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Leadership & innovation
As President of Trusted Leadership, Shaun builds systems that foster trust and belonging inside organizations. He is also a leader and coach with the Humanistic Leadership Academy.
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Founder, Friction To Flow
Shaun Mader
Executive coach and team development consultant. Shaun helps leaders build trust and turn it into value — drawing on two decades of leadership work, a career in film and photography, and a lifelong practice of mastery.
The most effective leaders create environments where authenticity and evolution coexist.
- People through his leadership programs in New York City
- 1,000+
- Years of yoga and meditation practice
- 25+
- Years in film, photography and media
- 15
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- Brown belt
His story
Meet Shaun
Shaun grew up in Wisconsin, where a Jesuit education left him with two lasting commitments: service and mastery. It also taught him that good leadership draws on conventional wisdom and unconventional experience in equal measure.
He moved to New York to work in film production just as the industry shifted from analog to digital, and became known for mapping the new processes others were struggling with. For the next 15 years he split his life between New York’s media world — producing commercials, music videos and documentaries — and ashrams in northern India, where he studied meditation and yogic traditions.
Along the way he photographed high-profile figures in New York and documented people living in some of the world’s harshest conditions. Then he turned fully to leadership: he led transformational programs for more than 1,000 people in New York City and trained coaches and leaders.
Today Shaun works as an executive coach and team development consultant, helping leaders build trust and create value. That work is the foundation of Friction To Flow.
What shapes his work
Six threads, one practice.
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Leadership & transformation
Shaun coaches C-suite leaders through change and designs talks, workshops and curricula. His transformational programs have reached more than 1,000 professionals in New York City, and he trains coaches and leaders to carry the work forward.
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Mastery in life
A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, Shaun brings the mat’s central lesson into leadership: adapt with wisdom, not force. He pairs it with what he calls ecological intelligence — reading the patterns in complex systems the way you would read nature.
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Healing & growth
Shaun overcame 20 years of chronic pain through mind-body approaches. He has practiced yoga and meditation for more than 25 years, studying with leading practitioners around the world, and brings those teachings to the classroom and to private clients.
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Media & creative direction
Fifteen years as a film producer and photographer, working alongside directors and talent, taught Shaun how to build trust fast. His work ranges from celebrity portraits in New York to documentary work in India.
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Global perspective
Shaun serves on the board of New Light, which builds sustainable solutions for women and children in Kolkata’s red light district, and contributes to the Foundation for Gender Equality.
See his documentary workAffiliations
Current roles
- Friction To FlowFounder
- Trusted LeadershipPresident
- Humanistic Leadership AcademyLeader & coach
- New Light, KolkataBoard member
- Foundation for Gender EqualityContributor
What sets Shaun apart is how he seamlessly integrates cutting-edge leadership concepts with practical application. Our managers didn’t just leave inspired — they left with tools they could implement immediately.
Healthcare system