Meet our Fall '26 Fellow - Mie Melander

We are happy to introduce you to Mie Melander, a Berlin-based Transition & Leadership Coach who works with people at the moments that change everything: a first leadership role, a new business, a new country, a career that no longer fits.

Alongside her coaching, Mie brings 12 years of commercial and client leadership experience to the companies she works with. Mie graduated from our Level 2 Fall 2025 Cohort in April 2026, where her Capstone presentation earned the highest score in her cohort. She now returns as our 11th Fellow.

During her time studying with the IFCE, Mie amazed us with her authentic, expressive, brave and diligent energy. Not only did Mie receive the highest Capstone project score in her cohort, 100% of her classmates recommend her coaching services to their network. She pursues her passion with purpose, which means her evolution and growth after graduation are no surprise!

Read on to learn more about Mie’s coaching work and what she has been up to since graduating. Follow her on LinkedIn to connect and check out her website to learn more about her coaching and consulting services. 

"On paper I had everything I thought I wanted, but I knew something more was waiting for me."

Can you tell us about yourself?

I'm Mie, a Dane by passport and a Berliner by choice for the last six years, and I work as a transition & leadership coach. I have a bachelor's in marketing management and sports marketing, and spent 12 years in commercial teams: Customer Success, partnerships and client leadership. My last corporate role was Director Commercial at one of the biggest marketing agencies in esports, leading four commercial teams.

On paper, I had everything I thought I wanted, but I knew something more was waiting for me. I just couldn't put words to what that "more" was yet. Then, three years ago, I burned out. Recovering took months, and understanding my own part in it took a lot longer. I spent some of that time alone in a camper van in Australia, asking myself what kind of life I actually wanted to build. The answer came slowly: a life where work fits into my life, not the other way around. And work that helps people through the moments that shape them.

So I started designing my life in a way that works for me, and coaching is a big part of that. In August, I left my full-time job to go all in on Melander Studio, home of my coaching and consulting practice. 

"Becoming a coach is the most rewarding change I've made for myself, and seeing my clients work through their own moment is my motivation to keep learning the craft."

What motivated you to become a coach?

There wasn't one big aha-moment. It was more of a slow build-up.

Long before any of this, I was a 20-year-old student working in a call centre. A few months in, I quit. Selling over the phone just wasn't for me. The next day, my boss called me into a meeting and offered me a new role instead: motivator for the sales team. Walk the floor, keep the mood and energy up, mentor and motivate. It felt like a dream job, getting to encourage people to do their best work. Fast forward to today, and I get to do that for a living.

As I climbed the ladder, from employee to manager to director, I saw over and over again how much the right support matters. Along the way, I guided and mentored colleagues and young professionals, and it always felt natural. Looking back, it also explains why I loved client work for so long. The best part was always the conversation: figuring out what the person in front of me actually needed, beyond what they said at first.

When I burned out, I saw it as my chance to finally follow a gut feeling that had been growing for a while: that I was a coach. What I'd needed in those years wasn't more advice. I needed a space to think, to figure out who I was in a new role, and to hear myself clearly.

Now I get to be that space for other people. Becoming a coach is the most rewarding change I've made for myself, and seeing my clients work through their own moment is my motivation to keep learning the craft.

"My clients don't share a job title or an industry. They share a moment where something has shifted, or is about to, and the inside hasn't caught up with the outside yet."

What services do you offer?

I work 1:1 with individuals, and I’m planning to start group coaching in the coming months, which I'll share more about on my social channels.

My clients don't share a job title or an industry. They share a moment where something has shifted, or is about to, and the inside hasn't caught up with the outside yet. The people I work with usually recognise themselves in at least one of these (often a bit of several):

🌀The emerging leader: just stepped into their first leadership role and wondering if they're the right person to make the calls

🌀The new entrepreneur: started something of their own and learning to trust their decisions when no one else is setting the direction

🌀The career changer: ready for something new, but unsure whether their skills will transfer

🌀The life redesigner: done living by someone else's script, maybe moving to a country where they don't speak the language or know anyone, because something tells them it's right

🌀The recovering high-performer: rebuilding after burnout and figuring out who they are when they're not running at full speed

🌀The self-doubter: capable on the outside, but the inner critic is still louder than any compliment

Together, we get clear on what they want, why it matters, and what it would mean to have it. Then we work on how to get there. I offer single sessions for a focused conversation, and three- and six-month coaching packages for deeper work. All coaching is ICF-aligned, fully confidential and client-led.

I also work with companies that want to invest in their leaders, from first-time managers to those ready for the next step. Every promotion comes with new responsibility and a new identity, and the skills that got you promoted aren’t the ones that make you a good leader. That’s the gap I help close.

Ready to talk about your moment, or your team’s needs? Book a free discovery call.

What are your core values and how do you approach coaching?

These are the principles I work by:

✨ Clarity over comfort: I'll say the honest thing, kindly.

✨ Sustainable over impressive: change that lasts beats change that looks good.

✨ Human first, always: the person comes before the plan.

✨ Earned trust, not assumed: trust is built session by session.

✨ Build for what comes after: the goal is that you won't need me.

Coaching with me looks forward. It isn't therapy, and it isn't advice. I won't hand you the answers, because you're the only one who knows what's right for you. And if something falls outside what coaching can help with, I'll be the first to tell you.

What methodologies and approaches inform your coaching work?

My foundation is the ICF Core Competencies I trained in at the IFCE: presence, powerful questioning and evoking awareness. On top of that, I draw on a range of tools, including:

💡Reflective questioning - questions that help my clients hear their own thinking more clearly, instead of steering them towards mine.

💡Self-compassion - because lasting change rarely comes from being harder on yourself.

💡Immunity to Change (Kegan & Lahey) - a way of uncovering the hidden commitments and assumptions that keep us stuck, even when we really want to change.

"For six months, Tuesday evenings belonged to my cohort, and those sessions quickly became the highlight of my week."

What was it like being an IFCE student?

All-consuming, in the best way.

I always hated school, so I was nervous about signing up for something that needed this much studying. Turns out, I didn't need to be. For six months, Tuesday evenings belonged to my cohort, and those sessions quickly became the highlight of my week.

Peer coaching is built into the programme, so I sat in the client's chair as often as the coach's. Some days I felt completely coached out, and that taught me something I now build into my own practice: insight needs time to sink in.

Graduating left an unexpected void. A chapter that had filled half a year just… closed. So I'm really grateful to be back as a Fellow and to stay connected to this community.

"So I stopped trying to coach a type of person and started coaching the moment."

What have you been up to since graduation?

Mostly learning that building a practice doesn't follow a straight line.

After graduating, I took a full-time job so I'd have a stable income while I built my business on the side. Alongside it, I kept coaching the clients I'd started working with during the course, held discovery calls, worked on my online presence and sharpened my focus. After three months, I knew I couldn't do both well. So I resigned and went all in on Melander Studio.

I've also made a big decision about my coaching. When I graduated, I thought I had to pick one niche. But the more I coached, the clearer it became that my clients' challenges look very different on the surface, while the moment underneath is the same. So I stopped trying to coach a type of person and started coaching the moment.

I write openly about building the business, the good weeks and the hard ones, on my Substack.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about becoming a coach?

💚Take the craft seriously. Anyone can call themselves a coach. Your clients deserve someone who has put in the work to be good at it, and who keeps building their skills.

💚Get coached yourself. You learn just as much in the client's chair as in the coach's.

💚Remember you have a vote too. Not every discovery call should turn into a client relationship. Chemistry, readiness and fit matter on both sides.

💚Don't wait until everything is ready. I held off announcing my business because my website wasn't finished. Spoiler: it never feels finished. Start before you feel ready.

💚Stop and celebrate. It's so easy to rush on to the next thing. A classmate once reminded our cohort to sit with our accomplishments, and it's something I still remind myself of.

Interested in working with Mie?

To learn more about Mie’s work as a Transition & Leadership Coach, check out her newly launched website, email her directly, and follow her on LinkedIn. You can also visit her alumni profile on the IFCE website to learn more about her work. 

We appreciate the tenacity, strategy, and authenticity Mie brings to her coaching work. We are excited to see what comes next in her journey and encourage you to reach out if you or your organization can benefit from Mie’s coaching.