Sharon Wright
Sharon Wright is an Empowered-Voice Coach.
She tells us that, “I’m a wife and mum to two daughters and a dog called Nubi. My particular purpose and angle in life is supporting others to feel empowered by knowing their authentic voice and feeling super confident to use it wisely. From teaching music to a classroom of teens, through coaching start-ups and entrepreneurs, to managing a HR department and directing a UK compliance and accounting company, my skills and experience lend themselves to supporting female leaders in their communication skills, especially by helping them to discover their authentic, confident and empowered voice and to express themselves from their deep inner wisdom.”
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your Entrepreneur journey/venture/initiative.
I was a very musical child with a big voice. Over the years my voice was censored by bullies and I learned to manipulate my voice to be nice, good, right and so on. I suffered many throat problems as a teen and young adult but around my 40’s I started to work on a very powerful technique that led me to discover my true voice, purpose and passion. I started my working life teaching English and music. I left the UK in the 90’s to live in Madrid in Spain where I taught full time. After the recession in 2008 when my husband lost his business, we came back to the UK where I began working for a compliance company setting up Spanish subsidiaries and providing payroll/accounting services. As the company grew, I studied HR management (CIPD level 5) and worked my way up to eventually directing the company when the CEO took partial retirement. I also studied transformational coaching at the same time to aid my work. During the pandemic, the company suffered tremendously and I started working remotely as a coach and copywriter/content creator for the coaching company I had studied with. I volunteered as a coach to help start-ups and individuals during this difficult time and many of those I supported became long-term clients. This helped me to transition to being a full time coach and freelance writer.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say YES, go for it!”
It was my younger daughter who had a lot of anxiety problems as a teen. We later discovered that she had ADHD, but at the time, there wasn’t much information or awareness of that. I would sit with her and ask what was in the way of her inner joy and we would do some vocal exercises together that were very somatic and meditative. She responded so well to this, that I began supporting some of her friends and it grew from there. Back in 2004 I studied naturopathy and I was always really fascinated in the body’s ability to heal and the wisdom of this. I also realised how the energetic quality of our thoughts and feelings play such a huge role in how we communicate and relate with others and this was such a key part of taking care of my family and myself during that time and ever since.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
In a world where we call so many abnormal things normal, I guess my call has been to reestablish harmony between the mind, body and the less tangible (call it what you will).
Currently I’m supporting female leaders to regain their authentic, empowered voices so they can feel confident to be themselves and redefine success on their terms without burning out from the need to prove their worth.
In a world where we call so many abnormal things normal, I guess my call has been to reestablish harmony between the mind, body and the less tangible (call that what you will).
Holding oneself back has become the ‘normal’. The bullying can be so subtle it’s hardly noticed and don’t forget that the bully is also within each one of us. However, an empowered voice releases the authentic magnificence of each person to be all they truly are in the world – now that’s true purpose.
I love to work with people to be aware of all that stops them from feeling courageous and unapologetic without becoming something that they are not.
I honour how the voice is delicate, gentle, tender yet powerful and authoritative in its essence and how truth brings people to realisation, responsibility, acceptance and understanding.
I work with people to be aware of conditions and expectations that distance them from relationships at work and in their personal lives, helping leaders to fully embrace themselves and get the most out of their teams.
The whole process is deeply healing on a practical level but also on a vibrational one – the voice is a vibration after all, and its quality of intention is a powerful force within your whole instrument body AND in the harmonisation of relationships.
In a nutshell – Fall in love with your voice and you fall in love with yourself and that makes for a very powerful leader.
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
Achievement is found in every single interaction with another when it is a true, authentic space that is held and there is presence and observation at its most profound to allow for evolving relationships. I feel that this is something that exists in my sessions. I hold every client as a magnificent, resourceful and powerful human being – there may be some things to get out of the way, but the true essence is what I see – that is my measure of achievement. I could talk about accolades, but for me, these are not as important.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
Absolutely. The change I would like to see in the world is simply this – Stop the striving for perfection and embrace the truth of all that you are – you already are magnificent even if you don’t often see it. There are so many distractions that stop us from seeing it – there is a whole society that champions what we do without ever appreciating what we ARE. Turn your attention within – that’s where the magic is – and then, when you’ve found it – take it out into the world and share it with others.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. What are your thoughts about women leadership today?
I have experienced obvious bullying from men and women and I’ve also witnessed the subtle , which is so much harder to prove. I would rather be punched in the face than have the subtle bullying – at least you know where you stand. Women have a whole variety of subtle bullying, sometimes in a so-called innocent comment that undermines a woman’s worth in her role and sometimes from her own inner-critic that has harboured subtle comments from when she was a child – the expectations and conditions upon what she is meant to be and how she should express herself – the result – perhaps a hardened warrior who struggles to connect with her colleagues or the imposter syndrome self-doubting and over-thinking that can plague leaders with. Either way, women need to embrace both their delicate sacredness and their powerful authority – I think it’s like a rose – so delicate yet so powerful in its communication.
What would you want to say to our young leaders/audience reading this?
Presence is key. Don’t lose yourself to the distractions around you. Believe in your power even when things around you don’t always support you. Be self-loving/self-caring. It’s all too easy to try and drive ourselves into a frenzy of competitive action that leaves us feeling depleted, exhausted and keeps the cycle going around and around. Stay like the eye of the hurricane – still and observing and don’t lessen yourself to please others or give your power away as well as staying humble and aware of all that you must be open to in order to evolve as a magnificent leader.