Not because you think you know everything without questioning, but rather because you question everything you think you know. Anonymous
Monica is the Director of Dialogues and inspires people to make conscious choices on how to apply their vision, passion and talents to create their lives, their organizations and communities. She is a highly respected Executive Coach, a Certified International Business Coach by the International Coaching Community, a Master Professional Coach from San Ignacio de Loyola University, a Certified NLP Master Practitioner and she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with major in Education.
Monica´s systemic vision and sensitivity allows her to understand thinking processes, individual and group behavior patterns and change cycles. This unique skill developed through a combination of 20 years of experience as a professional artist, as an art and design professor and as an independent researcher. Her research areas include perception, dialogue, interaction, metamorphosis, imagination, learning and change. Since 2007 she integrates her findings into coaching, strategic planning, leadership development, creative thinking and innovation. Monica is also an energetic and fun sought after motivational speaker and an experienced leadership facilitator.
It is due to my interdisciplinary experience that I have explored change and leadership from different angles: spatial intelligence and imagination to develop vision and strategy; intrinsic motivation and empathy to engage people in group learning; and creativity and design thinking to achieve innovation.
Based on her passion and vision Monica connects logical, systems, parallel and intuitive thinking and introduces people to a new universe of comprehension of creativity through Dialogues.
On Consulting: Her extensive experience in adult learning, transition and change, allows her to consult and diagnose needs, and design, facilitate and evaluate innovative solutions for systemic leadership.
On Executive Coaching: Her systems approach can also be appreciated on her coaching style, where she challenges her clients to become more aware of the systems they function in, their laws, cycles and leverage points in order to make decisions and take actions for balance and growth.
On Creativity: Monica has taught Creative Process, Creative Learning and Creative Thinking to businesses leaders, innovation teams, university faculty, school teachers, and to art and design professional career students in Lima and Vancouver since 1990.
In order to open their minds to creativity, I encourage people to develop intrinsic motivation, flexibility and adaptability, to manage ambiguity and uncertainty and to become more aware of their thinking process.
Monica was the initiator and a co-designer of UCAL University’s Creative Process, a powerful creative thinking methodology that combines different types of thinking in a specific manner to provoke original and high impact ideas and solutions.
On Learning: Her innovative and originally created experiential learning tools, methodologies, exercises and resources for coaching and adult learning, like the Dialogues Model®, Dialogues for Change® , Coaching for Balance®, Thinking Tools®, and Dialogues Leadership Development Model®, are also applied by other consultants and coaches to make learning an effective, enjoyable and unforgettable experience.
On Perception: Monica’s coaching skills developed while teaching Fine Arts and Design careers foundation courses:
The two courses I began my teaching experience with: Perspective Drawing and Colour Theory, taught me most of what I know about Perception, as both consider internal and external processes: observer’s biology and interpretation, the system’s laws and the relativity of the interaction.
As part of her research on Perception and Change, in 2003 Monica created “Dialogues: perception of colour and shape”, a one year interactive art project that involved the public in an intuitive, emotional and thinking change processes, where she identified change related behavioral patterns that replicate in coaching processes.
On Art: Her art and design experience gives Monica an array of tools and resources that she applies for coaching, innovation and leadership development.
When I say that I apply art and design thinking tools in my work with innovation or leadership teams, people usually think I will make them draw or paint.
I explain that my coaching and facilitating work is not about making art, but about non linear and effective thinking, It is also about becoming aware of their perceptions, combining resources in different ways, and being able to withhold judgment for a moment and listen to each other.
Research and Publication:
“The Creative Process”, UCAL University and Toulouse Lautrec College, 2013
“Design and the creative mind”, Business & Events Magazine, 2012
“And what about values?”, Business & Events Magazine, 2012
“Differences get us together”, Business & Events Magazine, 2011
“Developing skilful observers”, Business & Events Magazine, 2010
“Coaching for Business and Organizations”, Business & Events Magazine, 2010
“Problems vs. Opportunities”, Business & Events Magazine, 2009
“Improving our quality of life” Vida Magazine, 2008,
“Creativity and Innovation”, Educared Peru, Telefónica Foundation 2008
“Active Listening and Backtracking for the Coaching Process”, International Coaching Community-Quantum 2008
“ROI of Coaching”, International Coaching Community / Fundación Quantum, 2007
“Empathy: Foundation for the Coaching Process”, University San Ignacio de Loyola, 2007
“Dialogues: Perception of Colour and Shape”, 2nd Peruvian Colour Conference, 2003
“Creative Teaching: The use of colour in the teaching learning process”, 1st Peruvian Colour Conference, 2001
“Creative teaching: The use of graphic elements in the teaching learning process”, 2002
“Graphic exercises to improve attention”, 2002
“Some thoughts on teaching Fine Arts in school: improving our children’s’ minds”, 2001
“Conceptual Art in High school”, 2000