We were approached by Teva UK to support one of their directors. Our approach is straightforward: we let the client define what success looks like, help them scaffold their enquiry and support, and challenge them to do the necessary work.  
This is how working with Steve Hearsum, Edge + Stretch's founder, was for Ryan, in his own words…

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Need + Context

“Steve made me completely rethink everything I thought I knew about leadership”

Ryan started coaching in preparation to take on a more senior leadership role, and was paired with Steve Hearsum of Edge + Stretch by his Leadership and Development colleagues. The initial brief focused on defining the leadership skills he needed to sharpen, how to lead different people in various contexts, and helping raise Ryan’s awareness of how he showed up, his approach to his work and the impact he has.  This was the start of a ten-month coaching relationship.

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The experience in Ryan’s own words

“The time I spent with Steve completely made me rethink everything: my approach, what I thought was right and wrong, and how I made people feel. The coaching broke down everything I thought I knew about leadership, then built it back up – along the way helping me learn a lot about myself and my leadership style.”

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Real-world + Impact

Having focused during the sessions on adapting and changing his approach, Ryan started to experiment and apply his learning in practice through his role at Teva UK, the world’s leading provider of generic medicines.

He commented: “As senior leaders, we often don’t ask our peers how they are feeling. Even at times when an organisation is going through a lot of changes, we might not stop to probe how others are affected. Part of my journey with Steve has been about developing the emotional intelligence to ask those questions.

I went into it with an open mind, and I have had coaching before - but this was definitely a different style: Steve takes you to places that are not always comfortable to go to. There’s a lot of reflection time and thinking, and the topics we discussed took a lot of processing.”

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Getting under the skin of things 
 

“Steve focuses on elements of yourself and things that have influenced you in ways that other coaches don’t, which can be difficult at the time – but at the end of the process you feel a lot better. Because he does go to those deeper places, you explore parts of your life that have shaped you, your leadership style, and the values you have. You find out a lot more about yourself, understanding yourself more and why you behave in certain ways. That means you can present yourself differently if needed, and bring awareness to the impact you have on others.”

Would Ryan recommend Edge + Stretch’s coaching to others?

“Steve’s approach might not be for everybody. You’ve got to be ready to really evaluate and explore the way you are – everyone has their own issues and traumas which have shaped them in certain ways, so you’ve got to be prepared to go to those places, with the view that it will ultimately benefit you, and propel you towards the goals you want to achieve. 

 

You definitely have to do it purposefully though. Steve is very good at managing the situation, helping you through and ensuring you come out of it as a different, better version of yourself. It was what I needed at that time, and that’s important – that you are matched up to the right coach, at the right time.”

 

To find out more about Edge + Stretch’s coaching for individuals, click here. Or to contact us straight away, drop us a line here.

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