SARAH FURNESS
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About
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SARAH FURNESS
Home
About
Press kit and resources
Contact
More
  • Home
  • About
  • Press kit and resources
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Press kit and resources
  • Contact

Meet Sarah Furness

The trusted global authority on leadership and performance in high-pressure environments, recognised for her ability to translate extreme experience into practical insight for modern organisations.

After graduating from Cambridge University, Sarah spent over 20 years as a Royal Air Force combat helicopter pilot, leading teams on operational tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Squadron Leader, she became the first female helicopter pilot to fly and lead UK Special Forces missions in Iraq. Alongside her military career, she trained as a mindfulness coach and human factors facilitator, translating lessons from the battlefield directly into the boardroom. 


Today, Sarah is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and executive coach, known for combining credibility with humility and humour. Fluent in high-performance cultures and grounded in real-world experience, she equips leaders and teams with practical tools including her Practise Scared and HABITS methodologies to perform with calm, clarity, and consistency in the moments that matter most.

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The PRACTISE SCARED philosophy

Practise Scared is a practical approach to performing under pressure that shifts the focus from confidence to capability. It recognises that fear is not something to eliminate, but something to work with. Built through small, consistent actions in everyday work - not just high-stakes moments - and strengthened through reflection and debriefing, Practise Scared helps individuals and teams learn from mistakes, build psychological safety, and develop competence they can rely on when it matters most

"If you don't yet have the confidence..find the courage."

Learn more about Practise Scared

Reviews

Working with Sarah Furness

It's YOUR Passion Project, not ours

Stories are fun, and there will be plenty of those, but you don't just need entertainment, you need results, right?  Sarah will spend time with you understanding your objectives and ambition, what's going to get in the way of achieving that ambition and how to work together to  tackle that.  Each talk is specially curated to help you achieve your ambition, and solve your biggest challenges. 

Keynote and Speaking Engagements

 If you’re looking to shift how your people think and perform under pressure, Sarah’s keynotes deliver practical, experience-backed frameworks your teams can apply immediately. Each talk is tailored to your organisation, your challenges, and the environment your people are operating in -But this is NOT about lecturing you about what you should do differently, it’s a mindset shift that will enable you to view and solve old or stubborn problems in new ways.

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Executive coaching and Leadership development

For leaders navigating complexity, visibility, and high-stakes decision-making, Sarah offers deeper one-to-one and small group work. This is where thinking is challenged, patterns are identified, and new ways of operating are built over time through practice and reflection.

enquire about coaching

Courageous Conversations and Team sessions

Beyond the keynote, Sarah facilitates honest, high-value conversations inside organisations. From leadership panels, fireside chats to structured team sessions, this work helps embed the principles of Practise Scared into real business challenges and decisions.

Bring this to your team

Sustained allyship and "debriefing"

This isn’t a “fire and forget” mission. Performance improves through reflection, not just action. Sarah offers ongoing support to help teams debrief, learn from experience, and maintain momentum after the initial engagement. This includes follow-ups, resources, and continued partnership to ensure progress doesn’t fade.

For years I yearned to be described as nice. These days I've learned to settle for impressive.

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