TESTIMONIALS
"I've had the opportunity to work closely with Maria as my executive coach. Maria is an exceptional coach who played an important role in transforming my professional career. Maria's 360-degree assessment provided invaluable insights, which helped me to understand better myself and my goals. Thanks to Maria, I discovered what I was truly looking for and how to transform my career.
Maria's coaching style is very professional and empathetic which makes me feel safe and respected during our sessions.
She helped me push myself to get the results I was looking for.
Thank you, Maria. I can definitely recommend Maria!"
Alexey Teplov
Executive Director
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
March, 2024
"Maria Wade is an exceptional executive coach who played a pivotal role in transforming my professional approach. Before her guidance, I grappled with frustration over unheeded advice. Maria skillfully helped me uncover the root of this frustration, fostering a mindset shift where I processed the dismissals more objectively.
Maria's unique communication style, a perfect balance of challenge and support, set her apart during my search for a coach. Her cordial yet impactful sessions created a safe space for open communication and experimentation. In particular, Maria's 360-degree assessment provided invaluable insights, revealing shared challenges and empowering me to choose how to address areas needing improvement.
I recommend Maria Wade to any executive seeking a strategic partner for their professional journey. Her ability to guide leaders, foster self-awareness, and create a secure space for growth is truly commendable."
Marque Staneluis
Technology Executive (CIO/CTO/VP Level) and Attorney
USA
December, 2023
"I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with Maria as my executive coach. From the beginning of our coaching program, I sought to enhance my leadership capabilities, increase my confidence at the executive level, and maintain focus on key objectives. Maria has been instrumental in helping me achieve these goals and elevate my leadership to new heights.
Maria is a phenomenal coach who genuinely listens and understands her clients. She has provided me with invaluable guidance, helping me grow as a strong, empathetic, and collaborative leader. Through our sessions, I have learned to focus on results, communicate concisely, and be more decisive and in control, even in the midst of chaos and pressure.
One of the most significant aspects of Maria's coaching is her emphasis on self-care and mental discipline. She has taught me the importance of slowing down, breathing, and taking time for myself. This has had a profound impact on my ability to stay composed and articulate in both high-stress situations and moments of relaxation.
Maria's coaching has not only helped me raise my leadership level, but she has also restored my sense of purpose and confidence. Her astute insights and practical tools have empowered me to reflect, adjust, and bring my best to everything I do. I often find myself thinking, "What would Maria say?" when faced with challenges, and her guidance has become an invaluable resource for me.
I wholeheartedly recommend Maria to anyone seeking to elevate their leadership skills, improve their focus, and build confidence at the executive level. She is an inspiration, and I am genuinely grateful for her support and guidance. If given the choice, I would choose to work with Maria again in a heartbeat.."
Amanda Page
VP of Human Resources
DAI, UK
March, 2023
"I have had the pleasure of working with Maria as my executive coach during a challenging period in my career. With company mergers, team reorganizations, leadership changes, and a global pandemic, I felt the need to re-evaluate my career goals and enhance my executive presence. Maria's coaching has been instrumental in helping me navigate these complex changes and find clarity in my next career move.
Maria's approach is both empathetic and solution-oriented. She has a unique ability to step back from the noise and help me focus on what truly matters, both professionally and personally. Through our coaching sessions, I have learned to be more spontaneous in my communication, improved my storytelling abilities, and developed my risk-taking muscle, all of which have positively impacted my performance and leadership style.
Maria's guidance has also helped me cultivate a consistent executive presence and become more adaptable in dynamic meeting situations. I now feel more confident and prepared, regardless of the circumstances. Her coaching has empowered me to better connect with others in larger settings and contribute more effectively to discussions.
I am extremely satisfied with Maria's coaching and highly recommend her to anyone looking to boost their executive presence, navigate organizational changes, or gain clarity on their career goals. Maria's expertise and personalized approach have made a significant difference in my professional development, and I am truly grateful for her support."
VP, Finance
Warner Media, USA
November, 2022
"Maria is an amazing Coach - she creates a "safe space" for people to think and express feelings. Her ability to see the systemic impact of what she hears is invaluable when supporting organisations through transformation. Coaches come in many guises - Maria combines high empathy, warmth, genuine curiousity with high business acumen. She is also a great team player: reliable, thoughtful and delivering excellence in whatever she does. A great thinking partner to us!"
Partner, Executive Coach
The Preston Associates, Europe
June, 2022
"Before working with Maria, I sensed there were aspects of my work and leadership skills that could be further enhanced, but I had difficulty putting my finger what exactly those opportunities and skills are. Every time I heard the term “get yourself out there” or “share your personal brand”, I cringed. As an introvert, I struggled with many of the aspects of my work where I had to advertise my work, network with peers in my field, as well as not having a clear picture of what kind of a manager I am. I felt burned out, and somewhat hopeless in finding the joy and passion in my day to day work that I felt a few years ago.
Maria helped me with providing clarity and pointed out the necessary dots I needed to connect. As a result of our work together, I have become a more confident leader within my immediate team, a better advocate for myself, as well as others. Perhaps most importantly, I learned how to be kinder to myself, how it is necessary to say no when taking on more does not serve me well in any way. Now, I block time to pause and reflect periodically and actually process my thoughts and plans more often. I also realized how my work will NEVER speak for itself. For others to speak of my work, first, I need to share it effectively and regularly. This realization has gave me the final push to get promoted this past Fall. A promotion, I internally felt ready for a year ago. Related to making my work more visible, through our coaching sessions, Maria and I came up with ways I can make professional networking a part of my regular work, and identified ways to maintain it as well.
Though I had high hopes from 6 months of coaching sessions, our work together has far exceeded all my expectations. Maria made me realize that anyone can be successful and energized in the workplace, as long as you implement changes you are fully comfortable with in a way that works for your own personality. Maria never told me what I should or should not do, instead, she shared her experiences, observations, offered relevant resources, and she’d light and provided clarity on options I have not even thought of before. Maria was the best thinking partner, who managed to find the perfect balance between being fully direct but also extremely empathetic and sensitive to my personal needs and limitations. Now I know: professional networking, feeling energized, and building your personal brand is possible, even for an introvert!
Sabine T.
Monitoring and evaluation professional
Marocco
March, 2022
"Maria is a powerful coach, and it is very clear that she has a customized and personalized approach with every client. Within just a few weeks of working together, Maria became a key member of my (very small) personal support team.
One of the aspects I love most about working with Maria is her questions. She has an incisive way of getting you to go deep (and true) into the heart of an issue with one simple question. It is in this manner that she highlights the reality that you have the answer within you; she is, however, the (invaluable) tool that you need to help you to unlock this aspect of yourself.
Another positive aspect of our work together has been the balance we've had of both short and long-term areas of focus. Maria provides me with tangible tips, guidance and actions to move through times of discomfort while also keeping an eye on deeply rooted issues and patterns for us to work through in an ongoing fashion.
Maria brings a much-needed mix of directness, warmth, humor and insight into our sessions together. I highly recommend Maria for your future coaching engagements."
Kimberly Marsh
Founder, The Open Book Company
Writing + Communications Coach, New Jersey, USA
February, 2022
"Prior to my work with Maria, I had done some personal work on my values and goals in life, but was having trouble turning that thinking into everyday action. I found that I was stymied by the decision making process and even how I viewed myself. I knew that I could lead but didn't consider myself a leader, per say. As a result of my work with Maria over the past 6 months, some really powerful insights were generated. First, through our work I saw that my values already made me a leader and that empowered me to lead in an authentic way. Second, Maria gave me several tools and strategies to help with decision making - from Kanban to get me organized, to change management theories to help me coordinate my process, to procedures that helped me have difficult conversations. Together, this tweaked how I approached my work, my home life and my identity.
What I really appreciated about my time with Maria, is how she would very kindly (but firmly) question and challenge my thinking. When I would make statements I thought were sure, she would help me look at them from other angles to see if other lines of thinking fit better. I really appreciated the open way she and I could re-examine my thought process to come to a more balanced and well-rounded approach. I also found immense value in the NBI Thinking preferences assessment as it gave me new language to describe how I think and function.
When I think about the impact that our conversations had on my life, I'm not sure I can even measure it as I think it will improve me for years to come! So many minute tweaks have reset my trajectory for the better. I look forward to revisiting our conversations as I continue to grow."
Vanessa Lancaster
People & Culture Manager in Accounting
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
January, 2022
"I met Maria one year into the pandemic, as I finished my graduate studies in a country other than my hometown and with a lot of uncertainty about my future career and personal plans. By then, I had made the decision to try my luck in this new country even though I had limited professional networks, a different working language and was not sure that I could continue the career path I had started before my graduate degree. Because I had put a 2-year pause on my career and discovered new interests in the process, I was unable to find a common thread uniting my past and future experiences and I was sure I could no longer tell my own story.
Upon embarking on the coaching journey with Maria, I started to have more agency over my own process, and reflect on the hows and whys of my decisions. My material reality did not change, it was my mindset and appreciation of myself and those around me that changed. And then not only one but two dream jobs manifested, I was invited to become an advisor of an international organization for youth political participation and I grew deeper into the feeling that I belong where my mind and heart are at peace. I recognized myself, my drive, my passions once again.
Maria has been key in my personal and professional transition. From the first moment, when she told me that we would work holistically and that I could bring any practical problem into the conversation, she laid a solid ground of trust and empathy that allowed me to trust her, myself and the process. Maria is an incredible professional because she brings her full self to every moment of the coaching process and enables you to do the same. Her approach and tools are targeted to every client and carefully brought into the process. In my case, for example, she knew when to bring certain exercises such as breathing techniques to enable relaxation during sessions where I was not even aware of my stress levels. And she offered to bring a third person to whom I could present my elevator pitch, which we had previously worked on. That pitch and the mindset that Maria has patiently and lovingly helped me nurture landed me my current job.
If you are reading this is because you want to invest in your personal and professional growth and you want to identify the correct partner for that extremely important process. I would undoubtedly recommend Maria as that coach and partner."
Nicole Galindo Sanchez
Change consultant and enabler of participatory governance
Former director of citizen participation in Quito's local government
Berlin, Germany
January, 2022
"Before working with Maria, I was unclear as to my leadership goals, career plans, and promotion trajectory. I was having difficulty understanding why my work was not translating into credit from coworkers, and I was doubting my ability to meet expectations.
Since working together, I have seen a clear difference in my confidence and ability to understand my work environment. Hearing feedback on ways to course correct my communication style, suggestions on readings to learn about poor habits I was continuing without realizing, and providing ideas as a young professional was exactly what I needed. Maria provided a clear and safe space for me to brainstorm ideas, guiding me with sage advice during a period where I was thrust into leadership.
I value Maria’s patience, kindness, and wisdom above all else. I know that she has my best interest in mind, operating as a third party to provide strategic feedback and advice. She was especially pivotal during my performance appraisal cycle, helping to guide feedback and strategic goals for the next calendar year."
Christine E. Thomas
Global Health & Monitoring and Evaluation Professional, USA, Washington DC
June, 2021
"I truly have to admit that I started our coaching sessions because someone had suggested that it would help me improve my leaderships skills, something that I knew I need if I want to advance into new leadership roles within my organization. I remember, I was kind of skeptical and nervous at the same time, because I thought it is hard to support and advice someone you don’t know and that having this opportunity not in my native language was going to be tough.
But then I met Maria… and my world rocked and my thoughts crashed and everything that I thought I knew was destroyed to be rebuild…
(not I am not in love with you nor personally or professionally… hehe)
But I totally admire you, because we were able to know my deepest feelings and thoughts, you made me laugh and cry, you made me feel angry and happy, you made me feel unprepared and ready...
Thank you for been a great professional to me, for opening my eyes and ears when I needed it.
I really wish now that more and more people can find their “own” Maria. I have learnt so much, this was really a shocking and breaking and rebuilding moment for my personal and professional life."
Paula Pastor Flores
Operations Director, JA Americas, Argentina
May, 2021
"I came to Maria with my request for coaching two years ago and have been working with her as my strategic thinking partner since then. From the very beginning, I was stunned with her ability to see straight to the core in each challenge. Her impressive background in law, project management, and M&A makes her brain strongly tuned to achieving practical and tangible goals. I admire her intuition, honesty, curiosity, and hunger for learning and always delivering top-notch ideas to me. Her ability to create a safe environment is amazing. When I launched my latest startup, I had literally no one to discuss it with because of the secrecy of the project and multiple conflicts of interests. I had a great supporter and thinking partner in Maria.
Maria’s style is unlike other coaches; she asks the kind of questions that unleash my own creativity. Her metaphors either make me laugh or keep silent, but they are always so powerful that I end up with deep insights every time. Even during pauses between our engagements, her coaching works – I use the results of work previously done with Maria as my anchors and come back to her insights and guidance to keep steady.
Recently, unexpected events happened in my personal life, and I felt lost with the unpredictability of the potential outcomes; Maria was the only person who I saw as my partner in resolving the situation. The one that I could trust. Again, she helped me to stay grounded and survive the storm. We have been through so many of my dilemmas, challenges, and problems together that I’m not sure that I know the right words to express my gratitude to her."
Eugene
Founder, CEO, IT industry, USA
February, 2021
"Maria is a gifted coach who brings passion, empathy, and outcome to her clients. She helps broaden the client's perspective and leads the client towards accomplished goals. Maria's diverse experience and background uniquely positions her to partner with individuals on a variety of business topics as well as raise the client's cultural awareness when it comes to transition from one culture to another - be that a corporate culture of geographic one."
Yakov M.
Head of Coaching and Talent Development Programs
Citi, USA
February, 2020
"Maria is a very talented and creative professional coach, specializing in executive and leadership clients. Her approach is based on adult learning theory. Her Project Management expertise is a plus for her clients - she has a capacity for taking in all of her clients' conversations while helping clients to identify and focus on what's most important to them. She has a warm and inviting style, combined with strong support for clients as they move forward - she helps them to stretch as they consider what's possible and help them to see more than they can see alone. I've had the honor of working with Maria over the past few years and highly recommend her as an executive coach. Her clients are lucky to have her as their coach!"
Margaret W.
Executive Coach - Coach Educator - Coaching Supervisor, USA
February, 2020
"In a sea of coaches what sets Maria apart is her unique combination of first hand industry experience and the wonderful positive energy she brings to every session. Always curious and kind and a consummate professional, she has the skills to guide her clients in a wide range of situations. What impresses me personally is her continuous pursuit of knowledge. She is always expanding her education and skill set as a coach and is one of my top resources for the latest coaching conferences and seminars. This is a coach who knows how to grow and is not afraid to share that with her clients."
Kasia S.
Life and Executive Coach, USA
February, 2020
"Coming into 2019 and following some significant personal and professional changes I found myself looking for the guidance of a wise and experienced executive coach to help me find a way to achieve my historical level of performance while balancing new expectations at home and at work.
Having done my dissertation on executive coaching, been coached previously, being certified as a coach myself, and having recommended and overseen coaching with others, I made a point to ensure I was working with the right person for this particular engagement. After reconnecting with Maria and seeing her style in action briefly I knew she was a coach who could work effectively with me to meet my goals. Maria and I ultimately decided on a brief (4 months) engagement with an intense (twice a month for 90 minutes) cadence in our work together and this time together proved to be extraordinary valuable to my development. Over this period Maria and I honed our work on 6 specific themes that emerged from feedback I received: 1) slowing down, getting more input first, 2) building stronger relationships, 3) communicating more frequently, soliciting feedback more often & really listening to others, 4) showing more emotion/not hiding my emotions from others, 5) getting the basics right and effectively juggling better (responsiveness), and 6) empowering my team and others.
As a coach I found Maria to be incisive, challenging me in the best way to figure out what I wanted. Maria was not afraid to push me to really develop solutions for the challenges that I faced. Maria is honest and not afraid to ask tough questions – the kind that make you pause, really go deep inside, and get clarity to determine exactly what the barrier or the issue really is.
I also found my work with Maria to be intellectually demanding and stimulating. As someone who enjoys cycling and running (most of the time) I know what it feels like for my body to be physically exhausted from working hard. I would often leave my sessions with Maria feeling similar to the way I felt after a particularly intense workout, as if I’d really put my mind to work strenuously and always, always with many new thoughts and ideas for ways to solve my biggest challenges.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly I found working with Maria to be a true partnership. Maria showed genuine concern for my progress and wellbeing and Maria is a person for whom I felt very comfortable sharing the very intimate details of my biggest challenges with. I also had absolute confidence in Maria as a coach and complete faith in knowing that the details of our sessions stayed between us. In true partnership fashion Maria asked a lot of me and gave a lot back in return and I am very grateful for the opportunity to have worked with her and would recommend her without reservation to anyone looking to do the very life changing work of coaching. "
Christopher P.
Non-Profit HR Executive, USA
December, 2019
I've had the opportunity to work closely with Maria both as my executive coach as well as through a partnership with Family Services to provide management training to our employees on surviving and thriving through change.
As a speaker Maria is relatable, thought provoking, and an expert in her field. We would definitely have her back to speak with our managers again!
Maria is also a gifted executive coach and not afraid to dive deep to get at the heart of the issue. As someone who is trained as a coach myself I opted to work with Maria as I knew she would ask tough questions, encourage lots of self-reflection, and really push me outside of my comfort zone. I have left every session with greater clarity, with a clear path forward, and lots to consider as I look to continue to grow professionally. I would recommend Maria without reservation!
Christopher P.
Non-Profit HR Executive, USA
August, 2019
"Maria's coaching style is very warm and empathetic which makes me feel safe and respected during sessions. Maria was congruent and genuine toward our relationship during our sessions which supported and encouraged me to look into my real desire and dream fully. Thanks to Maria, I discovered what I was truly looking for and how I could combine with other elements in my life plan during our sessions and have finally decided to come over to New York for developing my coaching business globally."
Akihiko
President of Coaching School, Japan
June, 2019
"In today's fast-paced world, it's sometimes quite difficult to respond to all its challenges without expending a great amount of time, money, physical and mental sources. Through our work with Maria, I've started achieving more complex goals in my professional and personal life with less effort. I do appreciate Maria's talent and look forward to our further partnering."
Alexander
VP, Associate General Counsel, Russia
May, 2019
"When we are working with Maria, we progressively move toward to my intended goals. To my surprise and delight I found myself gaining new insights and pushing the boundaries of what I had thought possible. I've created my own value system that has formed the foundation for everything in my life. We have been working with Maria for just three months and already accomplished so much. I've completed a draft of my doctoral dissertation having previously struggled with it for five years, received a number of attractive job offers and landed my dream one, and even given up smoking!"
Nailya
Director of the Department of Otolaryngology, Russia
April, 2019
"Maria was the one who was able to gently show me my preconceived notions and wrong expectations about my choice of career path, and guide me in the right direction to apply my personal and professional skills to my satisfaction. Her intuition and strong understanding of human psychology and principles of coaching helped me to think outside the box and see the picture of my life globally, reset my mindset and focus on little steps that led me to the circumstances and connections that help me flourish and succeed."