Mira Maria Meiler: Turning Pain into Power

From launching a successful event agency in her twenties to guiding top global companies through high-stakes transformations, Mira Maria Meiler built her career on bold moves and deep insight. But it wasn’t until personal crises—burnout, loss, and addiction in her family—that she truly understood the cost of performance without purpose. Today, as an executive coach, trauma-informed therapist, and change strategist, Maria helps leaders uncover their blind spots, reconnect with their core, and build lives of real impact. In this powerful conversation, she shares the radical steps that reshaped her path—and how others can do the same.

Maria, you founded your first event agency right after studying economics and went on to manage over 100 large-scale events. What drove you to start so early, and how did those experiences shape your approach to leadership and change?

I had already worked with an event agency during my studies, which taught me that you have a lot of creative freedom as a self-employed person. When a colleague asked me after graduation, “Do you want us to do our own thing?” I said YES, despite all the question marks in my head! It wasn’t the easiest path, but the clear commitment was the starting signal to a successful company and a very steep learning curve. In terms of leadership and change, I experienced the following game changers for the first time: taking responsibility, bringing the right people together and then sticking to it!

You’ve openly shared your journey through burnout and navigating addiction-related challenges in your family. How did those deeply human experiences influence your work with executives and your philosophy on resilience?

After years as an entrepreneur, there was a point when I had to admit to myself: ok, I already built up a top business by the age of 30, but physically and emotionally, I was more of a wreck. I could only eliminate my inner tension through excessive sport or dancing until dawn. Then my father died as a result of a severe alcohol addiction, and in the course of this, I realized that my beloved brother was also already addicted. It was a lot to take in, and I was paralyzed for a while. Then I decided that I urgently needed to do something for myself. The first step was to seek help, and two months later, I booked a very intensive coaching course – this was the cornerstone of my current work as an executive coach and also for a mindful engagement with myself and a life full of joy and impact.

You’re known for guiding major organizations like Bayer and Mercedes-Benz through complex transformations. When you enter a crisis, what are the first patterns or dynamics you look for?

When a company management hires me, the first thing I do is a very precise assessment of the current situation – I call it a deep dive business analysis! In other words, like a ‘sniffing dog’, I look for blockages, but also for potential in the current, usually very difficult situation. It’s often not technical or structural problems that cause crises, but human or cultural ones. If, for example, there is no clear direction for the organization, or the managers are working against each other, even the best production processes will not help the company to become successful again. Finding these blind spots, uncovering them and then designing and implementing a good change strategy – that’s fun!

As a change catalyst and burnout prevention expert, what are the most common blind spots you see in leaders who are heading toward burnout without realizing it?

Executives and entrepreneurs who are on the verge of burnout are often very intelligent and talented people, and therefore function for a very long time in challenging environments. However, to keep a clear view, it would be good for them to pause more often, sharpen their focus and prioritize. Instead, I often hear: I don’t have time to pause! Many people also numb themselves with unhealthy habits such as eating or drinking excessively, extreme sports or information addiction, where people are constantly absorbing new trends and knowledge. Another indication is when relationships with loved ones are neglected with ever-new excuses. These people live as if they are set to autopilot and have the feeling that if they rest for just a moment, everything will fall apart. In many cases, however, this is the gateway to hell.

In your coaching and consulting, you speak about 5 radical steps for personal and business renewal. Could you walk us through what these steps involve and how they emerged from your own evolution?

Everyone has probably been in a situation where they no longer know what to do following can help:

1) Take off your rose-colored glasses – it doesn’t help if you lie to yourself or keep numbing the tension. Only if you look the facts in the eye can you really initiate a healthy change.

2) Don’t fight or flee – people’s natural reaction to a crisis situation is either to try even harder and fight frantically or to withdraw and bury their heads in the sand. But neither of these is constructive (unless you are facing the famous sabre-toothed tiger)! Instead, stop, take a deep breath and look at the situation calmly. Often, you see a mess, but at least you can do something about it.

3) Look for suitable allies – for years, you often surround yourself with people who are not good for you, who belittle you or hold you back. However, these are not the people who will help you get out of the crisis! Other perspectives from new colleagues or friends can make all the difference in finally going your own way!

4) Align the scope – new goals are needed now! A crystal-clear focus for the future provides motivation and makes it easier to set priorities. Collaboration with the team becomes easier, and communication with the environment becomes much clearer. You know where you have to say YES and where NO.

5) Take the first 30 steps – why 30? Because one is not enough! The human brain takes a while to form new habits, and the first 30 days are a critical time when many people fall back into old patterns. On the other hand, that’s short enough for one to manage!

You’ve integrated mountaineering, adventure travel, and art into your work. How have these unconventional tools become part of your method for healing, inspiration, and leadership development?

Because I love them! In my INTENSE coaching sessions, I work with executives and entrepreneurs in my coaching room in the countryside south of Vienna, where my clients can calm down and sort out their business and often also personal issues. Creative methods often bring completely new perspectives to difficult situations, and nature has a healing power anyway. If you are brave enough, you can also go up the mountain with me, leave your everyday worries behind for a day and create a completely new vision for your life. I guarantee that the world will look much different afterwards – more beautiful, more inviting and much clearer!

You spent years working as an art therapist, helping individuals with traumatic life stories. How does trauma show up in the business world—and how do you help leaders safely face and transform it?

At first glance, business or personal burnout, which often comes together for entrepreneurs, is caused by difficult market conditions, cost pressure or other external influences. However, behind this is often a traumatic experience or a difficult life story that has not been fully processed. Through my experience as a therapist, I have had the opportunity to look gently at these issues and work with the client to find out where these experiences are still hurting everyday life and thus preventing success. Here too, artistic expression can help get to the essence. Looking at things this way is often like freeing oneself from a taboo that has been in place for years. After this, you can start working on a new direction for the business and the individual.

Sustainability and emotional intelligence are key themes in your teaching at the University of Applied Sciences. Why is this intersection of change management and sustainability so vital for future business leaders?

Young people are very aware of sustainability, and therefore, I am delighted to make a regular contribution to imparting knowledge about change management and sustainability to students. Even if sustainability is not yet properly anchored in the economy, it will become increasingly important in the future, and I think it is important to anchor sustainable business practices in people’s minds as much as possible.

As the author of Emotional Change Management and Change Before You Have To, what led you to write these books, and what core message do you hope readers take away?

With my books, I want to communicate that change is something positive and something possible. In the first book, I start by talking about my life story and how it taught me to love change. Through my experience as a change manager, I have also developed the “Model for Proactive Change”, which helps companies to initiate change processes before it is too late. The second book focuses on the change process towards sustainable management. Both aim to provide people and entrepreneurs with procedural models and practical examples of how change can succeed. This is important to me because I have experience of insufficient change competency ending badly in my family. Unfortunately, the books have only been published in German so far.

After more than two decades of guiding people and organizations through transformation, what legacy do you hope to leave—and what advice would you give to the next generation of change leaders?

I think I have the gift of helping people to achieve a turnaround in business and life, which fills me with deep satisfaction, as my difficult phases in life then take on meaning. And that is my greatest wish: working with an awful lot of people in responsible positions who want to shape their role as a stable and charismatic leader instead of being driven by external circumstances and expectations. I think this could also make a difference in society! Those who are satisfied with mediocrity are not my target group. But those who want to turn their lives into a piece of art should get in touch with me!