Life & Leadership Coaching for Finance Professionals
Coaching for ambitious professionals who want more intentional, sustainable ways of working -
without losing career momentum.
Former finance exec | Certified coach | 1:1 support with Allison Marie
You’ve built a successful career by working hard, taking responsibility, and saying yes when it mattered.
But at some point, that way of working starts to feel… heavy.
Not because you’re doing anything wrong,
but because you’ve never been given the space to step back and decide what success actually looks like for you, or how you want work to fit into the rest of your life.
I help ambitious professionals take back control by rethinking how they work — so their career supports the life they want to live.
Coaching for ambitious professionals who want more intentional, sustainable ways of working -
without losing career momentum.
Former finance exec | Certified coach
1:1 support with Allison Marie
You’ve built a successful career by working hard, taking responsibility, and saying yes when it mattered.
But at some point, that way of working starts to feel… heavy.
Not because you’re doing anything wrong,
but because you’ve never been given the space to step back and decide what success actually looks like for you, or how you want work to fit into the rest of your life.
I help ambitious professionals take back control by rethinking how they work — so their career supports the life they want to live.
Can You Relate?
You’re successful... but something feels off
You care about your career. You’re capable, trusted, and ambitious.
And yet…
⚠️ Work feels all-consuming, even when things are “going well”
⚠️ You’re constantly managing priorities, but rarely choosing them
⚠️ You wonder if this pace is just the price of success
⚠️ You feel tension between wanting more at work and more from life
You’ve probably tried to fix this by:
⚠️ getting more organized
⚠️ rearranging your calendar and time, again... and again...
⚠️ pushing harder (again!!)
But the issue isn’t productivity or discipline.
It’s that most ambitious professionals are working toward success without ever pausing to define it, or to design how they work to support it.
What if success didn’t require sacrifice?
What if:
✅ you could be intentional about what matters now
✅ your way of working supported your energy instead of draining it
✅ your career enhanced your life instead of competing with it
This isn’t about doing less for the sake of it.
It’s about doing the right things, in the right way, to create the life you want.
And that’s where coaching can help.
Free Stuff & Mini-Courses
Start here.
Whether you’re just beginning to question how you’re working, or you know you want change but aren’t sure what that looks like yet, these are supportive first steps.
free: start here guide
Start exactly where you are right now — you don't need a perfect plan to start today.
This 15-minute daily practice helps you:
➡️ pause and look at your day with intention
➡️ take control of what you can, starting now
➡️ make small adjustments so your days feel a little bit better
free: worksheet & quick video training
Design your day - a simple next step when you are ready to be more intentional about how your days are shaped.
This worksheet and short video training help you:
➡️ step back and look at your day with clarity
➡️ decide what actually matters today
➡️ make thoughtful choices that support you — at work and outside of it
free: weekly planning system
Design a week that reflects your priorities — not just your to-do list.
This weekly planning system helps you:
➡️ focus on what truly matters
➡️ make intentional choices
➡️ feel more in control of your time and energy, without overcommitting or overscheduling
Mini-course: your life, designed - 90 days at a time
A practical self-paced mini-course to step out of autopilot and into intentional self-leadership.
This quarterly planning system helps you:
➡️ clarify what success means in this season
➡️ decide what truly matters right now
➡️ create a realistic 90-day plan that aligns your work, time, and energy with the life you want to live
By Design, Not Default
Thoughts on success and work.
A blog written for ambitious professionals who are ready to be more intentional
about designing a life they love and ways of working to support it.
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Connect With Me - Allison Marie
In today’s fast-paced world, staying on top of your professional priorities is hard enough. And, trying to do that while managing the rest of your life can feel overwhelming.
Not because you’re incapable or disorganized…
but because you’re carrying a lot, and there’s rarely space to step back and think intentionally about how you’re working and what you actually want.
Creating a way of working that supports both your career and your life does take intention.
It means pausing to reflect, making thoughtful choices, and designing how you work, rather than defaulting into patterns that no longer serve you.
And when time already feels scarce, having a guide matters.
Working with a coach who has been there can help you cut through the noise, see what you can’t see on your own, and move forward with more clarity and confidence — without adding more to your plate.
I’ve been there. And I can help.
Let’s connect so I can show you how:
Work With Me
Coaching that meets you where you are and helps you move forward with intention.
I work with ambitious professionals who want to:
🎯 perform at a high level with more ease
🎯 grow into bigger, more visible roles
🎯 protect and enjoy more of their life outside of work
🎯 or thoughtfully navigate what’s next
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but there is a clear process.
My coaching is guided by a 4-part framework:
1️⃣ Awareness and Early Wins
You’ll see what’s actually working, understand where your current ways of working are creating pressure, and make a few small shifts that create immediate relief and momentum.
2️⃣ You at Work and Beyond - Leading Yourself with Clarity and Alignment
You’ll define what success looks like for you right now, see where your time and energy aren’t reflecting what matters most, and start making clear, confident decisions that bring your work and life back into alignment.
3️⃣ You and Your Team - Sharing the Workload
You’ll see where you’ve been carrying too much, understand how to better work with your team, and start delegating, developing and leading in a way that creates capacity.
4️⃣ You and Your Stakeholders - Making It Sustainable
You’ll understand how to navigate expectations and competing priorities, communicate more clearly, and start influencing outcomes in a way that protects your time, your team, and your way of working.
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
Coaching is available in two ways, depending on the level of support you’re looking for:
Pay as you go: Individual 1:1 coaching sessions (no ongoing commitment). Ideal if you want support around a specific challenge or decision.
Coaching Packages: Multiple 1:1 coaching sessions. Ideal if you want ongoing, personalized support as you define success and redesign how you work.
You’ll leave the call with more clarity, whether or not we work together.
My Story
Hi, I’m Allison Marie.
I help ambitious professionals stop defaulting and working in ways that no longer serve them - and start designing their work and lives with intention.
Before becoming a coach, I spent over 20 years in finance, most recently as an executive in financial reporting. I was driven, capable, and successful. And for a long time, overworking worked for me.
The problem was that I never stopped to define what success meant to me, at work or in life.
As my life grew, that unexamined definition started to cost me. I tried to work less, tried to “fix” it, and felt frustrated when nothing stuck.
Everything changed when I was exposed to coaching and discovered personal development myself - learning to slow down, take responsibility for how I was working, and intentionally design a life that included both meaningful work and space to enjoy it.
Now, I help others do the same - with clarity, intention, and support.