Today, we explore the fascinating world of neuroplasticity with guest Marisa Murray, a leadership development expert. We’ll unpack the ways this phenomenon plays a crucial role in personal development, which will enrich your understanding of how neuroscience can revolutionize your coaching practice.

You’ll learn about the brain’s ability to change and adapt through experience, practical ways to stimulate this ability, and proven methods to foster meaningful behavior and thought-pattern changes. Join us as Marisa shares her journey from engineering to executive coaching, revealing how her technical mindset deepened her appreciation for neuroscience’s role in effective leadership and personal growth. Her approach hinges on stimulating awareness, focus, and practice to foster new neural patterns, guiding clients towards their true potential.

In each episode of Neuroscience of Coaching, host Dr. Irena O’Brien explains the science-based insights behind a particular concept and interviews a coach to discuss how these apply in the real world. Just as she does in her professional programs, Irena “un-complicates” neuroscience and teaches practical, evidence-based tools and strategies that listeners can use in their coaching practices. 

“Reflective inquiry is what coaching is all about. Just helping clients really see the patterns and really build that awareness.”

— Marisa Murray

Marisa Murray P. Eng., MBA, PCC is a leadership development expert and the CEO of Leaderley International, an organization dedicated to helping executives become better leaders in today’s rapidly changing, highly complex world. Marisa leverages her two-plus decades of executive experience as a former Partner with Accenture and VP at Bell Canada in providing executive coaching, as well as leadership development services for organizations including Molson-Coors, Pratt & Whitney, and Queen’s University.

She is an author of three Amazon best-selling leadership development books: Work Smart: Your Formula for Unprecedented Professional Success, Iterate! How Turbulent Times Are Changing Leadership and How to Pivot, and Blind Spots: How Great Leaders Uncover Problems and Unlock Performance. She is also co-author of the USA Today bestseller The Younger Self Letters: How Successful Leaders & Entrepreneurs Turned Trials Into Triumph (And How to Use Them to Your Advantage).

Marisa is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF). Her certifications include: Erickson’s The Art and Science of Coaching, Marshall Goldsmith’s Stakeholder Centered Coaching®, Judith Glaser’s Conversational Intelligence®, MHS Emotional Intelligence EQi-2.0, Marisa Peer’s Rapid Transformational Therapy, The Neuroscience School for Coaches, WBECS Coach Masters Toolkit, and more. She is a professional engineer and alumnus from the University of Waterloo with an MBA from Queen’s University.

When not working, she can be found spending time with her husband and two sons. She loves traveling, skiing, and sharing her love of learning as she deepens her expertise as a certified yoga, meditation, and wellness practitioner.

Dr. Irena O’Brien teaches coaches and care professionals how to achieve better results for their clients through neuroscience.

She is the founder of Neuroscience School, which helps practitioners understand and apply insights from cutting-edge neuroscience research. She loves seeing her students gain confidence in their ability to evaluate neuroscience findings and use them successfully in their own practices. Her Certificate Program in Neuroscience is certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) for Continuing Coaching Education credit.

Dr. O’Brien has studied neuroscience for 25 years and holds a Ph.D. in the field from the Université du Quebec à Montréal (UQAM), where she did brain-imaging studies. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Language, Mind, and Brain at McGill University.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
Mirasee
Dr. Irena O’Brien’s website: The Neuroscience School
Marisa’s website: Leaderley.com
Marisa’s LinkedIn profile: Linkedin.com/in/murraymarisa
Marisa’s TEDx Talk

Credits:
Host: Dr. Irena O’Brien
Producer: Cynthia Lamb
Audio Editor: Marvin del Rosario
Executive Producer: Danny Iny
Music Soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely
Making our hosts sound great: Home Brew Audio

Music credits:
Track Title: Sneaker Smeaker
Artist: Avocado Junkie
Writer: Sander Kalmeijer
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Coo Coos
Artist: Dresden, The Flamingo
Writer: Matthew Wigton
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: In This Light
Artist: Sounds Like Sander
Writer: Sander Kalmeijer
Publisher: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Special effects credits:

24990513_birds-chirping_by_promission used with permission of the author and under license by AudioJungle/Envato Market.

To catch the great episodes coming up on Neuroscience of Coaching, please follow us on Mirasee FM’s YouTube channel or your favorite podcast player. And if you enjoyed the show, please leave us a comment or a starred review. It’s the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.

Episode transcript: Harnessing Neuroplasticity (Marisa Murray).