Underneath every leadership behaviour sits something deeper: a learned pattern that silently determines what you notice, what you fear, and what you repeat — especially under pressure. Schemas in Leadership reveals that hidden architecture, and how to reshape it.
Master Certified Coach · 25+ years with 5,000+ leaders at Amazon, Google, Walmart, Capital One & Takeda
Communication, strategy, decision-making, executive presence — those things matter. But they are not the source code. Underneath them sits a schema: a learned pattern of meaning-making that runs faster than thought.
Schemas begin as intelligent adaptations to a real early environment. They aren't flaws — they're shortcuts that once kept you safe.
The higher the stakes, the more you run on pattern. It's why smart, capable leaders keep repeating the same costly moves.
Made conscious, a schema loses its grip. The invitation isn't to become a better version of your current self — it's to upgrade the system that produces it.
In Schemas in Leadership, Master Certified Coach Daniela Aneva introduces a groundbreaking framework that bridges cognitive psychology, schema therapy, and executive development to reveal the hidden architecture behind leadership performance, culture, and fulfilment. Drawing on 25+ years with more than 5,000 leaders and teams, she maps the 12 most common schemas that derail even the most talented leaders — and offers a practical pathway to recognise, interrupt, and reshape them.
Two decades of coaching senior leaders, grounded in the schema approach. Choose the format that fits where you are.
One-to-one mentor coaching for coaches pursuing ICF credentialing or renewal (ACC / PCC). We begin with a get-to-know-you session and an assessment of your level, then plan the engagement from there — including work with your recorded sessions.
Prepare for the strategic conversations that move your career — the promotion case, the executive presence, the presentation that has to land. Focused, practical sessions booked when you need them.
Make the leader-as-thermostat deliberate. Team coaching that surfaces the group's patterns under pressure, builds psychological safety, and turns schema awareness into how the team actually works — drawing on the ICF-accredited CoachRice for Teams curriculum.
Small-group leadership journeys that combine the schema framework with peer learning and coaching. The Executive Circle ($8,500) and She Leads ($7,800) run as cohort experiences for leaders ready to work at depth alongside their peers.
Reflective, schema-informed supervision for coaches — and rigorous training for those becoming supervisors. Daniela is one of three leaders of the ICF Community of Practice for Coaching Supervision.
A 64-hour, AACS-aligned program bringing the schema lens to supervision practice — with handbook, workbook, and live cohort learning.
An ICF CSS-aligned, 40-hour training for coaches becoming supervisors — the theory, the models, and supervised practice.
Ongoing reflective supervision for practising coaches and supervisors — a confidential space to work with what the work brings up.
Structured, accredited-aligned curricula that take the framework from the book into your practice and your organization.
A full curriculum for coaching intact teams through the schema lens — syllabus, module design, observation rubric, and participant guide.
The 40-hour, ICF CSS-aligned supervisor training — for coaches ready to hold the reflective space for others.
Bring the Schemas in Leadership curriculum to your leaders and teams — cascaded by level, with practice and coaching between sessions.
Daniela is a Master Certified Coach and the founder and CEO of MentorsPro, an executive coaching, team coaching, and organizational-development firm. She is faculty and a mentor coach at Rice University's Doerr Institute for New Leaders, co-founder of EMCC USA, and one of three leaders of the ICF Community of Practice for Coaching Supervision.
With over 25 years of experience and clinical training in schema-based approaches, she has coached thousands of senior leaders at organizations including Amazon, Google, Walmart, Capital One, and Takeda. She is the author of Schemas in Leadership and The Anatomy of Panic, and co-author of Becoming a Coaching Supervisor and Coach Mentor.
Get your copy of Schemas in Leadership, or reach out to explore coaching, supervision, or a program for your team.