Sheila Haji, Ph.D
Sunrise, Florida
Email: sheilahaji@att.net
Social: www.linkedin.com/in/sheilahaji
Sheila Haji has over thirty years of experience as an external Organization Development practitioner and executive leadership coach. She specializes in supporting organizations and leaders in leveraging their core strengths to achieve generative outcomes. Sheila launched Common Ground Consulting Services Inc. in 1992. The company provided consultative services to multi-national organizations, public sector agencies, philanthropic institutions, and non-profit sectors focused on community development. In addition, Sheila was an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University from 1992 to 1998, delivering courses on organizational behavior, leadership, and group dynamics to graduate students in the Behavioral Sciences program. She also taught courses at Georgetown University for students in the Organization Development Certificate Program and the Coaching Certificate Program from 1995 to 2005.
Sheila obtained her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Virginia. Following graduation, Sheila began a 16-year career in management in the telecommunications industry. She earned a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications Policy from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. and a Master of Science degree in Human Resources from The American University in Washington D.C. In 2024, Sheila received her Ph.D. from Leiden University, School of Law. The title of her dissertation is, “The Shadow Side of Positive Organizational Change: Practitioners’ Experience Navigating Dialectical Tensions in Appreciative Inquiry.”
Sheila was a founding member of the Association of Change Management Professionals. She also served as President and board member of the Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network. Her certifications include Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, 360 By Design, and Benchmarks 360 from the Center for Creative Leadership, Hogan Leadership Forecast Series, Team Diagnostic Coaching, and Appreciative Inquiry.
Sheila is a contributing author to On Becoming a Leadership Coach: A Holistic Approach to Coaching Excellence, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2008.
