RECOMMENDATIONS
I am privileged to have worked with some brilliantly talented people over the years. Many of them have been kind enough to write recommendations for my work. These can also be found on my LinkedIn profile.
“Following a short career break, I worked with Sarah to rebuild some lost confidence and help explore my options ahead of returning to work. Sarah is a wonderful coach, the SHINE program delivered so much more than I had hoped for. Working with Sarah, I now have a greater understanding of who I am, my talents and strengths, the value I can place on my unique selling points and what work happiness means for me. I’m now approaching the job market with a clear sense of direction, confidence and more importantly excitement!”
Vanessa Minchin – Solutions Delivery Manager
“I have been working with Sarah for the last few months and have learned so much about myself during her coaching process. I feel so much more empowered by having unlocked what my strengths/ USPs are and have uncovered what makes me tick at work and what doesn’t. Sarah has been amazing throughout, she is warm and easy to open up to. She really does have an incredible talent for identifying and then surfacing up things that I would never have seen about myself and then somehow connecting certain things together for the voila moments! I am coming up to the final stages of the process where it’s time to make some changes. I would highly recommend her – I wish I had done this years ago!
Lucy Dell – Account Manager
“I worked with Sarah on her SHINE program to get clarification on the next steps I need to take in my career. Working with Sarah has really helped me identify my strengths and reaffirm my values, and the importance of aligning these to live your best work life (and life in general). Her friendly approach makes it easy to be open and honest not just to her but to myself as well. I really enjoyed working with Sarah and I’m sure anyone who does, do too. Thank you, Sarah for doing what you do and for helping people like me SHINE!”
Charmaigne C – Legal P.A
“Sarah has been working with us at AIG Life for a couple of years now. We had noticed the challenges facing our employees following a career break and specifically Maternity leave when you (well I did) wonder who you are at work after the rush of parenthood. Sarah helped us created our returner program- we have seen our returners go from “strength to strength”. Sarah has also jumped in when women faced career quandaries and, through her endless positivity, helped them find their own right path. We are proud of our gender balance and I’d like to think the retention of key people following their career break, with Sarah’s support, contributes to our ongoing success.”
Laura Young – Head of HR – AIG Life
“I am so pleased I participated in the SHINE programme. Sarah is warm and intuitive and guides you through the course, taking you through thought-provoking and revealing exercises at each stage, coupled with weekly group video calls (which were so much more inspiring than I had anticipated). The other women in the group were so supportive and I felt that I learned something from all of them, despite us being in a variety of different situations.
Sarah creates a friendly and open dialogue throughout and empowers each member to uncover their own insights which is truly valuable. I am so excited for my next step now after going on this hugely revealing journey. I can’t thank Sarah enough and would recommend her to anyone who feels they have lost their work mojo.”
Stephanie Rackley – Senior Marketing Manager
“I’m so glad I took the leap to join the shine club program. It’s given me so much clarity and insight into my values and strengths and tools I can use in the future to help me keep achieving my work goals. Sarah is so observant and down to earth which helps you to relax and dig deep to get the most out of each exercise. I’ll be returning back to work after maternity leave with a new found confidence in my abilities and look forward to shining bright!”
Shelley Hanks – Operations Manager
“Thank you, Sarah for running your SHINE Club program. I know for me, and many others who can’t afford 1:1 coaching, this is an excellent way to engage with you and your framework, with the added benefit of having a group of peers involved in the process. I cannot tell you how much I have gained from the sessions and the accompanying workbook. Each exercise bought lightbulb moments and greater clarity. When exercises and sessions combined it felt like shining a light on what had previously seemed murky and untouchable….only to show it was actually just a little lost and frustrated, but definitely keen to bloom!!Sarah’s SHINE framework is so adaptable to light touch through to intensive 1:1 coaching that no matter how you engage with her you are guaranteed to walk away feeling not only a greater degree of clarity around who your work self is and what you should be doing (or working towards), but you will also be inspired and energised.”
Jo Gregory – Recruitment Associate
“Sarah is full of interesting insights and is clearly experienced in steering you towards your own answers. Her Shine Online program has felt like a rare glimpse into me, the person I should know the best. Turns out I had a lot to learn! I’m walking away clear on my strengths and values and how I might move forward with those. Definitely recommend to anyone having a work wobble! An unexpected bonus was meeting a lovely, supportive group of intelligent women!”
Hannah Van Buskirk – Founder – HVB Marketing
“Last week, I finished four months of careers coaching with a truly fantastic women, Sarah Clarke of Shine Brighter Consulting. After her help I now feel fearless, exuberant, flying. I now have clarity on my values, strengths that I didn’t even know I had and an artillery of redefined skills and superpowers at my disposal. I have so much more confidence in myself and my abilities and, although I’ve so much work left to do, I know I can bloody well do it. So a huge THANK YOU, Sarah – you have indeed made me shine brighter!”
Felicity Haythorn – Content Strategist & Founder – Haythorn Copy
“The 1:1 SHINE programme with Sarah was such a positive experience and helped me make some huge changes in my business and personal life. Sarah is incredibly warm and skilfully guided me on a personal journey to take more control over my career. I was stuck in a rut, feeling low and unable to see a way forward. I now know my strengths and where to focus my time and energy in order to reach my goals. I would recommend Sarah and the 1:1 sessions to anyone.”
Claire Gillespie – Creator and Founder – Oglee Poglee
“I just finished the SHINE [Online coaching] Program and I didn’t want it to end! Sarah is AMAZING to work with and the program exceeded my expectations on every level. Prior to the program I felt like I had a good handle on my strengths, but was really struggling to articulate them and bring them to life. Working with Sarah helped me take a step back and deeply look at my values. It was the piece that really made it all come together. I hadn’t ever really stopped to think about or unpick my values in that way. I finish the course feeling empowered and much more positive about my future. Thank you so much for all your help Sarah!”
Mary Muncy – Director – Travel
“I came to Sarah in a complete fog on what do in my career, having spent 20 years in the same industry. We spent two intense morning sessions working through what makes me tick and how to take myself forward. It’s been illuminating for me and Sarah has been fantastic in getting me to dig deep and bring out the real me. I’m really excited to put my game plan into action and am looking forward to what 2020 can bring. Thanks Sarah!”
Claire McDonnell – Surveyor
“The help, support and guidance you’ve given me to help unpick the massively confusing state of head / career / what it is I am good at / what it is I want to do, has been just fantastic. Thank you SO much.”
Lou Prior – Director, Prior PR
“I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for all your help this year. You have really been the most incredible support and ignited my thinking. Working with you has really helped clarify who I am, what’s important to me and the value I have. On top of that it is rare to find someone you really connect with and I definitely found that with you.”
Sophie Allard – Culture & Engagement Consultant
“I wanted to say a massive THANK YOU for taking me on my SHINE journey! The 1 to 1 coaching throughout the whole process has taught me how I can do my role even better and reminded me where my strengths lie.
I have learnt a lot over the past 6 months and the personalised Hogan test results provided real insight. These have really helped me to rebuild my confidence and self-belief in what my strengths are, what my values are, and taught me how one feeds in to the other. Essentially I have rediscovered what makes me unique, what I excel at and how I can build more of this in to my role – which equates to a win win situation! The last two sessions in particular have given me lightbulb moments of “that’s what I excel at and need to do more of!” It has also reinforced that AIG Life’s values match my own, making it a fantastic company to work for.”
Sarah Burgess – Protection Consultant Team Leader, AIG Life
“I was facing the prospect of redundancy earlier this year – having worked at the same company for many years, the prospect of change was definitely daunting, however I knew this was an opportunity to take stock of things and really revisit what’s important to me and my career. I decided to work with Sarah to help guide me through that process … and boy am I pleased I did!
Sarah has helped me work through the fog to gain clarity and pick through what it is that makes me tick and ultimately happy at work. It’s been a great experience and a real investment in myself. I would highly recommend working with Sarah on any of her courses to help focus your career thoughts, gain clarity, be accountable and have a wing woman! Thank you again, Sarah.”
Ali Brathwaite – Marketing Director
“Having recently completed Sarah’s Time to Shine online coaching programme, I can wholeheartedly recommend others consider it if they’re feeling blocked, uninspired or feel like they need a warm, supportive hand to get them back on track. I loved the methodical nature of Sarah’s framework and had multiple lightbulb moments as I worked through the different exercises. It felt so indulgent and so amazing to allow myself time to focus on what I actually want, rather than what works for everybody else and it’s given me loads of clarity about moving forwards – what to look for, what to look out for and how I can be happier in my professional life. Sarah is so passionate and engaged with your story that her energy alone fires you up and her experience and insight will definitely inspire you. I’m recommending the course to everyone I know at the moment!”
Emma Young – Director – The Responsible Business Company
“I worked with Sarah in a professional capacity (i.e she has been my coach for the last couple of months). I asked Sarah for help when my mum was suddenly diagnosed with terminal cancer and I was feeling as though my entire professional life had all been a bit of a pointless struggle. Despite having set up a successful business, running a “not-for-profit” group for thousands of mums to help them find work and being an advisor to the Department for Business, this very personal bolt from the blue caused me to call into question everything I was doing professionally.
Running your own business can be lonely – you don’t have a boss or someone above you telling you when you’re about to make the wrong decision and I agonised over the decisions and choices I’d made. Sarah has been Fantastic – with a capital F! Her cocktail of psychometric analysis and professional guidance, without ever actually forcing an opinion has been invaluable.
As a direct result of her 1:1 SHINE programme I have had a huge break through. I can’t wait to get started on this next chapter. It feels totally analogous with my values, beliefs and ambition. It doesn’t mean tearing up everything that’s gone before but I’ve gone from stumbling in the dark to finding the energy to climb the mountain, break through the clouds and I’m feeling totally empowered.
Her fees are extremely reasonable, it’s a structured approach not just a series of weekly chats. I could not have got to this point without her help.
Thank you, Sarah. And world watch this space…!”
Jane Johnson – Managing Director & Founder – FEEL Communications
“Sarah provided excellent support to me, helping me gain insight into my values and leadership style at work using the Hogan Assessment psychometric. Really wonderful coaching advice that has helped me progress in my career. I would whole-heartedly recommend her to anyone else wanting to take stock and plan their next steps.
Joanna Pearce – HR Business Partner – Healthcare Industry
“Take Time to SHINE’ workshop this week and highly recommend it to anyone feeling a little lost with where they want to take their career to give a greater sense of fulfilment. A fantastic session with wonderful women, thought provoking, interesting, and with fab, relevant and engaging content. Also totally action oriented, definitely not one of those workshops you walk away from and forget about! My learnings have been whizzing away since I left! If you’re considering it, do it!”
“I attended Sarah’s inaugural ‘Take Time to SHINE’ workshop this week and highly recommend it to anyone feeling a little lost with where they want to take their career to give a greater sense of fulfilment. A fantastic session with wonderful women, thought provoking, interesting, and with fab, relevant and engaging content. Also totally action oriented, definitely not one of those workshops you walk away from and forget about! My learnings have been whizzing away since I left! If you’re considering it, do it!”
Holly Garbett – Marketing Consultant
“I attended the Shine Brighter workshop on Thursday 29th Nov. Lovely evening in a really supportive environment, with a fab group of interesting women (and some excellent festive snacks!) So valuable to actually spend some time reflecting on your strengths, how these align with your values, and most importantly, what practical steps you can take to ensure you are achieving the right balance in your career. Sarah’s passion for the subject is palpable, and combined with her breadth of experience and engaging style, made this both and enjoyable and productive session. Would thoroughly recommend.”
Nina Buchan – Retail Consultant
“I engaged Sarah for some coaching recently and it has proved to be even more inspiring, helpful and useful than I could have imagined. Sarah is so wonderful at getting you to focus upon your strengths and I feel that with her help I will find the thing I truly want to do with my career (advice I should’ve had years ago!). I would thoroughly recommend her kind, shrewd and intelligent advice to anyone.”
Amy Warren – On a Career Break
“Sarah personally coached me at a career crossroads where I had lost a little of my normally high confidence. Re-identifying my career successes and strengths (my superpowers as Sarah would say!) with a fresh pair of eyes, really turned that around *cue light bulb metaphor*. Approachable, informed and warm – three of my favourite traits in a human and colleague! Sarah’s previous career successes provided absolute confidence that her guidance and help is coming from a commercial mind as well as a coaching one. I am so excited to put into practice the exercises that I suspect will have big impact. Thank you Sarah. “
Joanna Watts – Director – &ALSO
“Thanks so much for such an incredible workshop last week! I left feeling hugely motivated. ”
Finding Your Professional Purpose Workshop Attendee
“Many thanks for the workshop, the session was really excellent, I thought it flowed really well and was a real achievement to cover, with value, that amount of content. It was also great to see so much enthusiasm for the breakout session which demonstrated how much all the delegates were bought in. I personally got a lot out of the two hours.”
Finding Your Professional Purpose Workshop Attendee
“Back at work after my second maternity leave and I felt fed-up. I was looking for something new but didn’t have a clue where to start. Sarah was fantastic. Our sessions gave me clarity on what I enjoy and what I prefer to avoid in the workplace. They also gave me language to clearly articulate my ‘ideal role’ and the confidence to approach my employer to see if this is something that they would be willing to offer me (before I started to look elsewhere). They were, and they have! I’d highly recommend Sarah’s coaching to anyone in a similar position.”
Susan – Audit Director
“Sarah spent three months with us overhauling our engagement strategy and designing the associated implementation plans. It was evident throughout her time with us that she has a valuable mix of the necessary experience, intellectual rigour, and genuine passion to deliver high impact practical interventions that really make a difference. I would not hesitate to recommend her to any business looking to move forward in this area.”
Jonathan Gill – COO, M J Mapp
“I worked with Sarah at M J Mapp in developing the employee engagement strategy. It was an absolute privilege to work with someone who managed to balance complete professionalism and vision with interest, fun, excitement and practicality. I would whole heartedly recommend Sarah to any organisation who wants to transform their staff engagement. Sarah worked with us to develop a strategic but practical approach to engagement that we could actively implement.”
Sean Greathead – Head of People and Talent, M J Mapp
“Sarah is one of those people you can genuinely say is a real pleasure to work with. She was instrumental in helping Simply Business to win the Sunday Times Best Companies award two years running and the legacy of the initiatives introduced and culture and values embedded ensure it is an inspiring place to work. That’s reflected in the consistently high employee engagement scores which are a testament to their long-running success. She is passionate about people development and talent management and her coaching sessions were highly valued by teams and individuals within the business. I’d recommend her to anyone looking to partner with a professional who truly understands people and how to get the best from them.”
Kelly Harris – Legal & Social Impact Director, Simply Business
“Sarah is incredibly passionate about people and culture. During her time at Simply Business she introduced a number of best practices, contributing to Simply Business winning #1 Sunday Times Best Company To Work For, in 2015 and 2016. I particularly enjoyed working with Sarah on the management development programme – the highlight being the Hogan assessments and Sarah’s ability to understand team dynamics and an individual’s contribution to that team”
Ian Jones – Programme Director, Simply Business
“I feel incredibly privileged that I had the opportunity to work with Sarah at Simply Business. She is passionate about people and culture, making the workplace happy and fulfilling. She was instrumental in introducing a number of best practices which contributed to the company’s success in winning #1 ST Best Company To Work for 2 years in a row. Sarah is keen for her colleagues to realise their potential and enhance their careers, a team player and outstanding leader. Thank you Sarah for everything you have done for us.”
Petra Studholme – Head of Acquisition, Simply Business
“Sarah is one of those people you’re glad to say you’ve worked with, from the word go. A talented department head and People professional, Sarah has a gift for brightening the room and wrapping structure around the softer subjects – a growing concern for most forward-thinking brands. Thank you Sarah, I’ll continue to learn great stuff from you.”
Jessie (Warrener) Day – Head of Brand & Creative Hub, Simply Business
“There’s no doubt Sarah is very passionate about people and helping them reach their potential. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sarah, who through her skilled use of Hogan and MBTI tools, provided me with some great personal insights. Sarah’s personality is such that you can’t help but like her which is a great asset for someone doing her kind of work.”
Wayne Moore – Head of Information Security, Simply Business
“I had the pleasure of working with Sarah for a few months at Simply Business. During this time, her passion for people and achieving success through people was clear. I was particularly impressed with her facilitating skills during team building days and her use of tools such as Hogan to ensure teams work better together.”
Beatriz Montoya – Digital Marketing Director, Simply Business
“I recruited and worked with Sarah at The Digital Property Group. I can highly recommend Sarah as a Talent and Engagement specialist. Sarah is able to understand the cultural elements of a business and its people, and create a clear plan which connects employees’ goals with business objectives. Working with colleagues she defined the organisation’s values, which provided a cultural compass and behavioural framework that underpinned how our business operated, how we interacted as a team, and how we interacted with our customers. A great ‘people person’ she is also skilled in the technical aspects of Talent and Engagement having qualified in Hogan and MBTI coaching.”
Mark Milner – CEO, Landmark Information Group
“Sarah has a huge passion for the area of employee engagement and added huge value to the virtual team (of which I was executive sponsor) which drove our Culture Change programme as part of a strategic change initiative. Sarah was able to strongly represent our employees, and hold senior management to account when needed. She provided a driving force behind many deliveries and really engaged and pushed our cultural ambassador population. Sarah was also a pleasure to work with and I will miss her.”
Nick Hazell – Chief of Staff, Yahoo! Europe (until March 2010)
“Sarah is a very experienced talent development consultant who has worked on a wide range of projects to impact employee engagement, development and retention. She is passionate about making a difference and this has been evident in her work on the succession planning programme, culture programme and management development initiatives. Sarah is one of the most creative individuals I’ve worked with in addition to being a very gifted facilitator. She is a very valuable asset to any HR team!”
Carmelita Lubos – Director, Global Talent Management, Burberry
“Sarah has been a tough customer but in the best possible way. She has been very clear about what has been required to effect a major cultural shift at Yahoo and has held me to the highest standards of delivery. She is passionate about her work, highly professional and knowledgeable and has clearly built strong relationships with her internal customers.”
Professor Nick Holley – Director of CRF Learning, Corporate Research Forum
“Sarah is a passionate L&D professional. She has a strong streak of creativity and innovation, but is also very focused on getting the job done and hitting targets/achieving outcomes. Interpersonally, she was unfailingly popular at lastminute.com with tremendous people-orientation and passion for the brand. It was a loss when she left us. I would not hesitate to recommend her.”
Ian McCaig – CEO, lastminute.com (until December 2010)
“Sarah’s intellectual and interpersonal gifts made her a real pleasure to work with; her enthusiasm, creativity and energy made her a real asset to the OD team. Apart from her undoubted skills, particularly in the areas of talent management and employee engagement, Sarah’s collaborative approach, vitality and humour were real enablers in the dot.com environment.”
Stephen Marsh – Head of People Development and Engagement, AQani