When coaching excellence turns into Award-Winning success

On Friday, I experienced a moment that will, I’m sure, be forever etched in my memory: the announcement of my name as the Gold Winner for 'Best Coach' at the Best Business Women Awards . I was completely shocked; amongst such a strong field of finalists, I truly did not expect to win.

It felt surreal, a culmination of years of dedication to coaching in leadership development. Standing there, holding the award and having my photo taken was such a proud moment. I was then joined on stage by the Silver Winners, and it felt amazing to share this moment with them, too. At these awards, everyone is celebrated, and rightly so. We have all worked hard, and awards are a great way to receive recognition for the work we do.

Time to reflect

These past few days have been a whirlwind of emotions. Winning the award has been a high point, but it has also been a time for deep reflection. It's been a journey of learning, growth, and a profound commitment to fostering leadership excellence. This introspective period has been invaluable in understanding the path that led me to this point.

My coaching business has always been focused on a singular goal: creating inclusive workplaces where everyone can thrive. Over the years, I've honed my ability to coach leaders in building emotional awareness, confidence, and collaborative teams. It's more than just leadership; it's about shaping environments where people feel valued, respected, and able to contribute fully.

Through coaching, team alignment, and customised leadership programs, I've helped countless leaders better understand their behaviours and how these influence company culture. A big part of that journey has been working with women leaders, helping them find their unique strengths and voices in male-dominated spaces. ?As a female leader, I’ve navigated the headwinds women face, and its enormously fulfilling to support others in overcoming these.

Core philosophies

One of the core philosophies I've embraced throughout my career is that we're all part of a larger system. I believe leadership is about relationships, how leaders interact with their teams, and how they impact those around them. And when leaders evolve, that ripple effect transforms the entire organisation.

My role has always been to help leaders build this awareness, understand their emotions, egos, and triggers, and consciously make decisions that positively impact the workplace.

Across many organisations, I've observed a disconnect between leaders who aspire to create supportive, people-focused workplaces, but, in reality, their focus is often dominated by the bottom line, targets, and tasks. My coaching approach is designed to bridge this gap, helping leaders to shift their focus from tasks to people and from targets to relationships, thereby creating a more supportive and inclusive workplace culture.

The work I do helps leaders enhance their confidence, agility, and foresight by becoming more conscious and intentional in their actions. This helps open up different leadership options available to them and I support them to develop positive relationship skills improving their ability to empathise, co-create and engage. “Soft” skills are really the “hard” skills when it comes to leading people effectively because to be more intentional we need to break away from being on automatic pilot which uses more energy. Enabling my clients to understand more about people dynamics, gives them to insight and courage to have conversations they previously would have avoided. Over time their skills to do this become more second nature and easier. Resulting in addressing a variety of challenges that include turning around individual and team performance, reducing conflict through creating clarity around expectations and needs, being able to adapt their style to influence more effectively, navigating complex change, role modelling positive well-being and achieving results through collaborative teamwork.

The starting point

But let's rewind a little to where this all began. In my women’s leadership programs, I often refer to the term “squiggly careers” and my professional path has been anything but linear.

I started in child and family psychiatry, training as a therapist. It was an intense but incredibly fulfilling time. I learned so much about human behaviour, especially in difficult and emotionally charged situations. I never anticipated how useful those skills would become later in my career when I transitioned into organisational change and development.

In those early days, I was driven by a desire to help people grow, even in challenging environments. I took that same energy into the corporate world, working with companies like First Choice Holidays, Ralph Lauren, and Tesco. The common thread across all these experiences was a deep curiosity about how people behave in different contexts and how to drive positive transformation.

For example, at Tesco, I was a member of the board in their property division. I approached the role with a very different perspective from the cultural norm, a heart-centred systemic view. It wasn't easy, and it reinforced my belief in the power of alternative perspectives, even in highly structured, bottom-line-focused environments. I experienced first hand how leadership shapes a company's culture which helped further develop my coaching philosophy.

One of the pivotal moments in my career came when I led the design and delivery of the first women's leadership program for Penna Talent Practice. This meant a lot to me because it allowed me to apply my passion for supporting women in leadership roles, something I had been doing on a smaller scale for years. The program was a comprehensive initiative to empower women leaders with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to thrive in their roles. It was a huge success and marked the beginning of my deepened focus on helping women leaders thrive.

These experiences highlight my resilience and ability to embrace innovation. They help my clients stretch themselves, opening their eyes to fresh perspectives and enhancing their leadership success.

My primary focus is enabling sustainable transformation. My drive to innovate shapes my program design by incorporating processes that engage clients in experiential learning. This deepens their insights and enhances their ability to apply them to their situations.

Writing my book

Fast-forward a few years, and I decided to encapsulate everything I'd learned about leadership in my book ‘Ego: Get Over Yourself and Lead’. The book became a bestseller on Amazon, and it opened so many new doors for me. I've always believed that effective leadership requires self-awareness, and the book dives deep into that topic, offering leaders practical tools to overcome their egos and lead with empathy, confidence, and clarity.

Writing the book also brought a new dimension to my business. I started producing a vodcast series, 'Lessons in Leadership', where I interviewed 50 leaders over a year. The series was a hit, helping to expand my audience and deepen my engagement with leaders from diverse backgrounds. These interviews have been turned into LinkedIn articles, and sharing these stories with a broader audience has been great. The leaders I interviewed shared so much wisdom that it was important to me for others to be able to learn from that.

Long Term Impact

One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is seeing the long-term impact on the leaders I coach. I often see leaders move from a place of self-doubt to one of confidence and from leading dysfunctional teams to creating cohesive, high-performing ones. The transformation is remarkable and knowing that I've played a role in it is deeply fulfilling. Nothing is more rewarding than hearing and seeing the breakthroughs my clients make and the impact my coaching has had on them, their teams and the organisations they work.

Support is everything

Of course, no journey is complete without the support of others. Over the last few years, I've surrounded myself with people who challenge and inspire me. I've joined several professional networks, including the Forbes Coaches Council, which has given me a platform to share my insights with a global audience.

Winning the 'Best Coach' award was an incredible honour. Staying at the top of my game as a coach takes consistent attention and commitment, both in day-to-day practices and continued professional development. It is incredibly validating to receive this award and be recognised.

My mission will continue: to create workplaces where everyone can thrive and to help leaders build legacies, they can be proud of.

The entry for these awards was very detailed and I had to answer several questions around my story, results, marketing and what I do to support others not just in my industry but in the community. In addition, I had to supply evidence, so this was in the form of client case studies and testimonials. The whole entry was around 2,500 words. But it was a great experience as this also was a very reflective exercise.

It was great to receive the judges feedback so I shall end this article with their words.

‘Mary evidenced delivery of a holistic coaching solution empowering both individuals and their Senior Leaders and colleagues. She is a clear thought leader in the world of leadership development. Mary came across as a warm person, someone you'd want in your corner who gets great results!’

Thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey.

Well done to my fellow coaches who were all recognised with a Silver Award

Ella Jaczynska PCC Henriette Danel Jane Galloway

And to Amanda FitzGerald PR who was the sponsor and presenter of this category.

Thank you to Debbie Gilbert for organising these awards and recognising female business excellence.

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