You want someone who knows
what they’re doing.
I know my stuff. And I love to do it.
I’ve been doing this work since 1996. Not because it was a good career move. Because I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
What I actually do
I see underneath.
Before most people have figured out what’s happening, I’ll name it.
In a session, I’m listening for two things: the situation someone brought, and the one underneath it. The assumption. The fear. The pattern everyone is working around. The thing shaping the room before anyone has named it.
The COO who built a culture of questions to sharpen critical thinking, and never saw the insecurity it was creating. The sales leader who was proud of the team and rarely said so, leaving people to wonder after every conversation whether they were doing a good job. The executive leading a new organization exactly the way the last one rewarded.
The instinct was always there. Thirty years of coaching and two decades designing leadership development inside organizations gave it language, range, and standards.
“She has a remarkable ability to read people and situations with incredible accuracy. Through thoughtful and powerful questions, she helps individuals uncover insights they may not have seen themselves.”
— Caty, VP of Sales and Marketing
What the work sounds like
One of the strongest executives I’ve ever worked with was weighing a career decision. She had done everything right. Options mapped, risks weighed, implications thought through. And she was still stuck.
The problem wasn’t information. She didn’t fully trust herself.
So I told her something I rarely say: “You have instincts I can’t teach.” Then I asked her, “If that’s true, what’s the answer? Don’t think about it. What’s the answer?”
She shook her head, smiled, and knew.
Years later, I heard her tell a leader I was about to coach about that conversation. She still uses it. When she’s in her head and can’t sort something out, she goes back to it.
I didn’t give her the answer. I helped her recognize something that was already true about her. That’s the center of my work, whether I’m coaching one executive, facilitating a leadership room, or helping an organization understand why the same pattern keeps repeating. People come in looking for a solution and find out what they needed first was understanding. Once that changes, the next move usually gets clearer on its own.
And the goal is never dependence. I don’t want people to need me forever. I want them to see more clearly, understand themselves more deeply, and trust themselves more fully.
“What sets Mayte apart is her ability to truly listen, and then help people act on what she hears… helping you see opportunities for change and improvement that you might not have spotted on your own.”
—Christine, Senior Director of Digital Marketing and Customer Experience
Where it started
We didn’t have much growing up, but at five I was gifted a blackboard. The surface was too shiny and the chalk never worked. I taught for hours anyway.
I taught my younger brother for the three minutes he could sit still. I taught the neighborhood kids, all younger than me. I taught my dolls, probably my most engaged students.
Even then I was asking the questions that would shape my career. How will they understand this? What will make them think, learn, follow through? Or just throw the eraser at me and leave?
I’ve been asking those questions ever since. In coaching conversations. In leadership programs I designed and taught. In rooms from emerging leaders to executive teams. The stakes changed. The questions never did.
Both sides of the table
I’ve also been the person choosing the coach, facilitator, or leadership partner, with my own name attached to whether the work delivered. That changed my standards permanently. I understand before I prescribe. I adapt to the culture. I don’t overpromise. I build work people can still use after I leave.
The person in the room
People often tell someone, “you’re going to love her,” before they explain what I teach. I think they’re usually talking about how the room feels. We can name hard things without making the person feel like a problem. We can laugh where the laugh belongs. We can go straight to the core and still leave with more energy than we came in with.
Around people, I’m all in. Warmth, deep connections, bear hugs whenever possible. I also need a lot of alone time, probably more than the social time. Both are true. That’s part of why I don’t rush to flatten people into one story.
I’m still in it myself. Still catching my inner perfectionist mid-thought. Still learning, thirty years in. It’s also why I’ve never believed my job is to judge or fix anyone. My job is to help you understand what’s actually happening, and then do something real with it.
“She can disarm the most cynical personalities.”
— Ryan, VP of Sales and Marketing
What I care about
I work best with people who care how they get results. Capability matters. Curiosity matters more. The work gets real when someone is willing to understand themselves, their impact, and the choices available from there.
What backs this up
30 years of coaching. 20,000+ hours. 13,000+ hours of facilitation. Two decades building leadership development inside organizations.
Certified Professional Coach (iPEC). Crucial Conversations Certified Trainer. Certified in LVI 360, CliftonStrengths, DiSC, Myers-Briggs, Hogan, and Genos EI.