About - Opportunity Global

Home / About

Our Story

We see it constantly, brilliant technical experts get promoted into leadership roles with zero support. No training on having difficult conversations. No guidance on building psychological safety. Just a new title and a ‘good luck.’

The research is clear, your manager influences your mental health more than your doctor or therapist. Think about that for a moment.

These essential human skills aren’t just for managers. Whether you’re leading a team or contributing to one, knowing how to communicate effectively, handle difficult conversations, and build trust isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s critical for success.

Who We Are

We’re a team of learning and development professionals who’ve equipped over 10,000 leaders across SMEs and global organisations with practical leadership skills. Not because we’ve read about it in books – because we’ve lived it. We’ve scaled businesses, closed them, burned out, and built them back up.

And no, we don’t do “soft skills” training (we’re actually on a mission to ban that phrase). We develop human skills with the same rigour as technical skills. Because that’s what actually transforms workplaces.

How We Work

Leadership Isn't Just for Managers

Leadership development shouldn’t be reserved for those with the right title or pay grade.

Whether you’re leading a team, contributing to one, or thinking about leadership for the future – you need human skills to succeed.

This isn’t about job titles.

It’s about everyone having the tools to:

Have those difficult conversations.
Give and receive feedback (even the stuff that makes you uncomfortable!)
Listen effectively, really listen, not just waiting for your chance to speak
Show up as their true self at work

The most in-demand skills for 2025 aren’t technical – they’re human. And everyone deserves access to these skills, not just those with ‘manager’ in their title.

Our Approach

Every programme we design answers one question: “What could someone do with this tomorrow?”

We specialise in turning technical experts into exceptional people leaders, particularly in engineering, manufacturing, and tech companies. Why? Because we’ve seen firsthand how brilliant people struggle when they’re promoted without support.

What we deliver:

Tools you can implement in your next meeting.
Approaches proven by thousands of leaders like you.
Practical solutions for your difficult conversations.
Clear ways to measure your impact.

Who We Work With

We create the most impact with organisations who:

Recognise that technical expertise alone doesn’t make a great leader.

Want practical solutions their managers can use tomorrow.

Are ready to invest in human skills as seriously as technical training.

Believe in creating cultures where people actually want to stay.

Our Case Studies

Our Impact
Beyond Business

Running a business isn’t enough – we believe in creating wider impact.

Here’s how we’re putting that belief into action:

Our Commitments

We align everything we do with UN Sustainability Goals and are active participants in UNWomen UK.

This isn’t just about ticking boxes – it shapes our supply chain, guides our decisions, and drives our community action.

Global Impact

We’re creating change where it matters:

Building leadership capacity for female leaders in Africa and Azerbaijan.
Participate in UNWomen initiatives and CSW global summit.
Developing leadership skills inside UK prisons.
Supporting young leaders to step into their potential.

Local Action

Running TEDxTeesside, bringing local voices to a global stage.
Backing the Power of Women campaign.
Creating practical opportunities for leadership development in our community.
Pro bono hours volunteering our expertise with causes we love like mentoring and investing in female founders, supporting ReportOut and their Safer to be Me Conference.

How We Work

Direct investment in social change initiatives.
Opening our networks to create opportunities for others.
Making leadership development accessible to everyone.
Measuring actual impact, not just good intentions.

Because when we invest in human skills, we’re not just developing better leaders – we’re building better workplaces, communities, and opportunities for everyone.

Our Team

We believe in practicing what we preach – building a team of specialists who bring their whole selves to work. No buzzwords or jargon, just real people making an impact.

Michaela Reaney

Founder

Michaela transforms technical experts into exceptional leaders through practical, evidence-backed approaches. She’s equipped over 10,000 leaders across global organisations with real-world skills that work.

When she’s not developing leaders in manufacturing, tech, and engineering, she’s creating wider impact through running TEDxTeesside. She brings every hard-won lesson from building, selling (and even closing) a business into developing leaders who make workplaces better for everyone.

Michaela is a regular keynote speaker. If you’d like to book her for your next event or team away day, you can find out more here.

Speaker Reel

Emily is our action taker and idea builder. She transforms concepts into reality, designing learning experiences that actually work in the real world.

Whether it’s developing content or building the tech to deliver it, Emily makes sure everything we create drives genuine impact.

Emily

Learning Design & Technology Lead

Yvette ensures our work reaches the people who need it most. She turns ideas into solid go-to-market strategies and keeps our message clear and authentic. Because great programs only create impact when they reach the right people.

Yvette

Marketing Strategy Lead

We’ve built a network of specialists who step in to deliver specific expertise when our clients need it. This means you always get the right expert at the right time, without the corporate overhead.

Our Associates

Andrea

Learning & Development Lead

Andrea guides people through our programmes with the kind of expertise that only comes from doing this work for decades. She’s trained leaders at Amazon, the NHS, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but she’ll tell you her real expertise comes from spending nearly ten years as a Training Manager with Hyatt International Hotels.

A qualified teacher who believes in making every session practical and actionable.

Emma

Community & Events Lead

Emma is the force behind our TEDx events and community building. She’s the reason everything runs smoothly behind the scenes, coordinating the countless moving pieces that keep our initiatives moving forward.