The Story Beneath the Work
Every decision, conversation, and turning point begins with a story — often one we’re not fully aware of. These stories shape how we lead, communicate, and respond to change.
I work with a small number of senior leaders navigating pivotal moments: stepping into new authority, preparing for high-stakes rooms, or searching for a way of leading that feels both impactful and true. Together, we find the language to bring others with you, without losing yourself in the process.
Your Story in Motion
Advisory
In my advisory work, I help a small number of senior leaders find the language for who they already are — and build a voice, a speech, a presence, a body of written work from it.
This is not about polishing your message. It is about finding the true, untold story of your leadership and giving it a form that others can feel.
Recent clients have used this work to prepare for significant speaking engagements, to navigate transitions with greater clarity, and to walk into high-stakes rooms with a new kind of steadiness.
Narrative Coaching
Everyone carries unspoken narratives — assumptions, patterns, and inherited scripts — that shape how we show up in the world. Narrative coaching brings those stories to light.
Together, we slow the pace. We listen for what is shifting, in your role, your relationships, or your sense of self, and begin to re-author how you move through change, one step at a time.
I am currently taking on a small number of new coaching clients.
About Mary-Brennan
Trained in Narrative Coaching and with a background as a communications advisor to CEOs and C-suite executives, I bring a dual lens to my work: one focused on strategic clarity, the other on reflective space for personal growth. This blend allows leaders to find their voice, articulate it with confidence, and inspire others through both presence and language.
While I’ve always called myself a writer, it was narrative coaching that gave me the courage to become one. With a degree in Creative Writing and years spent working with words, I had long dreamed of writing a book — but never quite dared. Through the same process of re-authoring I share with clients, I found my way in.
My debut novel, Small Heart, Crooked Spine, is now complete and I am querying agents. It is, in its own way, the truest thing I’ve ever written, and a reminder that the work I invite others into is work I have lived myself.
I share reflections on narrative, coaching, and creativity on Substack.
“It has always been a happy thought to me that the creek runs on all night, new every minute, whether I wish it or know it or care, as a closed book on a shelf continues to whisper to itself its own inexhaustible tale.”
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Testimonials
Let’s Begin.
Every engagement begins with a conversation. We start by exploring what’s shifting — in your role, your organization, or your story — and what you most want to bring into focus. From there, we shape a path that fits your needs.
Typical engagements include:
*Communications Advisory: A blend of coaching and narrative strategy to help you find your voice and prepare for high-stakes events, transitions, or public moments.
*Narrative Coaching: Three- to six-month partnerships that explore the stories shaping your leadership, your decisions, and your impact.
*Ongoing Partnership: Flexible, long-term support for leaders navigating continuous change, multiple initiatives, or evolving leadership challenges — a space to reflect, refine, and sustain your story over time.
Sessions are conducted online or in person (in Prague).