Private work for leaders, co-founders, boards and teams carrying significant pressure and responsibility.
Individuals
Many leaders appear successful from the outside, but privately they are struggling to perform in a high-stakes role. Responsibility, visibility and constant decision-making, mean they rarely switch off and family life and personal fulfilment fall behind.
Over time they notice small thing starting to slip - their focus is not as clear as it once was. Their decisions take more effort and time, and it becomes harder to step back and see the full picture.
My work helps clients recalibrate the personal, professional and public dimensions of their lives, so their decisions become clearer, their leadership stronger and a fulfilling life sits alongside their success.
Co-founders
Many co-founders began as friends, family members or long-standing professional allies. That shared history can be an powerful strength, yet it also introduces a complexity most leadership work does not address. A relationship that once felt effortless and warm, can begin to feel strained, reactive or politically charged.
When the working relationship is also a personal relationships, small fractures, carry a disproportionate risk to the friendship, and the business. Left unresolved the damage to the relationship and the business can be devastating.
This work stabilises the relationship at its foundation so co-founders can restore trust, align on strategy and continue to enjoy the relationship personally and professionally. The goal is not simply reduced conflict, but a working partnership strong enough to support growth, pressure and scale.
Teams and boards
Even experienced leadership teams can go through periods of strain. Where there are strong personalities, competing priorities, communication breakdowns and the constant pressure than comes with scale, It’s normal that occasionally tensions will rise beneath the surface of meetings and strategic discussions.
Left unchecked, trust erodes, conversations become more guarded (or not had an all) and decision-making slows as leaders work around issues, rather than addressing them directly. Personal histories and emotional dynamics inevitably enter the workplace because we are whole people. These issues form the basis for how leaders communicate, disagree, and collaborate.
This work helps boards and senior teams stabilise themselves and the dynamics around them, so communication becomes clearer, conflict is addressed constructively, and decisions are made with trust and strategic cohesion. This allows both the leadership team and the organisation to operate at their best.
When the stakes are personal, financial and reputational
At senior levels, the pressure is very rarely about the competence of the leaders. It is about the consequences of their actions.
Leaders’ decisions affect revenue, reputation, investors, teams and occasionally family wealth. A shift in mood at board level can be felt across an entire organisation or family system very quickly.
If even one leader is struggling, personally or professionally, it can unintentionally create tension across an entire team, and often the entire business. Because of this, tensions or personal issues, must be recognised and resolved early, before they destabilise those beneath them and begin to ripple into the organisation as a whole.
As organisations scale, the time and space to speak openly and contain mistakes becomes much smaller. Confidentiality is crucial.
Most leaders or teams who come to this work are not failing. They are still delivering and scaling, yet internally their struggles are taking their toll. Many have ADHD, Autism or Dyslexia, or a combination, and they are struggling to manage it. Their decisions become harder when relationships are strained, thinking becomes clouded and the risk of conflict prevents honest conversation. Leaders can find themselves slipping into either over-controlling or stepping back too far.
For some, this work is about protecting a co-founder relationship before the strain damages it. For others it is about recognising that pressures in their personal lives are beginning to leak into their leadership. For teams and boards, it’s often about strengthening trust and protecting strategic direction at senior levels - both when problems exist and when they want to prevent them.
When these pressures are resolved, leaders regain clarity, relationships strengthen, decisions become faster and more confident, allowing both the organisation and it’s leaders to grow together.
“Cohesion at the top is not optional. It is where performance is won or lost.”
Tom McLaughlin
“Mari has very adeptly coached me through a number of seemingly intractable business issues. She has that rare knack of quickly getting to the root of complex problems and intuitively guiding you to find practical solutions.
Her atypical background provides a refreshing perspective in the business arena. A balanced listener not afraid to offer uncomfortable challenges. Genuinely cares about your outcomes.”
Senior Director | Property, UK
Steve Hirst
“Before working with Mari, compared to after working with Mari, is like night and day.
Mari resolved the issues holding me back, unlocked my effectiveness, and gave me the tools to lead with intent. I can’t recommend her enough.”
Chief Technology Officer | Energy, Vienna
“As a healthcare leader I am expected to drive change. However, I got to a point where everything I was doing felt like rolling a cube instead of a cylinder and I couldn’t figure out why.
Mari is an expert in the field of leadership and has the amazing ability to simplify what we often complicate. I appreciated her tips, suggestions and more importantly, her challenges to think differently.”
Healthcare Executive | Health, Los Angeles