NEWS: Our new guide 'The Exceptional Scale-Up CEO' is now available.  Click here for more information and to download.

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Whether it's developing the leadership in your organisation, 1:1 developmental support, or development to help other's grow.  Book a complementary discovery call with us now.

Who are the IAD?

Leadership Development

Unlock the potential of exceptional leadership

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Facilitation

Conduct exceptional strategy sessions

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Hello!

We are Sean Ellis and Darren Stevens

As a business leader, you want to make the most favourable choices for your business - the choices that promote agility, resilience, and sustainability, the choices that give your business the competitive edge, the choices that inspire.


As a Coach, this is what you want for your clients.


But it’s difficult to do this confidently in the uncertain, demanding environment of modern enterprise - What if conditions changed? What if I’ve misunderstood the situation? What if I make the wrong choice?


There is one easy answer to reducing the frequency, intensity and impact of the anxiety of uncertainty that we all feel from time to time.


Our evidence based approach develops the quality of your thinking, making you more at ease with uncertainty and change, enabling you to more confidently make the choices required to grow your, or your client's business sustainably.

Why work with the IAD?

Here's what some of our clients think about us

"A great few sessions with Sean, who helped structure my thought process and put me on a better path towards clarity.” 

Luke Farran - Co-Founder

“Personally I would choose only coaches who passes this training successfully.”

H. Arne Maus - Author/Entrepreneur

"You [Dr Stevens] are creating a revolution in leadership understanding and practice"

Brian Cunningham - CEO & Leadership Author

“Working with Sean has changed my perception of what coaching can be. It felt really good and not what I expected.” 

Jim Bulmer - Founder

Blog

Burnout Is a Fit Problem, Not a Wellness Problem

by Sean Ellis • 12 July 2025
Burnout is rising despite record investment in workplace wellness. This article reframes burnout not as a failure of resilience, but as a structural misfit between an individual’s cognitive complexity and their role demands.

Bridging the AI–Culture Chasm: Why Tech-Ready ≠ People-Ready

by Sean Ellis • 28 June 2025
As AI adoption accelerates across mid-sized organisations, a critical gap is emerging: cultural readiness. This article explores why leadership capability—not technology—is now the top barrier to AI success. Drawing on insights from McKinsey and Node4, it reveals how misaligned thinking across business and IT teams sta

Growing Agile OD: Cutting Change-Cycle Time Without Losing People Along the Way

by Sean Ellis • 16 June 2025
Discover how mid-market scale-ups can cut change-cycle time in half without exhausting their people. This article introduces Growing Agile OD, a practical approach rooted in the 2025 Journal of Organization Design manifesto. Learn why traditional change models are too slow, how Agile OD Sprints deliver monthly developmental wins, and how DIDS diagnostics act as your strategic backlog. Perfect for Heads of Organisational Development navigating transformation fatigue, it shows how to shift from structural overload to adaptive flow.