Who is Murray Wright?
As a globally experienced and accomplished Leadership Consultant and Team Development Executive Coach, I have more than 30 years of experience in corporate leadership, coaching teams and their leaders to not only increase performance but sustain it through constant change.
Having worked across several different sectors, including hospitality, government, insurance, property services, environmental manufacturing, FMCG, professional services, retail, utilities, NFP, and more, I combine my business mentor experience with contemporary executive coaching techniques and proven systems to support teams and their leaders to deliver real results.
Licensed by Acumen Global Partners in their organisational change and cultural transformation process, I work with teams and their leaders across Australia, the Asia Pacific and around the globe to create powerful, lasting transformations that benefit themselves and their entire organisation.
Carr and Peters
Hear from my clients...
“Murray provided Team Development coaching for the Bright NOW executive leadership team when I was Executive Manager. His services fitted the bill and he was chosen because his proposal was warm and very much about understanding our challenges and identifying how his services would fit, vs mandating a set approach. As an outside facilitator he helped us open the space in a way that allowed us to have more honest conversations. Murray brought his experience and used it in a coaching style and was able to bring challenge to the team in a safe way. The content and style worked well, it was not too structured or formulaic, however I was reassured that there was a method that moved us through the process.
Whilst there was some uncertainly within the team, the first session opened them up to the value of the learning process and gained their full commitment. I would recommend Murray to work with leadership teams to work on team dynamics, elevating focus strategically versus operationally and to leadership teams of all levels to uplift capability and move into a space of constructive dialogue and increased strategic effectiveness.”
Natasha Charles, Bright NOW (currently Head of People & Culture, Animal Welfare League)
"Murray was recommended to me by my CEO to work with the wider leadership team at the C.ex Group. His training and international experience working in different cultures gave me confidence in his ability to work with our diverse team. The team has become more aware of how they respond in different situations and are better at pausing to choose the best response. They regularly hold each other accountable for their behaviour and communication between departments and across the Clubs is now much better. People are able to give input and feedback to others without fear. Murray also did a program with the Duty Managers which opened up their relationships across the Clubs and allowed them to talk more openly and support one another.
Murray set the tone really well. The process of creating the team charter and giving the team clarity to what they were committing to, set the foundation for the lift in accountability. Murray was able to modify his style to match the audience, pick up the vibes in the room and adjust his presentation accordingly and be sensitive to the individual personalities. He created discomfort and pushed the boundaries to lift self-awareness and encourage change."
Jeff COX, GM C.ex Group
“I first met Murray through the AFGC Grocery Program I attended in Melbourne and chose him to work with the sales team as he encouraged people to broaden their thinking, think differently and look inwardly. He puts the responsibility on individuals and gives them the levers to work through challenges for their own development and improvement.
I personally learnt to slow down and breathe and not be as impulsive. The team learnt of the need to communicate more with each other, think more about the impact of their own behaviours on each other, the whole team and what it is trying to achieve.
Murray provides a good balance for different people, he asks questions that make people think. It is delivered in a balanced and thoughtful way. There was never negativity in the sessions and he provided a positive process. I would recommend Murray to anyone looking to develop themself and their team.”
Stephen Wood, Beerenberg, National Independent Sales Manager
“Murray designed and delivered a development program for our hotel company emerging leaders. He had worked with the leadership team before and his proposal was clear showing timeframes, objectives and a framework for each session. The feedback from participants was really positive. They were better able to manage their team members and have the difficult conversations to hold them accountable which has rippled through the business.
Murray understands hotels and hospitality. He got participants to practice their new skills in the moment and was not afraid to challenge people in a very considered way. He also delivered a similar program for our Property Group. This was a more challenging context, however Murray brought all is experience, skills and considerable resilience to work through the program to create a greater level of self-awareness to the participants.”
Lucie Hood, Director of Human Resources, DOMA Hotels
“What we appreciated most about the experience was that it didn’t feel like an ‘off-the-shelf’ product.
Murray & the team took the time to understand each individual in our team, understand our group dynamics within the team, and factor in our business landscape to create a holistic customised leadership development program that placed us in the driver’s seat creating our own positive change.
This was a facilitated journey of self-discovery, true team building, and applied learning which has resulted in growth for us as individuals, as a team, and as a business.”
Ryan Buzzell, President – TOMRA Collections Australia
I was unsure about working with Murray on the Team Development Program as we hadn’t met previously at all but my first impression was very positive. He had a clear understanding of our objectives and challenges. Murray’s confidence displayed that he had the expertise and tools to assist us. He was very engaging and knowledgeable.
I chose Murray Wright because of the confidence that he projected and communicated to be able to deliver results we needed.
The benefits since using Murray Wright are that we are now a much more cohesive, honest and connected team dynamic (from one that was previously fractured and somewhat counterproductive…) and we have increased business performance and engagement.
I would definitely recommend the Team Development Program with Murray Wright due to the results achieved. Recommending Murray is a very clear and comfortable recommendation to make.
Richard Holt, Testimonial given while General Manager, Novotel Darling Harbour
"Murray coached me during a period of significant personal and professional change - new job and a new baby. His ability to engage with warmth helped us build rapport very quickly, impressive as we were working using teleconference. He has a deep toolbox of frameworks, stories and perspectives that helped me to reflect and challenge my thinking and behaviour in a way which was robust, but not uncomfortable.
Thank you Murray, I've come out the other side of the turbulence with confidence, new personal insights and tools to help me on my development journey. I'd also recommend Murray's podcast to anyone looking for interesting perspectives from leaders and some really good questions for meaningful dialogue with teams and clients."
John Sturt-Addicott, Sustainable business models and strategic planning
"I've been incredibly fortunate to be coached by Murray for the past few years.
Murray is able to draw upon both his intellectual study and professional experience of leadership to coach with authenticity and empathy. Murray is engaging and personable, he's thoughtful and productive during (and outside of) sessions - he steadily built his understanding and always seems to stay curious of me, although always discussing with candor, never preaches, assumes or judges.
I've made great improvements across personal and professional relationships thanks to Murray's insights. He's provided me the thoughts, tools and frameworks that not just build my leadership skills, but enable me to be congniscant for myself - to be my own coach.
I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Murray to anyone who wants to truly unpack themselves and unlock their potential."
Tom Donovan, Testimonial given while Commercial Director ANZ at Krispy Kreme
Murray Wright Executive Coach FAQs
My journey to becoming an executive coach in Sydney was inspired by having a coach myself and realising that my passion lies in helping people unlock their full potential. With over 30 years of experience in senior leadership roles across many industries, I began to realise the profound impact that tailored team coaching and leadership development could have on not just one individual leader’s growth, but the growth and development of entire teams and their organisations.
Now, my mission as an Australian Executive Team Coach is to inspire teams and their leaders to become their best selves and lift their collective impact through the entire system.
My unique executive team coaching style is collaborative, results-oriented and dynamic. It is tailored to each organisation’s unique needs based on decades of corporate and coaching experience working directly with both teams and their leaders.
I bring presence and commitment to building relationships, adopting a systemic approach to bring new perspectives and deeper insights as a starting point to creating meaningful individual change that supports collective change. It is very much about working on real issues and creating learning in the moment.
I create a safe space for teams and their leaders to explore their challenges, learn in the moment and commit to trying new approaches that have a positive impact across the organisation – and most importantly, the delivery of results.
My approach to team development coaching and leadership executive coaching is unique because it blends my extensive corporate experience with proven coaching methodologies and many years of hard-earned experience putting theory into practice.
I focus on developing the collective performance of teams and their leaders. My team coaching approach in Sydney allows teams to align their goals with their stakeholders' needs, strengthen relationships and improve team dynamics to lift collaboration and engagement within the team, across the organisation and with external stakeholders, to have lasting positive impact.
The starting point for all of this is creating awareness of the need for individual change.
One of my most rewarding executive coaching experiences involved working with a senior leader and his leadership team that had spent a frantic 18 months establishing the Australian division of a global company and bringing on a significant client in a short period of time. They now wanted to develop as a team and move from being reactive and operationally focused to being strategic and forward-focused.
I worked with the team to set up their team charter and get clear on their purpose. They agreed that they had to engage and develop the next level of leaders. On the surface they did all the right things, however, through the work we did, they realised that saying it was easier than doing it. At one impactful session, it became clear they had to give their trust to the next level of leaders and get out of their way. At this point, things really started to change and engagement across the wider leadership team lifted.
The work I did with the leader ran in parallel to this, this helped him see that he had to restructure the team and roles and responsibilities to allow him to get out of their way and focus on a different level, while at the same time, shifting his thinking and approach to his global head.
As a result, this leadership team strengthened the next-level capacity and capability that allowed them to successfully bring on two new key clients and deliver the growth required. The leader has moved to a different division in the company and now heads up the Americas team where we worked on a similar process.
It’s worth noting here that the initial work was done 2 weeks before we went into Covid lockdown, but the feedback I received was that the strengthened relationships, discussion on purpose and agreement on ways of working captured in the team charter had a profound effect on how the team successfully worked through that uncertain period together.
I trained as an Executive Coach and am accredited by the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership (IECL). I’ve also trained in Systemic Team Coaching with Professor Peter Hawkins, completed the IECL Team Coaching program and trained in System Dynamics and Organisational Constellations.
Furthermore, I am a licensed consultant with Acumen Global Partners which specialises in organisational transformation.
My professional background in Hotel Management took me to many different countries and I now have over 20 years of experience in team development coaching, executive coaching services and delivering leadership development programs.
I work across many sectors including hospitality, travel, real estate, telecommunications, recruitment, FMCG, retail, finance, tertiary education, insurance, property services, utilities, construction, government and not-for-profit where I have gained deep insights into the complexities of leadership.
As a certified executive coach, I ensure that my clients receive high-quality, professional leadership coaching that is grounded in best practices and ethical standards. I am accredited in many different psychometric instruments and tools to support the work I do and continue my development through supervision and ongoing reading and study.
Companies collaborated with include:
