Don’t Take Our Word For It!
We are all about impact.
Here you can discover how we have helped our clients achieve more than they ever thought was possible, whether they’ve been a business leader, a program participant or one of our coaching clients.
View From The Top
“Polaris are the full stack equivalent of Learning & Development. What is remarkable about their work is the clarity and consistency of its impact. They are addressing the unique challenges and high-pressure environments of scaling companies – in a very human way.
David constructed the most compelling and coherent coaching (and broad L&D program) here; expert insights, expertly implemented and consequently effective - at a personal level and at an organisation level.“
C-Suite Leading Fintech
“Polaris adopted an incredibly strategic approach to developing the right learning solutions for the business – not just for now – but for the future.
The Leadership Development experiences they created were uniformly exceptional. Leaders across the company reported how challenging, insightful, provocative, thought-provoking, as well as enlightening they were.
As a Chief People Officer, what impressed me most was both the instant impact of these initiatives coupled with their relentless focus on making learning stick to enable future growth.”
Chief People Officer - Europe’s Fastest Growing Company
“David and I worked closely together at one of the UK's foremost fintech businesses, where he led L&D. David's execution-oriented approach to talent development has bridged capability gaps and unleashed growth beyond expectations. He's one of the most insightful thinkers I've come across, and leverages his candour, humour, and interpersonal skills to maximise the potential of everyone he works with, measuring his own success by the successes of those he supports.
His Leadership and L&D programs truly catalyse execution, reinvigorate culture and retain key talent. Among his most impressive achievements was to deliver a bespoke leadership programme which equipped dozens of our colleagues to take on progressively more responsibility and to enhance not just company growth, but culture. I'd strongly recommend David to any organisation looking to drive positive change, and I would eagerly hire him again in future.”
Chief Operating Officer - $6BN Private Equity Company
“I highly recommend Polaris for their exceptional leadership development work – which made a significant and lasting impact on my senior management team at our company. Polaris’s leadership development workshops are truly inspiring, compelling, efficient and, most importantly, productive. Their virtual workshops and experiences were thought provoking, engaging, fun and interactive.
As a Founder and CEO, what impressed me most, was how Polaris captured the imagination of the team and how excited they were to take their learning forward into their roles as leaders. Polaris are always there to support us through any challenges we have and genuinely care for our team's personal growth and development.
If you want to improve your team's leadership skills and gain insights that are pushing the boundaries of talent development, Polaris are the right choice for you.”
Founder & CEO - Leading Games Company
What Our Leadership Program Participants Say
“Hands down the most inspiring program I have ever attended! I was very pleasantly surprised about how much I learned and the impact it has had on how I lead.”
CMO – Leading Global Defence Organisation
“The Polaris team are inspirational - awesome energy and content.”
VP - Europe’s Fastest Growing Start-Up
“Amazing – an excellent course - I've been challenged to think more deeply and understand the needs people have of me, and how I can rise to meet them.”
Lead Product Designer - Fintech Top 10
“An unbelievable learning experience.“
“I’m very thankful to be a part of your great workshops, we did a lot of amazing and inspiring things”
Art Director - Europe’s Fastest Growing Start-Up
“The course allowed me to observe, try, and put into practice new styles of leadership, coaching, and management which I'd previously not been aware of. The practical sessions were genuinely very useful and eye-opening. The frameworks will also be extremely useful to me going forwards.”
Director of Engineering – Leading Fintech
”I gained a heightened awareness of the practices and skills of a leader - but more than this - I was able to specifically apply them, reflect on my own individual experience, and leadership style, so I stay true to my identity.”
Tech Lead – Software Development Scale-up
Coaching Success
“David has worked with me to support my journey. David has a very personable approach and from the first moment, I felt at ease and relaxed enough to be open and honest with him and myself. David has a wealth of experience both in business and as a stand-alone coach, bringing real-life experience in the Talent / L&D / Leadership Development arena, which adds an extra dimension to him. His approach is pragmatic practical, natural in style and his business experience adds a different element as he can put himself in your shoes. That said he will challenge you - but this is always done in a caring manner, he will get you to think about what you want and be real with yourself. What I would say is, there are many coaches out there (and I have met a few) if you want a coach that stands out from the crowd then David is your man. I would recommend him a million times over. So drop him a message and see for yourself..”
Chief People Officer - Global Financial Services Company
“David provided a rare combination of executive business coaching with in-depth leadership development, change management, sales enablement and psychological knowledge.
Depending on the topic at hand, David offered practical, to-the-point suggestions, while at the same time triggering broader introspection for me as a revenue generating leader.
After an initial executive coaching programme, organised through my company, I quickly engaged him on a private basis.
Touching base regularly with David was been instrumental in my growth as a leader of large commercial teams - and how my teams experience my leadership.”
SVP Global Commercial Operations
“David worked with me individually for over a year as a CEO Founder. Despite working with several coaches in my corporate career, before starting my own venture, and somewhat 'suspicious' of the real value of using external coaches, from the moment I met him I could see he was very different to those I'd encountered before.
I was quickly impressed with his approach and skill as an executive coach - he is challenging, candid and encouraging all at once. His incredibly pragmatic approach really cut through to the heart of some of the challenges I, and my leadership team, were experiencing growing our business. We were so impressed that we asked him to create a 1-day coaching program for our managers. This guy is the real deal - I cannot recommend him highly enough.“
CEO - Leading Fintech
“David was recommended to me by a fellow COO in another company. Like other executives I am besieged by approaches from so called expert coaches. I met with David and, in that first meeting, was blown away by his knowledge, passion and approach to coaching. He doesn't just turn up, ask some questions and maybe share some resources, he creates a full bespoke program for you - founded on what he calls the 'mindset, skill-set, tool-set' approach to coaching. He truly transformed the way I thought about my business, my role leading the business, and the type of leader I had to be. It was truly transformative - he gave me the courage to face up to some of the hard things I had been avoiding - then helped me work through each of them - to change for the better.
Because David has been 'in the hot-seat' as a senior leader himself, comes from a talent development background, and has such a wealth of hard earned experience, he is an another level as a coach. “
Chief Operating Officer - EdTech
“I had originally planned to work with David only for a short coaching engagement several years ago. I still retain him as my coach today.
He has helped my through some huge transitions, as well as help me just be a better leader with my own leadership teams.
What I like is his 'line of sight' as a coach - yes he supports me on what’s happening here and now in the business, - but pushes me to ‘think up’, work on the business and myself. His approach has enabled me to successfully turn around 2 organisations - from being in precarious positions to significant growth.
I will continue to value his insight, expertise and care - I have never once felt like a 'client'.“
Interim COO - VC & PE Backed Organisations
“David coached me for 6 months, a few years ago, in my role as a VP of Engineering at a leading software development company, I'm now a CTO in a rapidly growing, and therefore highly changeable dynamic environment - and have re-engaged him to support me and my Engineering Managers on a host of matters.
I find working with David extremely positive and fruitful - he very skilfully helped me to identify, reframe and clarify key personal development and career objectives that have had profound impact on my career - and life.
Where David really comes into his own is that he has the experience, background and imagination skill to see you through the entire coaching journey - through utilising resources, but also his network and really creative ap
proach. He is a joy to spend time with, bold, passionate, caring - but also very real. And this is why I will continue to work with him and utilise his considerable ability with my team. Simply fantastic.”
Chief Technology Officer - Global E-Commerce Company
Our work is renowned for being truly transformative - this is because we deliver innovative, inspiring, impactful learning experiences which deliver immediate & enduring results at the individual, team and organisational levels
Become Our Next Success Story
All great things start from a conversation. Maybe you’re not entirely sure what you need, that’s fine, we’re happy to explore it with you.
Get in touch for an informal conversation about how we might be able to support you and your team.
E: discover@polaris-talent.co.uk
