Making a difference

I've had the pleasure of working with Sharon Davies recently through the Enterprise Trust, and I’ve been struck by the rare mix she brings to the table: strategic insight, practical know-how, and a deep, values-driven commitment to increasing opportunities for young people. Sharon is someone who can quickly get to the heart of complex challenges, build strong partnerships, and translate vision into action. Her contribution to our work has been thoughtful, impactful, and focused on long-term outcomes. As she builds Good Place Co, I’ve no doubt Sharon will continue to be a powerful ally to leaders and organisations working for change.

It’s been great working alongside Sharon, particularly on the agenda of supporting more young people to develop themselves and getting them connected up to better opportunities. Being able to focus on practical grass roots change, tailoring that to very different places and communities is what’s so important.

Sharon is exceptional. In a consulting role she asks the right questions listens with intent, sets appropriate boundaries, develops realistic and pragmatic solutions and helps progress the team. Sharon is empathetic and giving. She is intelligent and thoughtful. Her new venture will do well as a consequence.

The timing of working with Sharon was absolutely vital. At a time, I was feeling under threat, lacking in confidence, and a bit out of control, the time spent and encouraged, meant I could slow down, reflect and focus on what was important and what I wanted. I regained control of my own actions and thoughts etc. Sharon’s style really encouraged self-reflection and self-care. This was so important. Those moments over 8 weeks or so, made a huge difference to how I navigated a difficult redundancy situation, but also more importantly, how I managed my own thoughts and feelings. I am extremely grateful for our time together and even though t was a short time, the impact on me has been significant, and at a time of some desperation, Sharon has helped me navigate through it incredibly. Thank you.

I embarked on my coaching journey with Sharon as a first time ‘coachee’ with a fair amount of professional and emotional baggage and a good dose of both anxiety and skepticism. I was low in confidence, direction and drive which I’d once had in abundance. I had trouble seeing myself excelling in a future role. Sharon created a safe space and guided me throughout. I was challenged, but with kindness. She listened with intention, posing questions that made me think and reframe things. I felt appropriately accountable and appreciated the momentum in the process. Most importantly, I felt entirely safe and that I could say literally anything. Sharon also provided a comprehensive summary and reflection at the end of our journey, which I have read and re-read with gratitude. A big priority for me was ‘readiness’ for my next chapter, a need to set the tone around the kind of leader I want and need to be and clear goals to get there. Sharon's approach works brilliantly; she is an exceptional active listener and is not afraid to challenge, creating a safe place to do so. I am now fully immersed in my new role, leading with confidence and awareness. The coaching experience has definitely been a driving force in helping me achieve this.

I came to Sharon with little left in the tank. Like many in the sector, I'd been trying to plug every gap and solve every problem myself. Sharon gave me a sense that I (not she) could solve this. Her experience in the sector helps her ask the questions that get to the real issue and surface what's gone unspoken. She helped me see that the board I'd written off as part of the problem was the support I'd stopped using. That shift changed how I work. I left with clarity, momentum, and much more fuel to make change happen.

Founding and leading Youth Employment UK for over a decade has meant operating at pace — navigating growth, challenge, failure, resilience and constant evolution. Like many founders, I’ve developed my leadership through experience. But as we entered our next phase of scaling, I wanted to be more intentional.

Working with Sharon has given me the space to step off the treadmill and think differently. Not to slow ambition, but to scale it sustainably.

Through our coaching, I’ve been exploring the shift from founder to scale-up CEO — moving out of “rescue mode” and into building deeper capacity around me. We’ve focused on strengthening our Senior Leadership Team structure, developing shared ownership, and creating the infrastructure needed for the next stage of growth.

On a personal level, Sharon has helped me examine challenges at depth — including mindset, imposter syndrome and my reactions under pressure. She has a rare ability to sit comfortably in uncomfortable spaces. She challenges with kindness, asks the right questions, and creates an environment where insight turns into action. The result for me has been greater clarity, confidence and calmness in how I lead.

At organisational level, Sharon is now supporting our newly formed Senior Leadership Team. She facilitated our first full-day session together, creating space for open dialogue, trust-building and collective ambition. It was purposeful, well structured and energising — exactly what we needed at this stage of our development. We’re continuing that work as we embed the tools and thinking required to move quickly towards high performance.

For organisations scaling in complex environments — particularly in the third sector — investing in leadership development is not a luxury. It is foundational.