Confidence doesn’t come before action. It comes from taking the step you fear. For leadership coach and communication specialist Mel Sherwood, this lesson began long before she started helping executives and teams communicate with confidence.
At just eight years old, Mel was told she would never be a singer. The comment stayed with her for years, shaping what she believed she could achieve. Yet, she eventually performed in a 1960s girl-band tribute show for six years. Today, she uses those experiences to help others overcome communication barriers and become stronger leaders.
Her journey offers a powerful lesson for entrepreneurs: growth often begins when we challenge the stories that hold us back.
Leadership Coaching: The Power of Intentional Communication
After pursuing performing arts and building corporate experience, Mel moved into learning and development in Scotland. In 2013, she left employment to start her own business. When her original business idea failed to gain traction, people began asking for her help with presentations, pitching, and public speaking. That demand shaped her current specialisation.
For 13 years, Mel has supported leaders, teams, and organisations in showing up at their best when it matters most.
“I think that’s one of the things that I’m really passionate about. The idea that confidence doesn’t come before you do something. It comes after you do it.”
Her work addresses a growing leadership challenge: professionals who avoid public speaking may eventually find themselves responsible for presenting ideas, leading meetings, and influencing teams.
In 2026, as AI increasingly shapes business communication, human connection remains essential. Leaders need more than polished presentations; they need presence, emotional awareness, and the ability to engage people.
The Red Effect: A Practical Framework for Leadership Growth
Mel’s new book, The Red Effect: How to Show Up at Your Best in the Moments That Matter, turns intentional communication into a practical leadership skill.
Her RED framework stands for Reflect, Explore, and Decide. Leaders reflect on their usual behaviour, explore alternative ways to respond, and decide how they want to show up.
As Mel explains, authenticity does not mean behaving identically in every situation. Presenting to a board requires a different approach from chatting with friends, without abandoning who you are.
This approach offers practical lessons for leadership coaching, team development, and women in leadership: self-awareness, adaptability, and deliberate action can strengthen professional influence.
Entrepreneurship, Business Growth Systems and Sustainable Scaling
Mel also understands the realities of running a small business. Decision fatigue, managing every responsibility, and determining what to outsource remain ongoing challenges.
Her advice points to a crucial growth principle: identify your strengths, protect your zone of genius, and seek support for tasks others can handle more effectively.
For coaches and entrepreneurs, this can mean clarifying an ideal client profile (ICP), refining messaging, building consistent client acquisition systems, pursuing speaking and podcast opportunities, and developing scalable processes instead of managing every task alone.
Humans of Fuzia (HOF) brings these lessons to a global thought-leadership community at the intersection of leadership, entrepreneurship, coaching, women empowerment, and socially conscious business. By sharing real journeys and practical insights, HOF helps coaches and small-business entrepreneurs learn how to grow with purpose.
Execution Tip
Before your next important meeting, write down three words describing how you want to show up. Choose one beginning with R, one with E, and one with D. Use them to guide your tone, body language, and response under pressure.
Connect with Mel Sherwood
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melsherwood/
- Website: https://www.melsherwood.com/
