide them on this journey. Christian is empathic, skilled and sees the system. It was a pleasure to work with Christian and I would love to work with him again.

"A true change agent who seeks to listen and understand first."

— Jeff Himmelright

Former Senior Agile Coach - adidas AG

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Christian is driven by the true values and principles of the Agile Manifesto and he has a highly-developed growth mindset based on continuous improvement. He asks thought-provoking questions, he shares his ideas willingly, and furthermore he is a great communicator.

"We started to see the results in the quality of the work delivered."

— Emine Ceylaner

Director Tech Project Management at adidas

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With his guidance we were able to focus on right topics and improve on the team safety and autonomy in order to involve the whole team into the resolution. Had very inspiring team building activities and workshops where we could clearly see the difference in the atmosphere and the contribution and value of each team member.

"His passion to inspire and empower people is outstanding."

— Birgit Link

Former Product Manager - MediamarktSaturn

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Christian's impact on every single individual and thus entire companies cannot be valued high enough. You have to experience Christian's stunning visualization skills and if you are lucky you will receive an original 'Naundorf'.

"Through his empathy he reaches his audience immediately."

— Dietmar Boehlke

Head of Legal at CGI Deutschland B.V. & Co. KG

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Christian is an excellent listener, is present and can convey his solutions enthusiastically. He engages intensively with theoretical approaches and can apply them profitably in the context of the problem. His many own experiences help to tackle topics properly.

"For business-critical challenges, we always turned to Christian with full confidence. He identified conflicts early and resolved them before they could escalate."

— Dominik Dommick

CEO, PAYBACK GmbH

My Conviction

"Coaching, to me, is a protected space that belongs entirely to you – free from agendas, expectations, and hidden interests."

In this role, I am your neutral sparring partner, not an advisor. I ask questions, hold up the mirror, and create clarity – but I don't prescribe answers. The solutions emerge from you. My job is to enable self-clarity, ownership, and courageous decisions.

More About Me
Christian Naundorf

About Me

Christian Naundorf

I know what destructive authority feels like.

An authoritarian act "from above" can be existentially threatening, paralyzing, and set back years of development – even when there is no ill intent behind it, but mostly one's own helplessness.

This very experience is what drives me today.

People and organizations should no longer end up in such constellations – neither on the side of power nor on the side of those subjected to it. Leadership should protect dignity, not threaten it. It should enable truthfulness, not prevent it. It should unlock growth and empowerment, not fear and conformity.

Today I work with leaders and organizations who take this seriously. Together we create spaces where truth can be spoken, ownership is genuinely taken, and authority doesn't disappear but is used maturely – in service of dignity, integrity, and sustainable growth.

ICF ACC ICF Member ACC (ICF) 20+ Years Experience
More About My Journey
The Masterful 8™ Model

"High performance is not a mystery –
but when it happens, it is truly masterful."

The Model

The Masterful 8™ Model

The compass for self-sustaining organizations and teams.

The Masterful 8™ Model solves a problem that has plagued leadership for decades: How to quantify organizational capability in a way that actually predicts future performance – instead of merely counting activities.

The approach is radically different from classical leadership models. Not programs, methods, or "best practices" are at the center, but 8 core capability dimensions with 24 clearly observable behavioral markers, as seen in high-performing teams.

This makes it visible where your organization and teams stand today, how they develop over time – and gives you an effective companion that makes progress measurable and shows the next development step.

Discover the Model Free Self-Assessment

Coming 2027

The Emperor
Effect

Why Leadership Fails at Authority

How Power Prevents Truth and Self-Regulation & What Effective Leadership Actually Requires

Christian Naundorf

For Those Who Want to Go Deeper

The Book

The Emperor Effect™ – A deep dive into how power blocks truth, productivity, and engagement.

This book distills what I've observed in years of working with leaders: How authority unintentionally creates structures that suppress honesty, stifle initiative, and drive people to focus more on optics than on real contribution. When leadership becomes the control center, the system slows down – until everyone waits instead of acts.

Brutally honest. Deeply researched. Free from motivational bullshit.

Discover the Book

Ready for a Conversation?

30 minutes. No obligation. Honest.
We'll find out if and how I can help you.

Book a Discovery Call