Practice Lab
9—11 November 2026
Exploring who you are and how you (really) show up with your clients / Going beyond the rhetoric of ‘self as instrument’
with Steve Hearsum & John Hill
Who this is for
Leaders and practitioners - both highly experienced and those earlier in their journey - who know who they are, what they do, and how they do it, yet remain deeply curious as to how, exactly, they show up in the room.
This is a space to explore your practice and dig around in the undergrowth. It is specifically aimed at people who want to move past the theory and explore what it means to be genuinely reflexive.
It also offers an opportunity to explore what it might mean to augment your practice with AI and the impact on your client work. This element is designed for those who are enthusiastic, skeptical, cynical, fearful and everything in between about the role AI might play in change work.
Your facilitators
Steve Hearsum
Consultant, coach + author
Steve supports and challenges clients to find their edge and stretch when what they need is more than simply "better sameness." He has been described as “the right kind of fly in your ointment.” Much of his work is with senior leadership teams wrestling with change, and change practitioners developing consulting and Organisation Development (OD) skills.
He is the author of No Silver Bullet, which explores the functional collusion that creates dependency on a myth—namely, that there can ever be a quick fix or certain solution for complex problems.
John Hill
Coach + facilitator
John is an experienced executive coach, team coach and leadership development specialist who has worked with leaders, coaches and teams for over 20 years. A former director of the Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC), he is an accredited Executive Coach, Systemic Team Coach and Coach Supervisor.
His work brings a systemic and reflective lens to leadership, coaching and team development, creating space for people to explore complexity, challenge their thinking and deepen their professional practice.
What is this workshop really about?
Creating a space for unpacking you and your practice, and looking at yourself and ‘it’ both critically and with compassion - always with one eye on the client.
The structure
Part 1 (days 1+2)
Locating your edge
The first two days are an opportunity to work on what lies beneath the polish of your professional persona. We will work to:
Understand the meaning-making that informs your practice.
Explore how your professional identity has been formed.
Uncover what might be in and out of your awareness, and learn how that is experienced by others.
Explore the gaps (if any) between how you think you show up, and how you actually do.
Part 2 (day 3)
The stretch
The third day is built around real, live casework with participants and, where possible, ‘live’ clients brought in from the outside.
You will get a chance to consult to others and experiment with how the live use of AI shapes your client work.
We will help you explore how this technology influences your experience of self, your self-narrative, and your identity as a practitioner and a human being.
The AI Prompt: Does augmentation help, erode, expand, amplify, or shrink your presence? Or - to pull the thread of the 'silver bullet'- are you using AI to bypass the anxiety of not knowing, escaping the hard, messy, reflexive human work?
This work is supported by deep reflection prior to attending, and may offer the opportunity for an ongoing community of practice.
Expect
To engage in deep reflection and genuine reflexivity.
To explore what lies beneath the surface of who you think and feel you are as a practitioner.
To get "in the moment," live data about your practice.
Don’t expect
Self-indulgent, meandering, ‘self as instrument’ inquiry. (see below)
Endless slide decks and content.
Easy answers.
Why this matters
Because too often, critical reflection and developing oneself as an instrument runs the risk of shying away from the ‘work proper’ of practice development. We cannot ask our clients to go places we have not been. To tune your self as an instrument means working on your own messiness and shadow. This Practice Lab sits directly at that intersection of work on self, practice, and real impact on clients.
What you'll walk away with
A clearer understanding of the ground you stand on.
Knowing where your current edge in your practice lies, and the stretch you may need to undertake next in your own learning.
A community of practice that has a shared, lived experience to build on.
A signed copy of No Silver Bullet.
Practical details
Date
9—11 November 2026
Three full days
Location
Belfast (TBC)
In person
Format
Morning + afternoon sessions
Lunch and refreshments provided
Pricing
Use code EARLYBIRD for a 10% discount - Valid until 14 September
Part 1: Days 1 & 2
Locating your edge
£550
Part 2: Day 3
The Stretch
£250
Days 1, 2 & 3
Full Workshop
£750
If you've been trying to solve your way out of a world that won't sit still, it's probably time to look at what you're entangled with instead.
We’d love you to join us.
John trades as Gort Luis Ltd,
a company registered in Northern Ireland.
Registered Office
216-218 Upper Newtownards Road
Belfast BT4 1PD
Registration No. NI627534
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