mg_about_SMALL

Welcome. If you are considering using my services, it’s important to understand something about my philosophy, education & training, professional background, clients’ results and feedback, and a bit about my personal life so you can assess whether I would be a good fit for what you need. I invite you to click on any of the tabs below for this information.

Here is a taste of how I see life, leadership, and what it takes to achieve positive results:

LakeCTRetreatEnhSince our beliefs and assumptions drive how we think and what we choose to do, they are a powerful springboard for the results we get. Every great leader has created something of consequence from a foundation of wise internal assumptions that served themselves, their team, their organization, and their world well.

I believe that the most effective way to achieve positive results is to focus our time and attention very consciously on what we want to create, rather than what we want to move away from. The reason for this is that when we put our attention on what we want, that grows in our minds, and motivates us to create the conditions necessary for our desired results. And when we put our attention on what we don’t want, our fears grow and we often unintentionally create conditions which result in more of what we don’t want.

I also believe that effective leaders are competent in 5 areas: 1. They achieve results; 2. They are aware of how systems work; 3. They are authentic; 4. They are self-aware; 5. They relate well to other people.  When provided good support, most adults can improve every one of these competencies. Conversely, when we seek to comply with others, protect ourselves, or over-control situations, we and our teams are missing huge opportunities to lead. These behaviors also keep us trapped in the very dynamics we usually do not want.

Most professionals assume there is never enough time or money to do what they want, and that they themselves are never quite good enough for what is needed. Possibilities multiply when we assume there is exactly enough time and money to do what is most important, and whatever qualities are needed in ourselves we can uncover and step into.

True leadership is about empowering and growing other leaders. We can do this regardless of whether we are in a position of authority or a member of a team. All of us can serve to inspire and align others by helping them connect their own purpose to a meaningful collective goal. And when we can fulfill our self- interests in service of an important, higher, and shared goal, our results as well as our fulfillment expand exponentially.

While there have been lots of ways I’ve learned over the years, here’s my formal training:

Amherst-Logo

Amherst College:
B.A. English 1981
amherst.edu

Yale-SOM-Logo

Yale School of Management:
M.B.A. Organizational Behavior 1988
mba.yale.edu

Coaches-Training-Institute

 

 

Coaches Training Institute (CTI):
(CTI is the oldest, largest, and most highly respected coach training institute in the world.)
-Trained and certified as a “Certified Professional Co-Active Coach” (C.P.C.C.) 2007 http://www.thecoaches.com/certification.html
-Completed the CTI Leadership Program 2008
thecoaches.com/leadership.html http://www.thecoaches.com/why-cti/what-is-co-active

CRR-logo

Center for Right Relationship (CRR):
(CRR is the worldwide leader in relationship systems coaching.)
-Trained in Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching 2008
crrglobal.com

The-Leadership-Circle

The Leadership Circle:
-Certified to administer the The Leadership Circle Profile (TLCP) and the Collective Leadership Assessment, the two most highly validated and respected 360 assessments on the market 2009
theleadershipcircle.com

PCC_WEB

Professional Certified Coach
Certified through the International Coach Federation
http://www.coachfederation.org/

SmallCumminsA number of different work experiences have influenced my executive coaching, team coaching, leadership development, and organizational consulting work. After graduating from Amherst College in 1981, I taught English at Northfield Mount Hermon School, and conducted research about women and work at the research institute, Catalyst, in New York City. After returning to school to get an MBA at Yale in 1988, I worked as an internal organizational effectiveness manager and human resource development manager at Cummins Engine Company and G.E. Capital for six years. I then set up my own organizational consulting practice, and consulted for a dozen years to elementary schools, principals, and educational change organizations SchoolBuildingthroughout Connecticut on leadership, organizational change, and school improvement issues. Along the way, I also provided career coaching and counseling to students at the Yale School of Management Career Development Office.

In 2006, I began a journey to augment the coaching, advising, and consulting I had done for many years by getting extensive professional coach training (see My Education and Training). In the years since, Coaches-Training-InstituteI have been coaching highly educated leaders and teams in mission driven corporations, universities, consulting firms, and nonprofits, as well as providing leadership development programming and organizational consulting. While most of the time I contract with organizations to coach their executives, I also coach executives who engage me directly. In addition, I provide leadership development seminars as well as leadership and career coaching to PhD students in the Advanced Graduate Leadership Program at the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science.

In addition, I have served as a Distinguished Fellow at the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at Case Western Reserve’s Weatherhead School of Management. With my colleagues at the Fowler Center, we wrote a book : Flourishing Enterprise: The New Spirit of Business which was published in 2014 by Stanford University Press. The book explores how reflective practices can increase our sense of connectedness to ourselves and others, and in so doing, contribute to flourishing teams, organizations, and larger systems.

 

My husband and I have two wonderful adult children who we love dearly. As a family, we try our best to walk our talk, do excellent work every day, and keep a sense of humor. In my free time, I enjoy supporting our local 57-acre CSA farm (see www.massarofarm.org ) where I am currently on the board.  I also enjoy hiking, working out on the elliptical machine, reading, doing puzzles, playing the flute and piano, and spending time with family and friends.

SunFlowerBees

“Mary is a great sounding board for a wide range of individual and organizational issues that are tough to discuss with anyone else. Because of her coaching, I am able to think things through to create far better solutions than would otherwise be possible. “
Chris Halpin, President, Celtic Energy Connecticut
“We all can use a good coach to help us hone our game, think through our mission and how our day-to-day actions serve that mission.”
Andrew Winston, Author of Green Recovery, Co-author of Green to Gold, and internationally renowned sustainability thought leader, speaker, and advisor
“Mary brings the perfect balance of intelligence, thoughtfulness and enthusiasm to her trainings. Rather than just offering up time management tips and tricks during her workshops, Mary finds a way to get attendees to think critically about their mind set during the day.”
Patrick McKenna, Training and Membership Services Coordinator CT Association of Nonprofits
“Mary knows how to walk the delicate balance between listening and providing a gentle prod on the one hand, and calling you to the carpet on the other, definitely an asset in the coaching business.”
Rob, Education and Management Consultant, Maryland
MaineFlowersIsland