Alexandra Thomas is a licensed psychologist, specialist in work and organizational psychology, and co-author of the book Compassionate Leadership – A Guide to the Humane Workplace, which received the HR Book of the Year 2025 award. Driven by a passion for helping people grow and strengthening resilience in times of change, Alexandra inspires audiences with concrete strategies that can be applied in practice. In an engaging way, she draws on research-based methods and accurately captures the needs of her audience.
Alexandra works interactively at all levels in global organizations and companies within fields such as the legal and banking sectors, the cultural sector, the automotive industry and healthcare. She has many years of experience as a regional manager and regularly appears in newspapers, podcasts and radio. Alexandra has written a novel, writes scripts for television and film and works equally in English and Swedish.
Topics
Leadership, compassion, self-leadership, team development, self-compassion, growth mindset, communication, organizational development.
Leadership development
We work with leadership development at all levels. The interventions are developed in close collaboration with the client and often run over time. Pre-studies, interviews and learning groups are used to trigger long lasting behavioural change. Theories and models are based on the latest leadership research with the goal of getting each group and participant to reflect, challenge themselves and develop.
Management team development
In working with management teams, clarity, trust and transparency are crucial for the team to develop. Moving from operational to strategic focus, finding ways for effective communication, collaboration, decision-making and clarifying roles are crucial for the management team’s progress. Measurements and self-assessments clarify where the team is in its development. The interventions are interactive, strengthen the result and a proactive working climate.
Team development
We work with both conflict groups and high-performing teams and let relationships and psychological safety form the basis for the dialogues and results that the team creates. Focus lies on how the group can create profitability and quality, collaborate and work creatively, without getting stuck in silos but instead acting across borders as a united team.
Organizational development
We follow organizations closely, often for several years. Leadership, teamwork, communication and any conflicts are mapped through in-depth interviews. The groups concerned are then facilitated, trained or coached. To meet the needs of the organization, we also provide Train the Trainer arrangements, feedback and counseling.
Coaching, supervision and management support
Coaching and management support are provided for longer or shorter interventions. The coaching focuses on proactivity and behavioral change. Articles and focus tasks are provided for the best possible development.
Lectures and workshops
LEADERSHIP
Compassionate leadership
Compassionate leadership is about leading with presence and stable relationships as the foundation. It is a strategic and trainable capability for both leaders and self-leaders in complex, high-performing environments. When leaders and self-leaders strengthen their compassion competence, their ability to consciously lead themselves and others increases.
Based on psychological research and organizational practice, we explore how compassion strengthens decision-making, self-regulation, and sustainable performance. Participants gain an understanding of compassion as “empathy in action” and learn to notice challenges, understand human needs, and act with clarity, care, and responsibility.
The lectures connect self-leadership, team leadership, and neuro leadership with the goal of creating resilient organizations. Practical approaches are combined with evidence-based tools to reduce stress and sick leave while increasing trust, engagement, innovation, productivity and profitability. By leading with and for compassion, both well-being, performance and long-term success are promoted. Leading with compassion involves self-leadership, self-regulation and practicing compassion in daily interactions. Leading for compassion means implementing roles, routines, networks and a culture infused with compassion.
Through our lectures, workshops, team development programs, or longer leadership trainings, you will gain deeper knowledge on how to implement compassion-focused leadership among employees, teams and throughout the organization.
Coaching leadership
In this lecture, you will gain tools, approaches and techniques, as well as a deeper understanding of when and how to use a coaching leadership. Live coaching sessions are combined with exercises, theories and models to create courage and a willingness to practice coaching, regardless of your role. You will learn why coaching is effective and in which situations it is most useful. We work interactively with questioning techniques, active listening, presence, structure and development contracts in a trusting environment.
Self-leadership
A changing working life requires leaders and employees with the ability to lead themselves. Self-leadership is about acting with awareness and proactivity and reflecting on one’s development, communication and self-regulation. By developing active self-leadership, the relationship with yourself and others is strengthened. In this lecture, you will be inspired to create sustainable conditions that allow you to contribute with wisdom, motivation and well-grounded perspectives.
Sustainable leadership
In a boundary-less and hectic working life, the ability to create focus, reflection, and quality is crucial. Sustainable leadership is about balancing personal and professional activities and about recovery — which does not only happen during weekends and vacations. In this lecture, we learn how sustainable leadership benefits both you and your employees’ well-being, resilience and performance. This is achieved through leadership that works with, not against, the natural mechanisms of the brain.
Feedback
Giving and receiving feedback can feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar. Yet research shows that when feedback is given continuously, openly and from multiple directions, performance increases by 15–30%. In this lecture, you will learn more about what feedback entails and the effects it has on goals and priorities, psychological safety, collaboration, learning and development. You will gain knowledge about success factors and pitfalls in both corrective and reinforcing feedback, as well as tools to contribute to increased performance and well-being through a living feedback culture.
Facilitation
A large part of many leaders’ and employees’ working lives is spent in ineffective and draining meetings. Alexandra has extensive experience of designing and facilitating conferences, trainings and meetings. In this lecture, theories and methods are integrated with practical exercises to share knowledge about meetings that truly engage and move work forward.
TEAM DEVELOPMENT
From Work Group to Team
A team can consist of a group of individuals brought together to work on various projects, or a group that consciously challenges, supports and motivates each other to develop. Anyone who has experienced the power of a well-functioning team knows that team development does not happen by chance. Instead, it is about team members who are aware of the processes and behaviours that make us less competitive and more inclined to work toward shared goals. This requires responsibility, clear communication and well-functioning structures.
A well-functioning team builds strong relationships and engages members in a shared mission. In this lecture, you will learn more about the building blocks that create high-performing teams and trusting relationships. With the right knowledge, a work group can move away from silos, role confusion and conflict and instead create creativity, results and cross-boundary collaboration.
Growth mindset
Our skills, talents and abilities are not static; they are strengthened through experience and practice. Regardless of age, we can train our elastic intelligence and cognitive flexibility and view failures as stepping stones for learning and development. Having a growth mindset as a leader, employee, or team means seeing colleagues in a context and understanding that we are influenced by roles, collaboration, hierarchy and life circumstances. When we are given the conditions to develop our strengths and abilities, we can more easily handle challenges and work with a sense of purpose and meaning. A growth mindset promotes lifelong learning and helps leaders and employees grow — as people and as professionals.
Cognitive flexibility
When was the last time you changed a habit or routine? Humans are creatures of habit, but depending on what we do, neurological connections in our nervous system are strengthened and recreated throughout life. There is almost always something we can improve or change, both at work and in our private lives. By learning more about cognitive flexibility, you gain insight into how the brain works and how you can adapt to a changing working life through self-awareness and self-regulation. This lecture is based on research and practical application on how you can use, train and strengthen the muscles that contribute to cognitive flexibility.
Popular topics
- Compassionate leadership
- From work group to high-performing team
- Self-leadership
- Self-compassion
- Coaching leadership
- Growth mindset
- Psychological safety
- Cognitive flexibility
References
“Alexandra Thomas has an outstanding ability to lead conversations and convey messages that are both knowledge-based and down-to-earth. She connects psychology with responsibility and empathetic action. Alexandra challenges us to rethink how we define leadership and compassion, which I recommend to all organizations and leaders committed to a healthier working life and stronger leadership.”
– Staffan Norin, Generaldirektör för Skogsstyrelsen
Moderator
Alexandra Thomas is an experienced moderator and facilitator who approaches every conference and event with sharpness, care and knowledge. With strong presence and curiosity, Alexandra creates dynamics, engagement, and inspiration.
Thorough preparations ensures that she is always well-versed in the topic and engages both speakers on stage and participants in the audience. Alexandra works interactively and is often involved in the entire design process, with experience of interviewing researchers, artists, chairpersons, leaders and actors.
Alexandra is bilingual and works in both English and Swedish. With a strong ability to improvise, she asks questions that challenge and open up for new perspectives.
Alexandra Thomas is a licensed psychologist, specialist in organizational psychology, speaker, facilitator, master of ceremonies, and moderator. She writes scripts for television and film and is co-author of the book Compassionate Leadership – A Guide to the Humane Workplace, which received the HR Book of the Year 2025 award.
“It takes years of experience to achieve what Alexandra did during this leadership conference.”
– Executive Conference, Stena AB
“Such a sharp and calm delivery, combined with vibrant energy, that makes the message both insightful, memorable and truly engaging.”
– EY
Contact
Phone: +46-737 80 26 68
alexandra@creativecompassion.se
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-thomas-0a165869/