About Maslow Leadership
for Self-actualizing leaders and organizations
Create the workplace culture of the next era.
COVID was the largest cultural disruption agent of our lifetimes. It changed the rules of what makes a workplace “great”.
We help midsized and large organizations build people-focused, high-performing cultures — the new great workplaces.
Our leadership and coaching programs are data-driven, based on our ongoing propietary research.
The results? The Culture-Actualization Index©️ and the Hierarchy of Needs at Work framework.
With them, we’re humanizing leadership & organizations, and pioneering the 21st century’s leadership & organizational paradigm.
Use business as a force for good.
One of our goals is to develop more humane interconnected leaders, inspired to positively influence global challenges and lead change in the 21st century. To help accomplish this, we’re proud supporters for Doctors Without Borders.
Build a Great Workplace Culture
As experts in organizational culture and culture coaching, we’re proud to be a Certified Great Place to Work, committed to role modeling a workplace culture we help our clients create.
Our Founders
Our founders came together with the same belief: that coaching has the power to pioneer change in the world. Through their experience, they’ve witnessed firsthand the effects of how the coaching mindset can maximize human and organizational potential. It was out of that shared vision, to teach leaders to invest in a culture where self-actualization is possible, that Maslow was founded.
Timothy Tiryaki
Timothy is a global expert in the intersection of organizational culture and coaching. He is the founder and CEO of Maslow Leadership, pioneering The Culture-Actualization Index© as a research-driven leading measure. Prior to founding Maslow, he worked at Procter & Gamble, Intel, and Index Group in Sales, Marketing, and HR. He has coached C-level leaders, and taught at Bogazici University Lifelong Learning Center, Global Knowledge Canada, and Simon Fraser University. He holds seven coaching certificates and is trained in multiple coaching styles. Currently writing his Ph.D. thesis on Wise Leadership for Organizations, Timothy has four published books, including one on coaching, and has worked with clients such as MEC, Telus, Aviso Wealth, Doctors of BC, and Suncor.
Diane Bonneau
For over 20 years, Diane has inspired leaders and teams to take bolder risks, to focus their passion and to work creatively to fulfill an organization’s purpose. As an ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC) and a Professional Mentor Coach (PMC), she has mentored many coaches over the span of her career. She's a leading figure within the coaching community and her program, Mastery in Coaching, is highly sought after by coaches and leaders seeking to hone their skills and apply them within their organizations. She’s extensively involved in the coaching community as a Past-President of the ICF Calgary Chapter and in 2015, the ICF honoured her contributions by establishing the Diane Bonneau Coach Development Scholarship.
Our Team
Our team of professionals has a wealth of knowledge from diverse backgrounds and experiences but they all share one vision: to transform leadership in the 21st century by building a culture of coaching at organizations, designed to help employees thrive.
Benita Stafford-Smith
Benita Stafford-Smith is a Master Certified Coach, an accredited Coach Supervisor, a certified Systemic Team Coach, and a certified Culture Coach. She holds a Bachelor’s degree, majoring in Psychology, from the University of Saskatchewan. Benita has proudly coached over 10,000 hours with hundreds of clients across three continents. She was the founding President of the ICF Oman Chapter, a past EMEA Regional Advisory Council member, and served as Chair of the ICF Global Board for Credentials and Standards 2020-2021, among several other roles at ICF Global Committees. Benita is the author of two published books, co-author of another two, a frequent blogger, and has articles published in traditional media outlets. As a Maslow Faculty Member, Benita teaches at the Executive Culture Coaching Program.
Gordon Aker
Gordon is an executive coach who has a passion for the power of effective leadership to inspire exceptional performance in others and create sustainable value in organizations. He specializes in helping leaders move out of reactive and fear-based leadership styles (which we refer to as “below the line”) and towards their noble purpose using more thoughtful, responsive and creative forms of leadership. Gordon is known to bring his lighthearted humour, thoughtful perspectives and a deep commitment to professional service in support of human development.
Laura Dowling
Along with energy and passion to launch transformational leadership in organizations, Laura brings a wealth of global experiences to her solution-focused coaching and facilitation practice. She specializes in strengths-based leadership (CliftonStrengths), emotional intelligence and mindset education; all tools that equip emerging and established leaders so they can maximize personal and organizational effectiveness. Laura has worked in the leadership development field for 8+ years across several sectors including non-profit, government, corporate, higher education and high-performance sport.
Paul Sanbar
An Ingenuity + Executive Coach, certified coach supervisor, and visual thinking facilitator, Paul’s life and career has been dedicated to the field of self-development and to effecting positive change through purposeful play and powerful conversations initially as a humanistic psychotherapist and for the last ten years as a Professional Certified Coach [PCC] with the International Coaching Federation [ICF]. A certified LEGO® Serious Play® methods facilitator/coach, with training in team coaching and systemic constellations, he assists individuals and teams to think and reflect not only with words, but also with their eyes and hands, engaging their resourceful inventiveness in both tangible and meaningful ways.
Ave Peetri
Ave Peetri has been a corporate executive working for The Coca-Cola Company and other international and local companies across USA and Europe. She has also created 2 of her own, one a consulting company and the other an e-commerce start-up sold to a competitor. Experiencing the fast-paced life of executives and seeing the decisions made in top positions started her passion for developing leadership and working with entrepreneurs, executives, and teams. In 2013, Ave started her own coaching company in Canada, coaching entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and develop themselves as leaders. She was credentialed as the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) by International Coach Federation in 2017 and acquired the Certificate in Systemic Team Coaching in 2018. She is also the holder of EMCC Global Team Coaching Accreditation. She is the Past President of the ICF Oman Chapter. The company where she coached senior leaders individually and in teams received an Honorary Mention on the 2020 ICF Middle East Prism Award. The first company and coach in Oman to receive this honour.
Angela Braun
Transforming complexity into optimal performance and creating long term sustainability is the challenge Angela enjoys the most. As a ‘forward thinking, ‘leader she brings 20+ years of progressive success in leading teams and delivering large complex national and international projects, in technology, hospitality and infrastructure for government and private industry. Angela’s leadership style is committed to plan for all team members to be part of the success story, an approach that includes training and mentoring to create a long-term formula for success. Angela is known as a trusted business advisor and ICF certified and accredited coach who optimizes performance through partnerships, strategy, and execution, and coaching to align corporate and cultural goals.
Sophie Bonneau
Sophie is a professional coach with a Masters degree in Cognitive Sociology. With over 12 years of experience supporting people-focused strategies and elevating leadership priorities in organizations, she has a passion for working one-on-one to accelerate personal growth and professional development.
Gordon Patrick Newell
Gordon is a coach who has been involved in spearheading leadership skills development for over two decades across many diverse industries, from North American start-ups to military departments and Canadian universities. He aligns this experience with a reputation in helping individuals and groups to reach their full potential and achieve their goals, as well as a deep commitment to continued learning. Additionally, Gordon is an alumnus of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, has led in active service with the British military, and has a Masters degree in communications.
Tracey Martin
As an executive and leadership coach, Tracey is known for building coaching cultures within organizations and supporting individuals to become intrinsically motivated to perform at their best, to make meaningful contributions and to face challenges with confidence by using their greatest skills and strengths. An experienced business leader, she has over 20 years experience in senior leadership roles in multiple sectors. Tracey possesses an insatiable curiosity which has led her to circle the globe, driving across five continents to explore unique cultures and perspectives. She has a passion for supporting leaders on their own journeys of self-exploration and discovery.
Ehsan Etezad
Ehsan is an avid learner of human behaviour in organizational settings. He has brought his knowledge and experience in organizational psychology to many research projects in collaboration with scientists at top Atlantic Canada’s Universities such as Saint Mary’s, Dalhousie, and Mount Saint Vincent. In a fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Ehsan, has worked as a coach and researcher, investigating and supporting the mental health and well-being of frontline healthcare workers across Canada. During his collaboration with Maslow, his research interest is focused on what are the best evidence-based practices that will potentially lead to the highest level of coaching outcomes in terms of the leaders’ occupational health, self-efficacy, learning, performance, and business excellence? And what is the best way of measuring the impact of executive coaching on leadership development and business outcomes? Currently, Ehsan is completing his Ph.D. degree in Organizational Psychology at Saint Mary’s University.
Chloe Tiryaki
Chloe Tiryaki is passionate about the intersection of art, creativity, and coaching. She brings 20 years of work experience in Operations & Sales across countries and worked at companies like The Bay, CWB, and ADT in Canada. Chloe is trained in Solution Focused Coaching and Maslowian Coaching and is on the path to getting her ICF coach designation.
Vanessa Raber, MA
Vanessa is a CQ and EQ certified facilitator with extensive experience in designing, delivering, and evaluating engaging and interactive instructional content and training. Over 10 years of experience in post-secondary education, where she coached and supported aspiring leaders with their professional career development, have made her a strong believer of a learner-centered and competency focused approach. She is passionate about connecting the dots as well as people, creating aha-moments, and witnessing authentic moments of growth.
The Terms
Self-actualization | [SELF-ACTU·AL·I·ZATION] NOUN
Self-actualization is the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone.
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