BOLD | CURIOUS | INTUITIVE
The person
behind the
coaching.
Engineer. Aerospace industry leader. Executive coach.
I didn't study people. I led them - across international programmes, complex supply chains, and high-stakes environments where getting it wrong had real consequences.
What I bring into the coaching room isn't just a framework. It's twenty years of knowing what leadership actually demands - and what it costs when the system underneath it isn't working.
SARAH NEEDHAM
Executive Coach & Advisor
ICF PCC · Gallup Certified
ICF - PCC
GALLUP CERTIFIED
FORBES COACHES COUNCIL
SINCE 2019
MY STORY
I've been in the room. I know what it costs.
I spent the first part of my career in aerospace. Engineering, design, international programmes, high-stakes environments where precision wasn't optional. And I learned something no leadership course teaches: the technical problem is rarely the real problem.
The real problem is almost always human.
I crossed into coaching because I realised there had to be better ways to have these conversations than the ones corporate power structures allow.
I also know what it costs personally when you're trying to meet every expectation the system places on you - and have nobody you can be honest with about what that's doing to you.
I work with a small number of clients at a time.
Depth, trust, and attention are a priority.
Since founding Unique-U in 2019, I've worked with C-suite leaders, leadership teams, and founders navigating the problems that don't make the agenda. The politics shaping every decision. The culture everyone can feel and nobody names.
What my clients value most isn't just the structure. It's the directness. The willingness to name what's in the room. And the fact that I've been there myself.
COACHING ACCREDITATION
ICF · Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
International Coaching Federation
Co-Active Professional Coach (CPCC)
Co-Active Training Institute
Organisational Relationship Systemic Coach (ORSC) trained
STRENGTHS CERTIFICATION
Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach
Leaders & Leadership Teams
PUBLISHING & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Forbes Coaches Council
Regular contributor on leadership & strengths
ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION
CEng · Chartered Engineer
Associate Member · Royal Aeronautical Society
BUSINESS CERTIFICATION
Certified B Corp™ · Since 2022
Part of a global movement working to benefit people and the planet.
WHAT I DO
Areas of expertise.
Executive Leadership Coaching
You're navigating something that can't go on the agenda. This is where we surface it - and put it to use.
CliftonStrengths® Coaching
Understand what makes you uniquely effective - and start using it deliberately. Available for individuals and leadership teams.
Leadership Team Coaching
The most expensive team in your organisation has almost certainly never been deliberately designed. We change that.
Founder Coaching
You built something significant. Now your leadership style and the culture you build is the thing most likely to determine whether it lasts.
BACKGROUND
The background that makes this work different.
EDUCATION & LANGUAGES
The foundation.
EDUCATION
Engineering foundations
BEng Materials Engineering, Loughborough · PGCert Aerospace, Bristol · CEng accreditation
International Aerospace
Design, production, supply chain and large-scale international programmes. High-stakes environments. Real consequences.
People & Organisational Leadership
Leading international teams through complexity, change, and competing stakeholder demands.
2019 - Founded Unique-U
Executive coaching & advisory. ICF PCC ·
Gallup Certified · Forbes Coaches Council ·
Certified B Corp™ · Europe & international.
Materials Engineering & Management (BEng)
Loughborough University, UK
Aerospace Design, Manufacture & Management (PGCert)
University of Bristol, UK
Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC)
Co-Active Training Institute
ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
International Coaching Federation
LANGUAGES
GB
ENGLISH
NATIVE
DE
GERMAN
SPOKEN
The higher the stakes, the more important it becomes to see clearly. That's what this work is for.
- Sarah Needham, Unique-U