“I was finally being recognised for my speciality”

Emma Bell-Davies remembers bursting into tears on the last day of her executive coaching course in autumn 2022. She had travelled from North Wales to London to study, and had been living in a hostel in order to save money, throwing herself into the intensive training. 

What hit her was the realisation that she was going to have to go back to doing her process-led management role, away from developing people. “I knew the role I was doing just wasn’t for me. It was hurting me, I really disliked it and I couldn’t see a way out.” 

Emma describes herself as a “people person”, but she had spent 20 years working in an industry – energy – that valued its scientists and specialists while not really recognising management and leadership skills to the same extent. 

She eventually found a way out by making her own role redundant, but it was a “hard and very lonely road. Redundancy gave me so much self-doubt, especially as a leader. Everybody thinks you don’t have the same emotions as everyone else.”