Research technical professionals at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) carry out vital work: identifying cancer genes, discovering new cancer drugs and revolutionising radiotherapy. Recognising the intrinsic link between collaboration, influencing, communication and the effectiveness of individual and team practices, the ICR asked Edge + Stretch to run several workshops for their staff.

Here, Aline – who was the Programme Manager during the project – explains the impact of Steve Hearsum’s sessions, why his approach was the right fit for the ICR, and offers a tale that demonstrates clearly why ‘off the shelf’, content-heavy programmes are not what leads to impactful learning.

 

Programme Design + Impact

Aline said: “I was looking to bring in an expert to talk about leadership and influence, and my manager suggested Steve, as he had previously worked with him. He was very easy to speak to, and keen to listen to exactly what we needed. When I spoke to other consultancies, it felt like they were trying to push me towards a programme they already had established – whereas Steve was happy to work together to figure out how the workshops would look, and what the approach would be, to suit our specific needs and the scientific lens from which we would need to approach the module.”

Multiple partners ran workshops for the ICR and the other organisations involved in the project, namely UCL, The Crick, Imperial and King’s College London. Rather than a lecture-style format, the Edge + Stretch sessions were designed to focus on engaging and inspiring attendees, increasing their awareness of the dynamics of influencing in relation to collaboration, as well as building responsive (rather than reactive) capacity.

This approach worked well, with feedback from all workshops – each attended by a mixed cohort of experience levels within the ICR – being overwhelmingly positive. Responses from the first workshop showed that 96% found the module engaging, 93% felt inspired to apply their learning in practice, and 89% would recommend it to a colleague. 

“Steve was really good at engaging with each of the cohorts – he pushed all of them to increase their self-awareness, and there were multiple opportunities for reflection in smaller groups. For me, that’s preferable to sitting down listening to someone talk all day using lots of presentation slides.”

 

Style

Reflecting on contexts for which Steve’s approach would be ideal, Aline added:

 

“If you need something dynamic, where you want people to do more of the thinking, then Steve is perfect. He tries to stretch people and get them thinking, rather than just giving them the information.

One of the main things we wanted to get out of it was around self-awareness and growth, and that really came out during the workshops as a result of the focus on reflection and discussion.

 

What I like about working with Steve is that he’s happy to adjust things as he goes, as he listens to suggestions and is relaxed about adapting to any situation. I have since moved roles within the ICR but I have recommended that the programme continues, with Steve on board for future modules.”

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To find out more about Edge + Stretch work with organisations to support practice development, click here. Or to contact us straight away, drop us a line here.