DHL Express, Australia

Mary Vaz

Mary Vaz, a seasoned HR professional with nearly 30 years of experience, has built a career across global corporations spanning aviation, engineering, higher education and defense. With a deep understanding of how workplace culture shapes employee engagement and performance, she coaches leaders, managers and professionals to achieve sustainable success. As a Burn Bright Coach at Mary Vaz Coaching, she crafts initiatives that rejuvenate, reignite passion and promote purpose, empowering individuals to thrive and lead with intention.

In an interview with Manage HR magazine, Vaz shares her mission as a certified professional coach, helping leaders transform overwhelming workloads into manageable challenges to foster a healthier work-life balance. She emphasizes the importance of intentional leadership, self-care and the impact of setting the right tone for workplace culture.

What Are Your Clients’ Key Challenges And Pain Points, And How Do You Mitigate Them?

The key challenges that my clients face revolve around overwhelming workloads, burnout and difficulty maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Leaders and managers, in particular, tend to get caught up in the grind of achieving outcomes, often at the expense of their well-being. They are missiondriven individuals who excel at pushing forward to get things done, which can sometimes lead to an environment where others may struggle to perform at their best. The constant push to achieve can create an exhausting and unsustainable work culture.

To mitigate these challenges, I work closely with leaders, managers and professionals to help them break free from the daily grind. My focus is on assisting individuals to transform overwhelming workloads into something more manageable. This involves helping them find a sense of autonomy in decisionmaking, setting healthier boundaries and establishing self-care practices that allow them to thrive professionally and personally. A significant part of this process is reshaping their internal narratives around stress and burnout. Realizing that they can meet their personal needs while still achieving workplace goals, they see themselves as more complete individuals beyond just highfunctioning leaders.

“Ultimately, The Goal Is To Help Clients Pace Themselves And Play The Long Game— Recognizing That Success Comes From Sustainable Efforts, Not Pushing Harder And Faster”

Ultimately, the goal is to help clients pace themselves and play the long game—recognizing that success comes from sustainable efforts, not pushing harder and faster. When they adopt this mindset, they show up differently in the workplace, modeling healthy worklife balance and inspiring those around them to do the same. This gives people the confidence that they can also do it, motivating them to reach out and ask how to achieve it. The result is a more positive, productive work environment where both personal and professional goals can be achieved with intention and care.

Are There Any New Technologies Or Approaches In The HR, Training, Or Organizational Change Space That Excite You And Could Transform The Industry?

Artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, will boost efficiency without replacing jobs. These tools handle repetitive tasks, freeing us up to focus on higher-value work. For example, in the workplace, tools like Microsoft Teams have greatly improved collaboration, allowing us to share documents, work together in real-time and eliminate the time-consuming process of consolidating work. This shift saves energy and time, enabling quicker collaboration and alignment.

Adopting technology requires a growth mindset—being curious and open to learning. We might not all be born techsavvy, but a willingness to ask questions and explore how technology can improve workflows is essential.

Technology has practical benefits outside of work, like organizing family schedules through shared calendars or coordinating with groups via apps like WhatsApp. The ease of organizing activities or gathering opinions through polls makes daily life more efficient and enjoyable. Embracing these tools creates a more inclusive learning environment, where those unfamiliar with the tech are encouraged to join in, making the experience less intimidating.

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs or your peers in the HR space?

The HR space in Australia is evolving rapidly, especially following the pandemic. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, we had to pivot quickly, ensuring compliance with government mandates while keeping employees safe. This required creative and fast solutions. Now, how people work has shifted, with employees becoming clearer about what they want from employers and what they prefer to avoid. As people are more open and transparent about their needs, consultation and collaboration are key to finding mutually beneficial solutions.

Recent changes in industrial relations, such as the right to disconnect and casual conversion, demand quick adaptation to stay compliant. Embracing change management principles is crucial—communication must be relatable, jargon must be avoided, and employees must be met where they are. Using project management methodologies, we can allocate time for consultation, provide regular updates and equip managers and employees with the necessary tools for navigating change.

Disclaimer: This article is written in relation to Marys Executive Coaching Business “ Burn Bright. The views expressed are solely Mary Vazs and do not represent DHL Express.