Alina Addison
Alina Addison tells us that, “I am the founder of Adaptaa, a trailblazing Executive Coaching and Leadership Development company. I am an accredited Emotional Intelligence coach with over 20 years’ management and leadership experience. I’m known for two of my greatest gifts: my courage and my belief that anything is possible. I am trusted by leaders of some of the most successful financial institutions on the planet.
I am the co-owner of a family-built-and-run hotel in Transylvania, where I now organise leadership and wellbeing retreats every year.
I live in London with my family, and I serve on the board of several charities I feel passionate about.
I am the author of “The Audacity Spectrum”, published by Profile in August 2024. My experience of my eldest child being diagnosed on the autistic spectrum inspired me to see audacity as a trait which could be channelled differently and used for good. Taking risks is at the heart of this book. Combining personal experience with extensive research to present eight fundamental principles of audacious leadership, the book helps leaders in all fields tap into what makes them unique, and how to use these gifts to lift them up, in work and at home – and to help others do the same.”
Tell us about your life before the venture/ leading up to your venture?
I grew up in communist Romania, came to the UK as a student, and graduated with top grades from two top Universities, whilst studying in parallel between Liverpool and Bucharest.
I qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC in London, and became an investment banker with Rothschild, where I worked for 15 years. I was fast tracked to being Head of Trading and Execution of the Debt Fund Management division and I was the first person to be promoted to Managing Director, whilst working 4 days/week.
As a child, I qualified in the 100m finals at the National Championship of Athletics at age14.
I learned the power of teamwork, camaraderie and collective energy, during those early years.
Tell us something about your organization. What is it about and how is it helpful for people?
At Adaptaa, I am known as the CFO – Chief Founding Officer. I founded Adaptaa in 2016, a pioneering Executive Coaching company, for corporate leaders. The company offers leadership coaching on a 1-2-1 basis, peer group and team coaching, workshops and retreats, shaping the modern workplace by creating leaders rather than bosses under three main pillars of: Audacity, Adaptability and Authenticity.
Adaptaa’s USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is the unique collaboration between its coaches, who have distinctly different leadership styles, embodying the principle of “sharing is caring”.
Supported by women-led unicorn businesses, Adaptaa works with clients to identify their leadership needs and support them in making positive changes to themselves, their teams and their organisations.
What has been the response of the consumers towards your venture?
Adaptaa’s leadership programmes are run on a quarterly or bi-annual basis – Inspiring Women, A-list leadership, Artemis Programmes and Audacious Leaders Retreats and are open to all leaders and aspiring leaders, who care deeply about their own personal development.
Adaptaa also designs and delivers internal leadership programmes for some of the most reputable financial institutions and corporates on the planet (banks, private equity firms, fund managers and pharmaceutical companies). These are bespoke programmes, co-designed in partnership with the HR departments within these organisations.
All these programmes have encouraged and impacted their graduates to achieve their own impossible dreams, stepping into bigger leadership roles, doing great work in the third sector and founding their own businesses.
Adaptaa’s team has built a strong reputation for advocating for women, minorities, and neurodiverse leaders. Yet, Adaptaa’s work is not limited to women only. Alina brings skills from leading a major trading floor, navigating the legal system advocating for her son, building a hotel and a successful business, and leading her son into a happy, healthy life, to coaching powerful men into opening their hearts and becoming compassionate leaders.
The company has worked with and supported thousands of leaders and their teams to improve their Emotional Intelligence, build resilience, manage inherent conflict in any relationships, and ultimately create more inclusive, safe and brave work environments.
How has your life changed because of your venture?
At the peak of my corporate career, my life took a very sharp turn when my son suffered a significant trauma at the age of 11. Fuelled by a fierce love and devotion to healing and justice, I turned that period from a focus on mere surviving to thriving. Inspired by my son and the skills we’ve learned together, I founded Adaptaa, with the intention to build it into a “leadership experience that starts from within.”
My son has been both my greatest teacher and most influential student of acceptance. He taught me to be tolerant of his differences and, by extension, everyone else’s. The neurotypical world labels his way of being with a cocktail of acronyms: ASD, ADD, OCD, ODD. I call them superpowers. In the same way, I call his sister’s ability to accept him just the way he is, her superpower. One of my secrets to success is to help all people discover their superpowers.
My book, “The Audacity Spectrum” explains why, when ‘extra’ abilities are channelled in the right way, traits which were thought of as ‘too much’ are found in the most effective leaders.
What are you working on right now?
I am currently working on promoting my book – “The Audacity Spectrum”. My ambition is to bring love into leadership. I call it Audacious Leadership.
My mission is to create a community of audacious leaders who care daringly and pay forward. To create Leaders who bring a massive “ROI” – a Ripple of Impact – in their environments.
My latest audacious dream? To build a retreat centre for emotional and spiritual leadership in Transylvania. I purchased new land in Romania, next to my hotel, and I’m working on my next dare….
Give a motivational message for the audience/women who are reading this.
Embrace your inner audacious leader! Harness your courage and belief that anything is possible. You can achieve the seemingly impossible, with the right mindset, resourcefulness and support. Remember that “everything is going to be OK in the end. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.” My wish for you is to: break barriers, redefine limits, and believe in your unstoppable potential.
Get in touch:
- Website: adaptaa.co.uk
- LinkedIn: alinaaddison
- Instagram: alina_d_addison
- Youtube: @AudaciousAlina