Mary Ellen

Calm is contagious. So is stress. "Hustle" and "grind" aren't badges of honor. They're often early warning signs. High performance does require intensity—I saw this regularly in my career inside complex organizations. But there's a line, and it's easier to cross than most leaders realize. Not all at once. Quietly. What Chronic Pressure Actually Does Sustained, unmanaged stress doesn't make you sharper. It slowly erodes the very things you rely on most: Clarity. Patience. Judgment....

Space to think. Light to see clearly. Under pressure, tight deadlines, and competing priorities, self-awareness narrows. Values go quiet. Urgency takes over. I see it all the time—smart, capable leaders who know what they stand for, suddenly making decisions that don't quite align. Not because they've lost their compass, but because they've lost the space to consult it. The Pattern I Keep Seeing A client comes to a session carrying tension and a list of problems that need solving now . We...

I've been on both sides of executive coaching—first as a client navigating two decades of financial services and information services leadership, then as a coach myself. So I know that finding the right coach feels a bit like dating: there are a lot of options out there, and frankly, not all of them are going to be a good fit. The stakes are high because this isn't just about getting advice. It's about finding someone you can trust with your career challenges, your self-doubt, and your...