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Executive Performance Coaching · New Service

High performance.
Without the burnout.

The AI revolution is accelerating. Boards are demanding more. Teams need leadership. And founders are running on empty. We've built a coaching service for the leaders who refuse to choose between performance and sustainability.

The Context

The pressure on founders
has never been higher.

🤯

AI is overwhelming leadership

Every week brings a new model, a new tool, a new threat to your roadmap. The cognitive load on technical founders and C-level executives has never been greater. Clarity is the new competitive advantage.

🔥

Burnout is reaching epidemic levels

67% of founders report burnout symptoms. The always-on culture of high-growth companies, investor pressure, and team expectations create a cocktail that erodes decision-making, relationships, and health - long before anyone admits it.

⚖️

The performance paradox

The behaviours that got you here - relentless drive, high control, perfectionism - are often the same ones that will break you at scale. High performance and sustainable leadership require a fundamentally different operating system.

Our Approach

Not wellness. Performance.

This is not a mindfulness programme. This is not a retreat. This is structured, evidence-based coaching that treats leadership capacity as a performance system - one that can be optimised, measured, and scaled.

We integrate behavioural coaching, leadership psychology, and evidence-based energy management - not as wellness add-ons, but as performance multipliers. The goal is simple: higher output, better decisions, longer runway.

Our coaches have founded and scaled companies themselves. They understand what it means to sit in the seat, manage a board, lead through uncertainty, and make high-stakes calls with incomplete information. That dual perspective - psychological and operational - is what makes this different from a generic coaching provider.

01

Strategic Clarity & Executive Confidence

Cut through the noise. Rebuild the decision-making frameworks that get diluted as companies scale. Strengthen your ability to lead with conviction under ambiguity - especially in fast-moving AI-driven environments.

02

Burnout Prevention & Energy Architecture

Identify the specific drivers of your depletion - cognitive, relational, structural. Build a sustainable operating rhythm that maintains high output without the boom-bust cycle that defines most founder careers.

03

Leadership Presence & Team Effectiveness

Delegation, accountability, feedback, conflict - the behaviours that scale a leadership team. We work on the patterns that limit your effectiveness as an organisation grows around you.

04

Cognitive Regulation Under Pressure

High-stakes decisions, board dynamics, fundraising pressure, public scrutiny - we build the psychological infrastructure to perform when it matters most, not just in calm conditions.

05

Growth Phase Navigation

Each stage of company growth requires a different version of you as a leader. Pre-seed to Series C, each transition brings new demands. We help you evolve your leadership identity in step with your company.

Your Coach

Coached by someone who's
been in the seat.

Our coaches aren't career coaches who've read about startups. They've founded companies, led teams, and navigated the same pressures you're facing. That operational credibility changes what's possible in a coaching conversation.

Pauline Hanuise
Pauline Hanuise
Health-Tech Founder · Executive Performance Coach

Pauline is an Executive & Entrepreneurial Performance Coach with over 12 years of international experience working with founders, executives, and growth-stage leaders across Europe, the US, Australia, Switzerland, and Canada. She works in English and French.

Her approach combines behavioural coaching, leadership psychology, and structured performance frameworks - integrating evidence-based health and energy management principles as performance multipliers, not wellness add-ons. Beyond coaching, Pauline has founded and led ventures herself. She understands the realities of scaling, managing teams, and making high-stakes decisions under pressure.

She helps leaders increase strategic clarity, navigate growth phases, address perfectionism and high-performance anxiety, strengthen delegation and accountability, and prevent burnout while maintaining high output.

Behavioural CoachingLeadership PsychologyBurnout PreventionCognitive Regulation12+ Years ExperienceFR · ENInternational
View LinkedIn Profile →
Who It's For

Built for leaders who
operate at the edge.

🚀

Founders & CEOs

Pre-seed through growth stage. Navigating fundraising, team scaling, board pressure, and the permanent uncertainty of building something new. Often carrying the full weight alone.

⚙️

CTOs & Technical Leaders

Caught between AI disruption, engineering team leadership, and board communication. The cognitive demands of technical leadership in 2026 are unlike anything before it.

🏛️

C-Suite Executives

CMOs, CFOs, COOs at scale-ups navigating rapid growth, organisational change, and the pressure of performing in roles that are constantly evolving beneath them.

Engagement Models

Four engagements.
Structured for your pace.

Entry Point
Discovery Session
Free
60 minutes · no commitment
  • Understand your current challenges
  • Assess fit and approach
  • Define what success looks like
  • No sales pressure
Book a Call
Corporate
Leadership Team Programme
Custom
For C-suite teams · bespoke design
  • Individual + group sessions
  • Collective leadership alignment
  • Burnout risk assessment
  • Organisational performance audit
  • Ideal for post-fundraise teams
Get in touch
Intensive
VIP Day
Custom
Full day · in-person or remote
  • Deep-dive performance audit
  • Strategic clarity intensive
  • Burnout risk mapping
  • 90-day action plan
  • Ideal for critical transitions
Get in touch
Common Questions

What people ask first.

Is this coaching or therapy?
This is coaching, not therapy. The focus is entirely forward-looking - on performance, clarity, and professional outcomes. Our coaches use evidence-based frameworks from behavioural science and leadership psychology, but the work is rooted in professional results, not clinical treatment.
I'm not sure I'm burned out. Is this still for me?
Yes - and actually, this is when coaching is most effective. Burnout prevention is significantly easier than burnout recovery. If you're noticing reduced clarity, creeping exhaustion, or decision fatigue, that's the optimal moment to intervene. We work with leaders at all stages - from peak performance optimisation to active recovery.
How is this different from a generic executive coach?
Two things differentiate us. First, our coaches have founded and scaled companies themselves - they bring operational credibility, not just coaching methodology. Second, we integrate Above The Clouds' technical and business context - so coaching conversations can connect directly to your product roadmap, team structure, or fundraising situation when relevant.
What languages do you work in?
Pauline works in English and French. Sessions can be conducted in either language, or a mix - particularly useful for bilingual founders operating across European markets.
How does this connect to Above The Clouds' other services?
It's complementary, not dependent. Many clients engage with our technical services (Tech DD, Fractional CTO, AI Strategy) alongside coaching. The combination is particularly powerful for founders navigating a fundraising round or major product pivot - where both the technical and human dimensions are under pressure simultaneously.
Where are sessions held?
All sessions are conducted remotely via video call, which allows us to work with leaders across Europe, the US, Australia, and beyond.

Ready to perform
at your best - sustainably?

Book a Free Discovery Call →