A THINKING PARTNER FOR THE ROOM WHERE IT’S LONELY AT THE TOP
Executive Sounding Board Session
A confidential one-off session for senior leaders to process complexity and leave clearer and steadier
THE HIGHER YOU GO, THE FEWER PEOPLE YOU CAN THINK OUT LOUD WITH
You are not short of intelligence. You are short of protected space to process complexity honestly.
When you're at the top, people stop telling you what they really think.
Direct reports are affected by your decisions.
Peers may become competitors.
Friends may not fully understand the context.
And so most senior people think alone.
And that is often where the real cost begins:
The call you will have to live with because you made it without a safe space to think it through
The conversation you keep postponing because there is nowhere to process it first
The thing that is quietly eroding away your energy, clarity or relationships
WHAT THIS SESSION OFFERS
Clarity rarely arrives entirely inside your own head. It often arrives the moment you say something out loud to someone who can hold it carefully, ask the right question, and hand it back to you clearer than you left it.
INTRODUCING THE EXECUTIVE SOUNDING BOARD SESSION
The Executive Sounding Board Session is a confidential one-off session for senior leaders who need somewhere safe to work through complexity
You'll know it's right for you if:
There's a decision, a dynamic, or a situation sitting with you that you haven't been able to fully voice yet.
You don't need advice. You need space to hear yourself think, with someone steady in the “room”.
You're not looking for a coach. You're looking for a thinking partner, just this once.
WHAT PEOPLE BRING
How senior leaders use this session
People use this space to think through situations including:
-
Difficult Workplace Dynamics
Weighing whether to stay, leave, escalate, disclose, or pause.
-
Career Crossroads
Weighing whether to stay, leave, escalate, disclose, or pause.
-
Sensitive Decisions
Something consequential that keeps circling without resolution.
-
Difficult Stakeholder Conversations
Preparing for an executive, board, or stakeholder conversation with high stakes.
-
Workplace Investigation
Navigating a whistleblower report, complaint, or formal process with nowhere safe to think.
-
Executive Loneliness
Carrying the pressure of leadership with no one at your level to speak openly with.
-
Burnout Signals
Something quietly eroding your energy, clarity, or confidence that needs naming.
-
Reputation or Relationship at Risk
A situation that could affect how you are seen, trusted, or valued professionally.
This session is for you if you are ready to:
Finally say out loud the thing you have been carrying privately
Think clearly through a situation before deciding what to do next
Leave with greater clarity, perspective, and confidence
Use one focused conversation rather than absorbing the weight of it alone indefinitely
WHY WORK WITH ME
Meet Mary Vaz, your thinking partner
30 years in senior HR leadership as executive, business partner, and certified coach
In three decades of being in senior rooms, I kept seeing the same pattern.
Smart, resourceful people were not missing the answer. They were missing a place where they could speak openly, hear their own thinking, and leave clearer than they arrived.
I am not acting as your lawyer, therapist, counsellor, or investigator.
That is what I offer here. A single confidential conversation with someone who has been in complex rooms for a long time and whose only agenda is yours.
CLIENT REFLECTIONS
The difference a thinking partner can make
“A calm presence that lets you safely explore the confronting and challenging”
“Mary has a calm nature as she guides you through her coaching sessions, which allows you to safely explore topics that can be confronting and challenging to face. She works with you to develop actions that are achievable and targeted to your specific circumstances.
My sessions have been insightful and enjoyable, leaving me feeling empowered and confident to further develop my leadership impact and influence.”
Gina Campbell
Higher Education Sector
“Deep clarity, a sense of empowerment, and strength”
“I entered coaching with Mary not knowing what to expect. Her coaching allowed me to find answers within myself and map out a roadmap towards a more fulfilling future. Sessions with Mary give me faith that I will come out with deep clarity, a sense of empowerment, and strength.
I feel more excited and confident about the future than I did three months ago.”
A.M.
Manager, Renewable Energy Sector
Here’s how it works
01
Reach out to Mary
Click the button below and complete a short form for your session. I will respond within 48 hours to schedule your session.
02
Confirm Session
Once payment is made, your session is confirmed. Sessions are conducted via Google Meet at a time that works for you.
03
Show Up as You Are
You do not need to arrive with polished words or a prepared explanation. Just bring the situation, the tension, or the thing you cannot stop thinking about. That is enough.
04
Leave Clearer
A 45-minute confidential conversation that leaves you with greater clarity, steadier judgment, and confidence about your next step. No follow-ups, no ongoing commitment, no pressure attached.
THE DETAILS
The Executive Sounding Board Session
Here’s what’s included
45-minute confidential virtual session
Conducted via Google Meet
AUD 199
One-off session, no ongoing commitment required
Full refund if the session is not valuable to you - let me know within 24 hours
READY TO GET CLARITY?
Speak with Mary
You do not need to have the perfect words before reaching out.
You only need somewhere safe to begin the conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
No. This is not therapy, counselling, crisis support, or mental health treatment. It is a confidential thinking space designed to help capable people hear themselves think more clearly. If during our conversation it becomes clear that therapeutic or medical support would better serve you, I will say so openly and encourage you toward the right professional support.
-
Not in the traditional sense. This is not a structured coaching programme or performance-focused engagement. It is a confidential thinking space designed to help senior people process complexity and think clearly through situations that are difficult to carry alone. That said, I bring professional coaching capability, listening skill, and reflective questioning into the conversation.
-
Yes. Everything discussed remains strictly confidential unless there is a legal or safety obligation requiring otherwise. This space exists outside your organisation, outside your reporting line, and outside workplace optics.
-
Yes. Payment is made at the time of booking to confirm your session time.
-
Yes. If you genuinely feel the session was not valuable or helpful, let me know within 24 hours and I will refund your payment in full. This space is built on trust.
-
That is completely fine. Many people only need one conversation to regain clarity, perspective, or confidence around next steps. There is no expectation of ongoing engagement.
Is The Executive Sounding Board right for you?
This session is RIGHT for you if:
You are carrying something too sensitive, too complex, or too consequential to think through in the usual places
You need to process out loud before you can decide what to do next
You want a confidential, one-off conversation with no programme, no commitment, and no agenda
You simply know: "I cannot keep carrying this around in my own head"
It might NOT be the right fit if:
You are in acute crisis and need immediate therapeutic, medical, or legal support
You are looking for a structured coaching programme or ongoing engagement. The Strategic Transition Intensive might be a better fit.
You want someone to make the decision for you rather than help you think it through
You need specialist legal, clinical, or investigative advice, I will refer you if that is what is needed
READY TO GET CLARITY?
Your thinking, held in confidence.
You do not need to have the perfect words before reaching out. You only need somewhere safe to begin the conversation.