08 Sep AMINA MENNI: “Trust is everything.”

Amina Menni, interview September 8, 2025

Who is Amina Menni, beyond her résumé?
Amina Menni is a woman who has journeyed through many worlds — science, business, health, entrepreneurship — and who has learned, sometimes the hard way, that true leadership begins with oneself. Beyond the CV, I am someone deeply committed to the human side, to the positive transformation of workplaces, and to the desire to reconcile performance and well-being. I went through a burn-out that forced me to question everything. From there, I chose to rebuild my professional path with purpose, offering others what I myself had needed: awareness, listening, and the courage to change.

How has your multicultural background influenced the way you accompany leaders?
My multicultural background has taught me that there is no single way to lead, nor a single definition of success. Having lived and worked in several countries (France, the UK, Spain) has allowed me to understand the importance of context, culture, and shared values. Supporting leaders today, for me, means knowing how to read between the lines, picking up on what is not said, and respecting the diversity of paths. In a global environment, leadership needs intercultural sensitivity, and this is cultivated both through experience and through listening.

How was the project Management & Health born?
Management & Health was born out of a void I personally experienced: working in high intellectual demand contexts without emotional tools, without spaces for dialogue, and without real prevention of psychosocial risks. After leading the opening of a biotech subsidiary and going through a burn-out, I realized that one cannot sustain healthy leadership if the human dimension is ignored. Management & Health is my professional response to that awareness: a bridge between business performance and the psychological health of those who make it possible.

What is a “healthy organization” for you?
A healthy organization is one that cares for its people with the same attention it gives to its goals. It’s an environment where emotions can be expressed without judgment, where conflict is not hidden but managed, where mental health is not taboo, and where leadership is measured not only by results, but also by the ability to build trust, meaning, and belonging. It’s an organization that doesn’t sacrifice people in the name of success, but grows with them.

What are the conditions for change in a company to be truly sustainable?
For change to be sustainable, it must be desired, understood, and embodied. It’s not enough to apply a top-down strategy: involvement, listening, and adjustment are required. It’s also essential to respect the pace of change, honor human processes, and accompany teams with meaning. Imposed change is resisted. Dialogued change is built. And above all, no change will be sustainable if the well-being of those who must implement it is not supported first.

Where is the line between leadership and control?
Leadership inspires, control suffocates. The line lies in trust. When a leader trusts their team, they create the conditions for people to give their best. When they fear losing control, they begin to micromanage, impose, and distrust. Leading is not about watching every step, but about providing direction, supporting in uncertainty, and allowing solutions to emerge. True leadership is measured by the ability to let go… without abandoning.

Why is it so difficult to have honest conversations in executive committees?
Because vulnerability is often confused with weakness, and superficial consensus is prioritized over authenticity. In executive committees there are pressures, egos, fears. Saying what one truly thinks requires a psychologically safe environment, where making mistakes doesn’t have devastating consequences. Without trust, conversations become strategic, not sincere. But when that space of authenticity is created, the quality of decisions changes radically.

You often speak of vulnerability as a strength. Isn’t that a paradox?
It may seem so, but it’s quite the opposite. Vulnerability is not showing fragility, it’s showing humanity. It’s having the courage to say “I don’t know,” “I need help,” “this affects me.” In the world of management, this remains revolutionary. However, I have often seen that when a leader allows for such openness, they inspire others to do the same — and that’s where true collaboration is born. Well-managed vulnerability doesn’t weaken leadership: it humanizes and strengthens it.

What is your definition of authentic leadership?
Authentic leadership is one aligned with the leader’s personal values, that doesn’t need masks to exercise influence, and that has the humility to keep learning. It’s leadership based on example, not discourse. That knows how to say “I don’t know” and also “I’m listening.” For me, authenticity means coherence: between what I think, what I feel, what I say, and what I do. And that is what gives credibility, both inside and outside the team.

How can you tell the difference between a team in crisis and a team momentarily disoriented?
A team in crisis repeats dysfunctional patterns: unresolved conflicts, lack of trust, persistent blockages, emotional exhaustion. A disoriented team, on the other hand, may be going through a phase of transition, restructuring, or doubt, but still retains the ability to listen and to seek solutions. The key lies in collective reflection. When a team can talk about what it’s experiencing without fear, it is not yet in crisis. It is searching for how to reinvent itself.

What can the business world learn from the health sector?
A great deal. In the health sector, especially in hospitals or critical care settings, teamwork under pressure is the norm, with a high level of responsibility and a constant awareness of human impact. Business organizations can learn from this ethic of care, from interdisciplinary cooperation, and from decision-making that integrates both technical and emotional aspects. They can also draw inspiration from the culture of continuous training and risk management, which are essential in healthcare…

Is mental health still a taboo in organizations?
Yes, though less than before. Following the pandemic, a conversation opened that had previously been avoided. But fear of judgment, stigma, and the idea that showing mental difficulty may harm one’s career still persist. Talking about stress, anxiety, or exhaustion in a competitive environment remains difficult. That’s why it is so important that leaders set the example, that companies create real psychological health policies, and that it is understood that caring for mental health is not a luxury: it is a condition for sustainability.

Is it really possible to prevent burn-out at an organizational level?
Yes, but it requires courage and coherence. Preventing burn-out isn’t achieved through a one-off wellness talk. It’s done by reviewing internal culture, workload, leadership style, recognition systems, the right to disconnect. It’s done by training managers in human skills, creating safe spaces for dialogue, and detecting warning signs before it’s too late. Preventing burn-out is possible. What is often missing is the willingness to accept that the system itself can become sick.

Let’s talk about workplace mediation. When does it become necessary? And what makes a mediation truly successful?
Mediation becomes necessary when dialogue is broken, when conflicts block work or damage relationships. It is not a sign of failure, but an opportunity for rebuilding. A successful mediation is not only one that resolves the conflict, but one that allows the parties to understand their needs, regain their dignity, and come out stronger. It requires neutrality, deep listening, and great human sensitivity. I see it as an act of care in environments where pain has made noise.

Can one learn to listen better?
Yes. Listening is not just hearing: it’s being present, without needing to be right, without preparing your answer while the other is speaking. Authentic listening transforms relationships. And it can be trained. Through coaching, constructive feedback, the practice of silence, self-observation. In teams that know how to listen, conflicts decrease, innovation grows, and trust multiplies. Listening better is not a technique. It is an attitude.

What approach do you take with a divided team?
First, I don’t look for culprits, I look to understand. A divided team often reflects deeper tensions: lack of shared meaning, absence of honest communication, ambivalent leadership, unhealed wounds. My approach combines individual listening, systemic analysis, and collective dialogue spaces. I help the team see each other again, listen to each other, rebuild bridges. Sometimes you need to go slowly in order to move forward truly. But when a team dares to look at itself without filters, transformation is powerful.

What are the most common pitfalls in companies undergoing transition?
Haste, isolation, and lack of meaning. Many companies think change can be “managed” with a PowerPoint and a timeline. But people don’t change because they’re told to: they change when they understand, when they feel seen, when they have a role in the transformation. Another frequent pitfall is forgetting middle management, who are the bridge between strategy and reality. If they are not supported, change breaks down along the way. Finally, neglecting the emotions of change — fear, resistance, loss — condemns the process to failure.

What do you say to a CEO who only talks about quick results?
I ask: quick, at what cost? Quick results may be tempting, but if they destroy motivation, health, or internal cohesion, their cost is enormous. I propose a shift in perspective: how to achieve sustainable results without exhausting the team? How to align performance with well-being? Often, behind the obsession with immediacy there is fear or pressure. Listening to that, naming it, and offering alternative paths is part of my role. Because a good CEO is not the one who applies the most pressure, but the one who builds for the long term.

What role does trust play in your coaching processes?
Trust is everything. Without it, there is no openness, no real change. From the very first meeting, I work to create a safe, judgment-free space where the person or team can be genuine. Listening without interpreting, holding silence, giving honest but caring feedback… all this builds trust. And when trust appears, what seemed blocked starts to move. In reality, my work is not to change anyone: it is to accompany with trust so that change can emerge from within.

Do you have a personal ritual to stay centered in your work?
More than a fixed ritual, what centers me is a conscious lifestyle. Walking in nature, practicing mindfulness, gives me clarity and calm. It’s a space where I breathe, observe, and reconnect with myself. I also greatly value time with my family, as it reminds me of what is essential and gives me authentic energy. Meditation is also part of my balance: it helps me cultivate inner silence and stay aligned, even in demanding times. All of this, together with my spirituality, allows me to accompany others from a more serene and authentic place.

What unexpected lesson have you learned along your journey?
That the body always speaks. For years, I learned to hold on, to lead, to meet expectations… but I ignored internal warning signals. My burn-out taught me that it’s not enough to have a professional purpose if it’s not in tune with our physical and emotional well-being. I learned that you don’t need to hit the limit to change, and that vulnerability, when embraced consciously, becomes a powerful compass.

Do you have a quote or principle that guides you in your daily life?
I don’t have a specific quote I repeat every day, but I do have an inner certainty that guides me: nothing is set in stone. Everything can change, even when we don’t yet see it. I trust that there is a broader movement, a form of wisdom that accompanies us in the process, even in moments of doubt. Being present, listening to what life brings, and accepting that knowledge comes not only from reason but also from intuition… this gives me serenity to keep moving forward.

How do you imagine the evolution of executive coaching in ten years?
I imagine it more humanized, more connected to mental health. The coaching of the future will not only be about optimizing performance, but about developing conscious leaders, capable of regenerating rather than only producing. I also see coaching becoming more accessible, less elitist, integrated into organizational culture. And perhaps more collective: not only centered on the individual, but on the systems we inhabit.

What legacy would you like to leave?
I would like to have contributed to people listening more — to themselves, to each other, within their organizations. To allow themselves to live their work with meaning, not just obligation. I would like to have opened paths of reconciliation between performance and health, between demand and humanity. And if just one person, thanks to my support, decides to take care of themselves without guilt… then I will have planted something worthwhile.

Amina Menni
Executive Coach | Soft Skills |
Leadership | Communication | Emotional Intelligence

🔗 managementandhealth.com
🔗 LinkedIn Profile