The Strategic Transition Intensive

The 1:1 coaching engagement to help senior executive leaders design your next chapter from a place of strength, without the strategic isolation of figuring it out alone.

WHEN THE USUAL OPTIONS FALL SHORT

Most senior leaders are excellent at navigating complex transitions in your organisation, but when it comes to your own, something keeps getting in the way.

And when you don’t have the right support to address these questions, you:

  • Carry the question alone because the people who could help, your CEO, your board, your head-hunter, all have a stake in your answer

  • Lose trust in your own signal, because decades of external orientation has quieted the internal compass you need most right now

  • Keep delaying, because the same reputation that gives you options makes every move feel high-risk

A DIFFERENT APPROACH

You deserve a next chapter designed by you, executed with your leverage intact, your relationships preserved, and the quiet certainty that this move is genuinely yours.

Mary Vaz, strategic transition coach, sitting at a desk with a computer, surrounded by organized office supplies and a potted plant in the background.

INTRODUCING THE STRATEGIC TRANSITION INTENSIVE

The Strategic Transition Intensive is a private coaching intensive for senior leaders ready to design and execute their next chapter from a position of strength.

This is for you if you:

  • Are succeeding in your current role but quietly questioning whether this chapter is still yours

  • Have no neutral space to think it through, everyone around you has a stake in your answer

  • Have tried the adjacent options like career coaching or executive coaching and found that none of them held the whole question

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A confident middle-aged female senior leader with blonde hair, glasses, and a navy blazer working on a laptop at a round white table in a modern office or café with large windows and sunlight, looking slightly contemplative towards the left.

If you are ready to…

Move into a next chapter that is genuinely yours, not just what looks right on paper

Make the transition on your terms, while your leverage, energy, and options are still intact

Leave with a sequenced plan, a coherent narrative, and your reputation compounding

Finally put down the question you have been carrying alone

Then the Strategic Transition Intensive is for you.

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Mary Vaz, career transition coach for senior leaders, smiling, standing by a window, holding a blue mug, next to a potted plant in her office in Melbourne, Australia.

WHY WORK WITH ME

Meet Mary Vaz, your thinking partner

Certified Coach | MBA, AGSM | AHRI-certified HR Professional | 30 years in senior HR leadership

I’m Mary Vaz, a certified coach and senior HR Leader with over three decades of experience across Australia and Southeast Asia.

I bring something rare to this work: the dual vantage of a senior HR executive who has sat in the rooms where succession is shaped, and a certified coach with the depth to hold the identity question alongside the strategic one.

Over thirty years, I have watched capable leaders make transitions that diminished them, not for lack of intelligence, but for lack of integrated counsel. This practice is my response to that gap.

I work with a small number of clients at any time.

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CLIENT REFLECTIONS

The difference a thinking partner can make

  • Choosing Mary as my coach was a game-changer!

    “During the pandemic years, my usual strategies were not serving me. Mary met me where I was and acknowledged my experiences without judgment. She helped me clarify what was important to me. With clarity came peace. Her patience, empathy, and compassion opened my mind to new possibilities.

    Today, I enthusiastically run my HR consulting practice, attracting dream clients, and loving life.”

    Miranda McMahon
    Founder and Principal
    Strategic Canberra-based HR Consultants

  • Mary helped me realise I had so much to offer

    “Before coaching, I was fixated on what makes a career woman successful and put myself under pressure to become that identity. Mary created the space for me to be honest with myself about the identity I wanted to become, the network I value, and the type of work that brings me fulfilment.

    One year on, I have found my happy place in the world of work, securing work on my terms, with people who share my values and for an organisation I am proud of.”

    May
    Australia

  • 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 in the Renewal Energy Sector

  • 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

Here’s how it works

01

Exploratory Conversation

Reach out to me to start the conversation, and I’ll respond within 48 hours to arrange a confidential 30-minute call to understand the shape of your question and whether the timing and fit are right.

02

The Strategic Clarity Session

If we decide to move forward, we begin by mapping the full picture: where you are, what you are carrying, and what a well-designed next chapter could look like. This session surfaces the real question underneath the presenting one.

03

The Working Engagement

The core of the Intensive. We work the two layers in parallel: the organisational strategy: timing, succession, optics, leverage, relationships, and the personal question of who you want to be in your next chapter. You leave with a clear articulation of what you want next and a sequenced plan for getting there.

04

The Integration Session

We review the plan, address what has shifted, and ensure you are moving into the next chapter with clarity, confidence, and the architecture of the transition firmly in place.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • The engagement is designed around your specific situation and timing. We discuss the shape and duration during the exploratory conversation so it fits your schedule and the complexity of your question.

  • Investment details are discussed during the exploratory conversation. What I will say is this: the cost of a poorly timed exit, a misjudged pivot, or another year in the wrong seat is almost always higher than the cost of getting this right. This work is designed to protect and compound the leverage you have already built.

  • This is the most common hesitation I hear, and often the clearest signal that the question needs attention. Only you can decide if the timing is right, but here is what I have seen: the structure of committing to this work is often what gets clients off the "I am too busy" treadmill rather than adding to it. One of the first things we work on together is protecting your time and energy, including the time we spend in this engagement.

  • The exploratory conversation exists for exactly this reason. It is a genuine first conversation, not a sales call. If the work is not right for you, for any reason of timing, fit, or focus, I will say so directly, and where helpful, suggest someone better positioned to help.

  • I help clients get clear on what comes next, whether that is a better-fitting senior role, a portfolio practice, a board position, founding something, or a designed hybrid. What I do not provide is the tactical job search toolkit: resume review, LinkedIn rewrites, or mock interview preparation. If that is what you need at this stage, I am happy to refer you to a specialist.

  • Completely. No intake information will be shared beyond this engagement. The contact experience is designed to reflect this from the first exchange.

THE HONEST ASSESSMENT

Is The Strategic Transtion Intensive right for you?

This engagement is RIGHT for you if:

  • You are a senior leader succeeding on the outside but quietly questioning whether this chapter is still yours

  • You are ready to do the deeper work, not just the tactical planning

  • You want to move intentionally, while you still have leverage, energy, and options

  • You need a trusted thinking partner to talk it through, someone outside your world, with no agenda but yours

It might NOT be the right fit if:

  • You are looking for a job search service, resume review, or LinkedIn rewrite

  • You are in acute crisis and need immediate therapeutic or psychological support

  • You are not yet willing to engage the question seriously and would prefer to keep deferring it

  • You want someone to tell you what to do rather than help you find your own answer

Mary Vaz, strategic transition coach, sitting at a desk in an office, smiling and looking at a computer monitor with her hand resting on the side of her face.

You don't have to figure this out alone.

Let's design what comes next, together.

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