Being a wheelchair user has given me the drive for disability to be normalised in business

“My Plus is know yourself, own yourself, be yourself and help others do the same.”

I’m a fully trained personal and executive coach with over 25 years experience working for global, billion dollar software and telecoms companies. I am also a wheelchair user due to Cerebral Palsy. For the first 28 years of my career, I worked in technology companies BT and ACI Worldwide as a programmer, team leader, service delivery manager and then engineering manager, my most favourite title which satisfied the chic geek in me. I went from a YTS apprentice with a City and Guilds qualification in 1988 to travelling the world supporting banks and being paid for it over almost 3 decades. From my modest start, I wanted to show myself I could lead technical teams and would do whatever was asked to help the organisation, research everything and learned by mirroring the curious engineers and enthusiastic managers I most admired.

I love nothing more than helping people and being of service is a huge part in every job I have taken. As a manager with a global team and customers it was not apparent I was a wheelchair user until I made face to face customer visits, and this was sometimes many years after our initial introductions. I was their service delivery manager who had seen them through major technical difficulties and was very respected as a woman and as a wheelchair user in a competitive workforce/industry. My work ethic and ability gave me my reputation. It involved learning about my own strengths, being accountable for the effect on others I may have as a leader, being authentic with my team and helping others do the same. If in doubt be kind. Management is a lifelong learning opportunity and it improves with doing, and later the wisdom comes if you’re lucky!

In 2017 I took a huge leap and set up my own business, Rocket Girl Coaching which was both exciting and terrifying. I now use my experience from my corporate positions and as a person who successfully deals with a disability in my own life, to assist my coaching clients to maximise their potential. Working with business professionals (especially with a disability) makes my day. Being a wheelchair user has given me:

– the drive for disability to be normalised in business and outside the office

– the tenacity and resilience required to succeed in a demanding workplace

– enhanced communication abilities leading to trust and stronger relationships

– compassion towards myself, colleagues, customers, everyone

– a passion for continuous self-development and curiosity

– an ability to use humour to get important messages across

I’m dedicated to fun as life is very serious, and people work better when there is some real joy to being in the office. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, ease up on yourself to inject some light relief into a demanding or challenging situation to ease any tension. Keeping a sense of humour and kindness never goes out of style.

You can find Mary at www.rocketgirlcoaching.com and www.twitter.com/RocketGirlCoach

Related topics

At MyPlus Students’ Club we have a range of blogs related to this topic, to read further click on the relevant link below:

How much is too much?

Overcoming the challenges having a disability presents

Making your disability work for you – identifying your strengths

5 Tips to help you prepare for work with a rare condition