Coach, organizational researcher, and theatre practitioner – sparking energy, direction, and collaboration

I am an experienced coach and facilitator, an organization scholar with a DSc (Econ and Bus Admin) degree, and a playback theatre actor/conductor. I love combining organizational and research expertise with creative, embodied methods to support meaningful development. My work helps individuals and communities clarify what matters most, deepen understanding, strengthen relationships, and energize individual and collective action.

Since 2009, I have worked as both an entrepreneur and an employee, coaching numerous teams and individuals, facilitating various events and processes, and training hundreds of managers and experts, as well as dozens of business coaches. I hold two coaching certificates and am also trained as a playback theatre conductor, certified psychodrama director and professional supervisor. In April 2025, I defended my doctoral dissertation at Aalto University School of Business. My doctoral research explored affect—the energy that arises and shifts in encounters—and its role in leadership and for teams’ capacity to act during change processes.

I partner with organizations and communities committed to building a more sustainable future, offering them:

Coaching – structuring challenges, encouraging experimentation, and empowering participants
Training – developing leadership, collaboration, courage, and creativity
Facilitated workshops and events – enabling fresh thinking, new relationships, and shared progress
Keynotes – enhancing leadership and collaboration, and elucidating their collective, non-rational aspects
Playback theatre fostering multiplicity, connection, and community

What I believe

Leadership and collaboration are not solo acts—they are continuous movements that involve and affect everyone.
Sustainable change comes from calmly focusing on what calls for attention, not rushing into quick fixes.
The body and senses generate knowledge beyond rational thought and can open unforeseen possibilities—so they should be integral to change and development work.
Courage fuels experimentation, and experimentation builds confidence in both individual and collective potential.

Publications

Practitioner resource (in Finnish)

Ristikangas, M.-R. & Grünbaum, L. (2021, 6. ed.) The Coaching Supervisor (Finnish: Valmentava esimies. Onnistumista palvelevat positiot.) Alma Insights.

Research publications

Grünbaum, L. (2025) Affect in Collective Organizing. Aalto University publication series. Doctoral Theses 76/2025.

Grünbaum, L., & Wickström, A. (2024) Becoming response-able together in research field work. In M. Cozza, B. Poggio, & A. Carreri (Eds.), Ethics of Engagement in Research Practices: Response-ability in Organization and Management. Routledge.

Lafaire, AP, Soini, A. & Grünbaum, L. (2022) In lockdown with my inner saboteur – a collaborative collage on self-compassion. Gender, Work & Organization.

Lafaire, AP., Kuismin, A., Moisander, J. & Grünbaum, L. (2022) Interspace for Empathy: Engaging with work-related uncertainty through artistic intervention in management education. Culture & Organization.

Grünbaum, L. (1997) Attitudes of Future Managers Towards Business Ethics: A Comparison of Finnish and American Business Students. Journal of Business Ethics (1997) March 1997, Volume 16, Issue 4.

Contact me!

Are you looking for fresh ways to move forward together? I’d be happy to help – let’s talk more!

PS. Learn more about my background from my
LinkedIn-profile.