ABOUT COMMON GROUND
Behind every course and every lesson stands a story.
In this case its the story of Maaike Bloem-Burghouts. Maaike is an Executive Team- and Leadership Coach with an MBA in Personal Leadership Development, Business of Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Circular Economy.
She founded Common Ground and the Academy of the Unseen in 2024. Let her tell you how it all began and why leadership became her life’s work.
"I teach courage as a practice, connection as infrastructure, and love as the fiercest form of leadership."
- MAAIKE BURGHOUTS,
FOUNDER COMMON GROUND
& ACADEMY OF THE UNSEEN
MY STORY
I stood at a crossroads in Amsterdam, literally - walking through a red light, hoping a car would hit me. I was depressed, disconnected, and convinced I didn't deserve to take up space in the world. In that moment, something shifted: This is not who I want to be. I want to live. I want to feel alive.
At 20,
I spent nine years at Microsoft, starting as an Enterprise Strategy Consultant and rising to commercial leadership, managing multi-million dollar accounts across Europe and APAC. I was good at it. I belonged there. But at 34, a question haunted me: I'm making a lot of companies richer, including myself—is this who I want to be in the world?
That decision changed everything.
When Microsoft let me go (I missed my sales quota while finishing my MBA), I spent a year not working. A year asking: Who am I without the title? What do I believe in? What am I saying yes to?
I realized I'd always been curious about people, their stories, their struggles, their fears. I'd studied psychology twice and quit both times (too many theories, not enough humans). But I never stopped asking: Do you see me? Do you hear me? Do I belong? I came to believe these are the questions we're all asking, whether we're CEOs or the people cleaning the boardroom.
The answer was no.
I've worked in leadership and team development with Fortune 500 companies, with a particular love for global teams—where cultures collide and the question of belonging becomes urgent. I hold an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management and completed Stanford's program on Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion for Organizational Excellence.
For 13+ years now,
I woke to find the trees dancing in the moonlight. I wasn't afraid anymore. I felt alive. The next morning, a voice inside me, a nine-year-old girl, pale and fragile, said: Stop. I need love. Another voice roared back: No! You're stronger than you think! Finish this! But she was persistent. I need love. Stop.
So I did. I honored her. I left the mountain that day, and for the first time in my life, I felt it in my bones: I am enough.
On the first night,
That's when I understood:
I live through courage. Two years ago, at 40, I gave myself a gift: a Vision Quest. Five days alone on a mountain with no food, just water. I thought I was afraid of the dark—the animals, the isolation, the vulnerability. But on that mountain, I discovered something else: I was afraid of the light. Afraid of being seen. Afraid I wasn't enough.
But my real credential?
the armor we wear isn't protecting us. It's keeping us from the light. From connection. From love.
Now I work with leaders and teams who are ready to lower their armor. Not because it's comfortable—it's not. But because war-struggle will never build what love-struggle can.
I teach courage as a practice. Connection as infrastructure. Love as the fiercest form of leadership.
With Common Ground
I want to change the world. Because I’m convinced we can do better. As leaders, as organizations, as human beings.
We need courageous leaders to make this happen. Leaders willing to take risks, be vulnerable, and by doing so, inspire others to do the same. When people feel truly inspired, when they feel heard, seen, and valued, they become willing to be courageous and take action.
Please reach out to us if you want to go on this journey with me.
OUR TEAM
At Common Ground, Maaike collaborates with a dynamic team of leading psychologists, coaches, and trainers. For each training or leadership program, she carefully assembles the ideal team to ensure every session runs at the highest standard.