Reflecting on 15 years of sprinkling magic at Pro-Development

Fifteen years. It feels both huge and somehow impossible. When I first started Pro-Development, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to create. What I could never have imagined was the journey: brave decisions, hard lessons, proud moments, tough days and plenty of magic along the way. Hand on heart, I would not change it. People have always been at the centre: helping them grow, helping leaders find confidence and helping businesses create workplaces where people feel valued, engaged and able to do their best work.

So how did it all start?

The spark came while I was working for a large global financial organisation and completing a coaching qualification. Experiencing coaching myself was life changing. It helped me see that my real passion was people: developing them, supporting culture and helping workplaces thrive.

As a farmer’s daughter from the East Riding, Yorkshire and the Humber has always had my heart. I wanted to use my experience to support local businesses. Leaving the security of a large organisation was scary, but deep down I knew I had to do it.

So, the seeds were set.

Pro-Development was founded to help local SMEs retain talent, engage and develop their people, grow leaders and teams, and create great places to work where people and businesses thrive.

The name itself came with the help of my mum, a couple of friends and, of course, some fizz. That probably says quite a lot about Pro-Development from the beginning: purposeful, people-centred and never too far away from a glass of something celebratory.

I still remember those first few weeks: sitting in the back of my garage, building a website with a friend, contacting everybody I knew and waiting for the phone to ring. Spoiler alert: it did not quite work like that.

So I got out there. I networked, met people and learnt one of my biggest lessons: building strong, genuine relationships matter. Our journey has been shaped by clients, partners, suppliers, supporters and friends who have believed in us, championed us, challenged us and grown with us.

From the start, I knew I did not want to work alone. I had a vision to grow a team — ten people, for some reason, was always in my head. I even created a vision board. Looking back, that clarity really mattered.

As the business grew, the vision started to feel real. There were bucket loads of learnings, especially the importance of staying visible, building the pipeline and never assuming people know who you are, what you do or how you can help.

Then came Forest Farm Business Park. We moved out of the garage and into a proper office – a warm, creative, slightly different home where we welcome clients, run programmes, grow the team and practise what we preach.

Our reputation continued to grow across the region, not through flashy promises, but through good work, strong relationships and showing up in the local business community.

That opened doors I am still grateful for: becoming Chair of York Professionals, winning Business Personality of the Year in 2018, returning the following year as a speaker, and then winning Small Business of the Year in 2022. Incredible moments. Slightly terrifying too.

Then came Covid. We had just had our best year ever when the world turned upside down. Most of our work was face to face and, within a week, the diary was wiped clean. It was the toughest challenge I have faced in business.

That is when a great team matters. And ours was amazing. We moved online quickly, stayed connected through daily calls and focused on helping clients lead remotely, manage change and look after their people.

By July 2020, we were back on track. By March 2021, we had achieved another best year ever. By August 2021, we had grown from five to nine people and doubled our turnover. As we launched into our 10th birthday celebrations, there was a lot to be grateful for.

And then the next five years.

The next five years have been exciting, stretching and deeply meaningful.

The world of work has changed dramatically. Flexibility, wellbeing, inclusion, retention, leadership and culture are no longer nice-to-haves. They are business critical.

That has made the work we do even more important.

Across Yorkshire and the Humber, we have helped businesses understand what their people really think and feel, develop stronger managers and leaders, and turn insight into practical action.

In the past year alone, we have supported 1,570 people and 83 businesses. Since launching Remarkable Leadership, we have developed 119 leaders. Our Employee Engagement workshops have reached over 1,200 attendees across 85 sessions.

But the numbers only tell part of the story. The real impact is people growing in confidence, leaders finding their voice, teams rebuilding trust and businesses becoming stronger because their people feel heard, valued and engaged. As one client said, “The impact of the recommendations is transformational.” Another told us that, without our support, “we may have lost key staff members.” That is the magic.

I am hugely proud of our programmes too, especially the Remarkable Leadership Programme. Through experiential learning, outdoor activities, reflection, feedback and 1:1 coaching, we have seen leaders grow in confidence, find their authentic voice and make real change back at work. Some have described it as “truly life changing”.

We have grown our work around employee engagement, management development, coaching, mentoring, team development, wellbeing, inclusion and culture. More recently, funded work and partnerships have helped us support businesses who may not otherwise have accessed this level of development.

Partnership has become a bigger part of our story too. We work alongside brilliant people and organisations who share our values and care about making a difference. The right people, working together, create far greater impact.

And then there is our own team.

I feel incredibly lucky to work with inspiring, like-minded and passionate people. We are now the team I imagined all those years ago, and I am so proud of the culture we have created together.

It is not perfect, because no workplace is. But it is real: full of care, creativity, humour, honesty, hard work and heart. We live our values of being trusted, vibrant, creative and making a difference.

A huge part of the last five years has been having Tracey alongside me as my business partner. Sharing the thinking, responsibility, ideas, decisions and laughter has made such a difference. Running a business can feel lonely at times. Having the right people beside you matters.

Introducing a Business Development Manager 18 months ago was another big step. Nicola has been a fantastic addition, helping us share our message with more businesses across the region and taking pressure off me along the way.

Looking back, I feel proud: of the businesses we have supported, the leaders we have helped grow, the relationships we have built, the team we have created, the challenges we have overcome and the difference we have made.

And of course, a bucket load of lessons.

The lessons? Stay true to your vision. Know your values and live them. Build relationships before you need them. Keep showing up. Surround yourself with people who care. Be brave enough to grow but grounded enough to know who you are. And enjoy the journey.

Leaving school, I did not have a grand plan. I did not do A levels or go to university like many of my friends. But I stayed open, challenged myself and followed the opportunities that felt right.

That journey led me here.

So what comes next?

More impact. More learning. More partnerships. More adventures. More opportunities to support businesses who care about their people and want to create workplaces where everyone can thrive.

As we celebrate 15 years, I feel incredibly grateful: to our amazing team, our clients, partners, suppliers, friends and supporters. Most of all, I am grateful that all those years ago, sitting in the back of my garage, I was brave enough to begin.

Here’s to 15 years of Pro-Development.

And here’s to everything still to come.

Michelle Mook
September 2026