Your learning and development team

We are a learning and development consultancy specialising in training, facilitation and coaching for team and leadership excellence. Trusted by organisations across sectors.

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Who we are

We’re a learning and development consultancy specialising in training, facilitation and coaching to help teams and leaders thrive. At Sharpstone Skinner, we believe people are what really make the difference in any organisation; how they think, how they connect, and how they work together.

We don’t do generic training or tick-box exercises. Instead, we create space for real learning, reflection, and growth. Whether it’s building confidence, improving relationships, or navigating change, we focus on what really matters: helping people unlock their potential and bring their best to work.

Our approach is practical, people-focused, and grounded in the real world. No fluff, no jargon just meaningful conversations, fresh thinking, and the kind of challenge that leads to lasting change.

Team Coaching

Our systemic team coaching programme helps leadership groups become leadership teams and grow in confidence and capability. Over a series of sessions, we focus on the team’s real work together with key inputs on how high performing teams operate.

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Leadership and Management Development

We offer focused support for managers and leaders to handle day-to-day challenges, boost team performance, and get things done. We’ll give you practical tools and tips that help you manage more easily, more effectively and feel more confident doing it.

Managers

Leaders

Personal Impact

Sometimes growth starts with the individual. We work with people to help them sharpen their skills, build resilience, and communicate with confidence so they can have a bigger impact at work and feel more fulfilled in what they do.

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Individual Coaching

Coaching gives current and would-be leaders the space to pause, rethink, and get clear on what’s next. Through one-on-one support, we help them tackle complex situations, see things with fresh perspectives, and move forward with confidence and purpose.

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Team Development

Strong teams don’t happen by chance. We help groups understand each other better, work more effectively together, and tackle the stuff that gets in the way so they can perform at their best. Every session is shaped around your team’s real context, focused on what matters, and built to boost trust and performance.

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Insights Discovery

Understanding yourself and others isn’t a luxury, it’s essential for success. Our Insights Discovery programmes help leaders and teams turn differences into strengths, spark collaboration, and boost performance and wellbeing.

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The face behind Sharpstone Skinner – Introducing Helena

Sharpstone Skinner is led by Helena Sharpstone, an experienced facilitator and coach who’s passionate about helping leaders and teams reach their potential. She works with a trusted network of like-minded associates who share her down-to-earth, practical approach and focus on real and impactful results.

The face behind Sharpstone Skinner

Why work with us

We help leaders and teams get results that really stick. Our approach is practical, tailored, and focused on the real challenges people face at work by turning insight into action.

Led by Helena Sharpstone and a trusted team of associates, we bring together experience, curiosity, and fresh ideas to tackle the issues that matter most.

The result? Stronger teams, confident leaders, and organisations that perform without losing sight of what really matters - their people.

Wisdom & Wit

Meetings – a welcome break or a way to break you?

Meetings have exploded from a productivity tool to an overwhelming burden. With meeting loads consuming entire workdays, we're drowning in Slack chats and Zoom calls while actual work suffers. The solution? Be ruthless: only meet when necessary, make your work visible outside meetings, and radically restructure meeting culture with shorter durations and proper scheduling gaps.

Collaboration and Other C Words

We use the word collaboration so much these days it is in danger of heading in the Bullshit Bingo direction. It’s the sort of word you keep finding on creased pieces of flipchart paper after team away days.

Clients & testimonials

We have such great clients. Here are some of the lovely things they’ve said about our work together. You can read more testimonials here.

Helena has been a great asset supporting the Foundation’s leadership development objectives with a programme ranging from helping us to roll out Insights alongside Executive Team coaching and wider staff engagement support. Helena brings great experience together with a really useful leadership toolbox to help us unlock those sticky leadership problems.

Graham Fisher, CEO, Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation

Helena supported us through a senior internal recruitment and assessment process with exceptional skill and judgement. Her structured approach, perceptive questioning, and ability to see beyond performance on the day gave us invaluable clarity. Just as importantly, her work helped ensure that candidates received thoughtful, constructive outcomes – no matter if successful or developmental. I would not hesitate to recommend her and will most definitely ask Helena to work on further assignments with us in the future.