NEWS

For founders and business leaders, growth is often framed around strategy, sales, finance, or operations. But one of the most powerful shifts can come from looking inward.

That was the focus of ‘Getting out of your own way: Conscious self-leadership for founders and business leaders’, a three part workshop series ran by Scaleup North East, delivered by RTC North, in collaboration with NECC. Designed for founders, business leaders and decision makers, the workshops explored how understanding our internal patterns can help us lead ourselves, our businesses and our teams with more compassion, clarity and confidence.

Why self-leadership matters

Every leader experiences moments of hesitation, overthinking, self doubt or pressure. For those running or scaling a business, these internal responses can directly affect decision-making, performance and day-to-day leadership.

Using the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, the workshop series invited participants to explore the different “parts” of themselves, from the inner critic to the perfectionist, and learn how to lead with clarity, confidence, and self awareness. Through guided exercises, reflection, and discussion, participants developed a more balanced, self-led approach to decision making, performance, and leadership.

The series took place across three half-day workshops at Catalyst, Newcastle Helix, giving a small group of participants the space to reflect, discuss and apply the learning in a supportive environment.

Inside the workshop series

The first session, ‘Understanding Your Internal System’, introduced participants to the foundations of self-leadership by understanding the internal patterns that shape how you think, feel, and act in your role. It explored why your “inner game” directly impacts your results and how internal parts such as the critic, achiever and pleaser can shape behaviour, reactions and leadership style.

The second session, ‘Working with Protective and Vulnerable Parts’, looked more closely at the strategies people often use to stay safe or in control, such as overworking, control, and avoidance. Participants were encouraged to approach these patterns with compassion, rather than judgement.

The final session, ‘Handling Inner Conflict’, focused on how leaders can navigate competing priorities and internal tensions. By learning to recognise and work with different “voices” within their thinking, participants developed practical tools to respond more calmly and confidently in high pressure situations.

Facilitator and leadership development coach, Norma O’Sullivan

The workshops were facilitated by Norma O’Sullivan, a leadership development coach who supports scaling companies to develop technically strong individuals into self-aware, strategically minded leaders.

With experience spanning law, construction and organisational change consulting, Norma brought a practical understanding of the challenges facing ambitious organisations. Her work is grounded in the belief that meaningful and sustainable success comes from individuals doing the inner work to better understand their drivers, strengths and blocks.

Her warm, open and reflective facilitation style helped create a space where participants could engage honestly and explore what it means to lead with greater clarity, integrity and direction.

Key takeaways

Across the three sessions, participants reflected on the value of understanding their internal systems and recognising that different parts of themselves often act from a place of protection or good intention.

For some, the biggest shift was simply recognising that there are “no bad parts” and that behaviours such as perfectionism, control or avoidance can often be understood in a new way. One participant described their takeaway as “finding a glimpse of where/who my true self is”, while another reflected on “recognising there are no bad parts”.

The second session helped participants explore how active their internal “managers” can be, and how these protective parts often operate with good intentions. As one participant put it: “Talk to your parts, it’s ok to feel the way you do, accept these parts they are there for a reason.”

By the final session, participants were beginning to see how the framework could support not only their own leadership, but also the way they coach, communicate and support others. Feedback included feeling “more at peace with internal conflict” and feeling “more capable to understand my own needs and how to empower and lead teams in a more compassionate and constructive way.”

A key outcome of the series was helping participants identify practical changes they could take forward. This included pausing before reacting, using more thoughtful language, noticing the parts that drive certain behaviours, and approaching challenging situations with greater compassion and awareness.

Participants highlighted the importance of being “more considerate and understanding towards others”, using language such as “a part of me…” to create space between themselves and their reactions, and applying the framework when dealing with challenging situations.

For founders and business leaders, this kind of self awareness can be a powerful foundation for better leadership. By understanding the internal patterns that influence decisions, behaviours and relationships, leaders can respond with more clarity, build stronger teams and create a calmer, more constructive way of working.

Getting out of your own way offered participants the opportunity to step back, reflect and build a more compassionate approach to leadership, one that supports both personal growth and business success.

Discover more about the programme by visiting: https://scaleupnortheast.co.uk/