About Maria
My career as a coach, trainer and facilitator started in 1997. Since then I have been coaching people through personal and work related transitions and helped them use change as a positive impulse for bringing out the best in themselves and their teams. With my work I help people connect with their vision and develop the intra- and interpersonal skills that keep them on the right track towards achieving their goals.
Clients usually come to me for coaching to develop their interpersonal competencies, have greater self-awareness and better self-management (including emotional management), manage leadership transitions (accelerating success in new positions/roles), develop high potentials, build leadership confidence as well as increase personal and team efficiency and effectiveness.
I also provide facilitation services for organisations or their departments/teams to help them define their vision, mission, and values, develop implementation strategies and desired organizational cultures.
For more information about my training & development programs please get in touch with me.
Philosophy
My coaching is balanced by my long experience in emotional intelligence consulting. People, unlike machines, have emotions which affect our thinking and behavior. Long-term change must achieve emotional buy-in. Beyond the tangible and “technical” benefits of coaching, we process at the emotional level for achieving sustainable results.
What makes my coaching services so powerful is that I keep my focus on the “Who” element. Goals (what) and strategies (how) are essential, but unless they are integrated with the person (who) they will take longer to achieve, may not be what the person really desires and thus not lead to the achievements that are possible.
I believe that there’s always a “higher” level to take one’s life, performance, business, or team, even if the current situation is already impressive. And I believe in challenging my clients to continuously develop their potential. As executive coach and coaching supervisor I inspire and encourage my clients to see bigger visions in their personal & professional lives and I help them transform their visions into reality.
Background
My educational background and professional qualifications include a Masters in Human Resource Management and being a certified Management Consultant. In 2001 I attended an extensive program at CoachU & Corporate CoachU to become a Personal and Executive Coach. I was one of the founding members of ICF (International Coaching Federation) in Singapore.
I am a certified Life Skills Coach and a US-certified Behavioral Consultant based on DISC Personality Profiling. In 2002 I was certified to use the EQ-i (an instrument to assess Emotional Intelligence), followed by being authorized to certify others in 2007. In 2008 I was trained in PEP (Personal Efficiency Program). In 2014 I acquired a diploma in coaching supervision.
I have international working experience in Europe, USA and Singapore and am currently a Permanent Resident in Singapore, where I have been living since 1995. My previous work experience includes human resource services as well as business management and development.
VIP Dynamics
I founded VIP Dynamics in 2004 as a holding company for Matraco Consultants (started in 1997, focusing on coaching services) and Life Skills Centre (started in 1995, focusing on training & development programs). VIP Dynamics focuses on equipping people and businesses to better understand and manage the dynamics of human relationships.
VIP stands for the three elements that are key for personal and professional success:
~ VISION ~
as the foundation for personal, professional, and organizational
growth.
~ INSIGHT ~
as the catalyst for increasing awareness, gaining clarity, and finding solutions.
~ PASSION ~
as the energy that fuels successful personal and professional
development.
DYNAMICS refers to understanding and managing human, team, organizational and market dynamics.
