The world we operate in has fundamentally shifted.
The rate of change is accelerating. How organisations develop their managers and leaders hasn’t kept pace.
MQ was founded to change that.
Our Story
We’ve spent decades working in pressured environments, leading teams and building high performance cultures. We know what it takes to develop talent and coach leaders through pivotal moments and complex decisions.
We’ve had a front-row seat to where things break down in organisations, and what it takes to build them back stronger - not just through capability, but through people, purpose, and culture.
That perspective shapes everything we do.
We’ve seen that creating environments where people thrive isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s fundamental to high performance.
When individuals grow, businesses grow.
MQ is breaking the mould of outdated manager and leadership development.
Lasting change doesn’t come from tools or techniques alone, nor from classroom-style training or one-off workshops.
That’s why we’ve built an approach grounded in what actually works.
It isn’t about content or theory — it’s about creating meaningful shifts in how people think and behave.
That insight became the foundation for our work, and the development of MQ — Mindset Quotient — a way of understanding and strengthening the mindset capabilities that determine how people lead themselves and others, build trust, and shape the environment around them.
Our programmes unlock the ability to lead self, others, and the collective, through the power of mindset, relationships, and culture.
A Different Approach, Better Outcomes.
MQ: for agency in individuals, and growth in teams
If you want to shift performance, you have to shift thinking first.
That’s where MQ — Mindset Intelligence — comes in. It represents the next evolution of intelligence: the capacity to understand, regulate, and reshape the patterns of thought and behaviour that influence how we lead, collaborate, and grow.
For decades, organisations have focused on IQ and EQ. IQ reflects cognitive capability; EQ reflects emotional awareness. MQ goes further — it is the ability to step back from our habitual patterns and choose how we respond, enabling greater clarity, adaptability, and intentional action.
MQ is the intelligence behind agency and self-direction — the capability to choose how we think, so we can shape how we act.
It is the missing link between potential and performance.
Meet Our Founders
Maria Orphanides
A People & Talent Advisor and executive coach with 20 years of experience, including five as HR Director at Atomico. Maria brings sharp strategic insight and operational depth from building high-performing teams in high-pressure VC and PE environments.
Her coaching combines neuroscience and behavioural psychology to shift mindsets, break limiting patterns, and transform how people think, lead, and perform.
Richard Album
An award-winning L&D leader, executive coach, and world-class facilitator with decades of experience across law, finance, healthcare, real estate, and tech.
A former City lawyer and board member, Richard brings sharp commercial acumen and leadership experience. He has delivered thousands of hours of workshops and coaching and is renowned for his ability to read the room and shift group dynamics.
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”