Prior to launching her own coaching practice, Maria was the Executive Development Consultant at The Guardian, providing in-house coaching, facilitation and leadership development at senior management and board level. Maria was retained by Carolyn McCall as a consultant while she was CEO of Guardian Media Group (GMG), to provide Executive Development and to curate GMG’s Emerging Leaders Programme.

 As an Executive Coach Maria is known for asking catalytic questions that prompt awareness, help clients gain greater clarity about their purpose, and identify their choices. She works mainly, though not exclusively, in the Creative, Media, Marketing, and Communications space and all of her work is generated through referral and recommendation. Maria’s main area of interest and expertise is working with leaders to provide real-time executive development through times of transition and change. This might take the form of leadership development in readiness for a promotion, a plan for the first 90 days in a new role or organisation, or support through an intentional or imposed career change.

Executive Coaching Experience

Maria has over 20 years coaching experience and have worked with clients such as The Guardian, The BMJ, Havas Media Group, ASOS, Vodafone, WCRS, Omnicom, BBC Worldwide, IPG, AOL, Maxus Global and Bauer Media Group. She works both one-to-one and with teams, and has successfully coached executives in roles ranging from CEO and MD, Editor and Creative Director, to Sales, Marketing and Strategy chiefs. Many of Maria’s clients are working in complex environments and in markets facing disruption. As such being able to navigate change, successfully lead through challenging transitions, and elegantly surf ambiguity and uncertainty are the central themes in her work.

Coaching Approach

In her career transitions work Maria helps clients be clear about what it is they want from life and work and develop a compelling narrative around their career to date, who they are in the world now, and what it is they bring to a potential employer. Post appointment, she will often continue to work with clients helping them to identify how their success will be judged and what it takes to thrive in their new context, enabling them to re-calibrate and successfully transition into their new role.

Developing interpersonal range, impactful communication skills, and the resilience to recover and learn from set backs are key themes of Maria’s practice. She is also passionate about enabling clients to develop skilled authenticity and to become more of their best selves through their work. Maria’s own purpose as a coach is that by the end of a session a client feels purposeful, resourceful, energised, and ready to take mindful action.

Coaching Credentials

Maria encourages her clients to invest in their development and as such is committed to her personal continuous professional development and is an accredited Professional Executive Coach having completed the AoEC Advanced Executive Coaching programme with merits. Maria attends regular supervision, coach master classes, training and conferences.  She completed her early coaching and facilitation training with Jenny Rogers (Coaching and Management Futures) and The School of Coaching; Consulting and Change training with Ashridge Business School; and MBTI and Firo-B training with Oxford Psychologists Press.