Speaker

Karla Merza is an Agile leadership coach whose work focuses on authentic, self-aware leadership. She brings a practical lens shaped by experience across technical and business roles, including corporate environments and entrepreneurship, and partners with global organizations to strengthen Agile practices, improve collaboration, and help teams deliver meaningful, sustainable results rather than short-term output. Her work includes coaching leaders, implementing Agile frameworks, and teaching Agile Project Management and Advanced Leadership courses that connect theory with everyday leadership. She speaks regularly at industry events, including Women in Agile Europe, where her 2025 session, "Empowering Agile Professionals to Recognize and Break Free from Toxic Workplaces," addressed similar territory of psychological safety and workplace culture. These speaking and teaching roles anchor her experience in Agile coaching and leadership development.

 

Leading with Intention: Understanding the Leader You Already Are Who are you when you lead? Karla Merza turns that question into a practical workshop in her session, "Leading with Intention: Understanding the Leader You Already Are". This reflective, deeply practical workshop explores how self-awareness shapes leadership impact at every level (personal, team, and organizational), offering fresh perspectives and actionable insights to lead with greater intention and authenticity. Drawing on emotional intelligence, psychological safety, values-based leadership, and cognitive bias research, Karla guides participants through self-assessments and guided reflections that surface the values, needs, and stories shaping their leadership style. Rather than prescribing a single correct way to lead, the workshop helps participants recognize their own blind spots and strengths through audience polls, pair and small-group discussions, and facilitated debriefs. Designed for leaders, project professionals, and change agents alike, the session makes space to look inward before extending influence outward. Participants leave with a clearer sense of their leadership identity and a personal action plan for leading with greater intention and authenticity.

 

Learning goals summary:

• Understand that it's not just about frameworks and certifications; it's about knowing who you are when you lead.
• Encourage project professionals to see self-awareness not as a soft skill but as an opportunity to lead with greater confidence, clarity, and impact.
• Recognize personal blind spots, biases, and behavioural patterns that shape decisions under pressure.
• Gain practical tools for building emotional intelligence and continued self-reflection as a leader.