What we do –

At Uncommon Ground, we know leadership counts. As leadership coaches, we understand what it takes to see things afresh; to stand out from the crowd and to forge a meaningful path. We create the space to explore complex problems and gain fresh perspectives.

Uncommon Ground is a catalyst for progress and movement around the uncommon and the common issues. Where individuality is valued, teams explored and wisdom shared with candour and openness, laughter, insight and curiosity.

We work with leaders to engage effectively with today and tomorrow through leadership coaching (both individuals and teams), bespoke projects and open programmes.

Communication is a precarious cliff climbing through theme and variation. Even when the same language is being spoken, there are a million possible interpretations of the words used. Alongside the verbal efforts, expression and tone are applied like traffic signals, pointing the listener towards the intended meaning. But it is the meaning maker inside the listener who defines the relationship.
Nora Bateson

One prepares bringing in all of one’s weight and gracefulness and knowledge to bear: spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically. And often there’s a moment when all frequencies are right and it hits. And very often a certain kind of “wrongness” is right and one must seize it.
Helen Frankenthaler

You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
Christopher Robin

Who we are –

We look for what is uniquely brilliant about every individual and team. Cultivating ways to look at the world differently and try out new things. Creating the environment which gives courage and confidence to explore, learn and grow.

Clare Chandler – Co-Founder

Sarah Cowley – Co-Founder

I really appreciate how you see through the layers of what is happening and create brave paths through the tricky bits.

Your coaching is sometimes like great brain plumbing. You move and align the pipes and connectors to make the ball roll through. You’re brilliant at working out how to align the existing components better. And then what new joints and tubes I need. The ball crashes out quite a bit, other kids steal the pipes, sometimes you realise it’s impossible to get the ball to roll uphill, but through experiments and team work, we get there! Thank you.

A uniqueness which is refreshing in our sector. She makes sense of the system in all its complexity, sees the big picture and the nuances. She inspires and challenges us as we need it.

...creates magic and movement in the system.

You bring extraordinary dedication, years of experience, profound creativity and powerful support.

Working with us –

If you are a leader who is curious to discover and deepen your understanding about who you are and the ecosystems you inhabit, it is likely that you will be interested in what Uncommon Ground offers.

Some of our recent clients include

Some responses to client issues

HSBC
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Ethical Trading Initiative
John Lewis
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Lineas
London South Bank University
Northern Care Alliance (Salford Royal)
Royal Opera House
University of Westminster

Come and join us in a purposeful conversation.

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You are warmly invited to join

The Book Club

The Uncommon Ground Book Club creates the chance to play with bold ideas and to push our thinking. For leaders who are curious to make the most of what books tell us about leadership and the world.

The session creates the space to explore what we have read – sharing perspectives and looking at ways of putting into practice. Interrogating what it means for us as individuals, for those around us and the ecosystems we inhabit.

Each book is selected to stretch our thinking and provoke different questions and insights. Some are “classics” you may recognise. Others will be very new.

We read a new book every other month. The first session focuses on the text: exploring questions to draw out our current assumptions about leadershipand life, and how we might re-frame our thinking. We will also explore the ideas you want to apply. The second reflects on what has changed for you since reading the book; How have you been influenced? What are you doing differently? Where has it or could it make a deeper contribution?

We select books from a diverse a range of sources to stretch our thinking. They cover different perspectives of leadership including: culture; self as leader; organisations; conversations; ethics and ethical dilemmas to name a few. We will include a few surprises!

The Book club meets virtually every month. The sessions are led by Clare Chandler and Sarah Cowley. Each session is 90 minutes long. Numbers are limited to allow participants to get to know each other and develop a sense of community.

The first 3 books are:

Let my people go surfing – Yvon Chouinard
Presence – Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, Betty Sue Flowers
Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leaders Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You – Frances Frei & Anne Morriss

A nominal fee for the Book Club of
£120 plus VAT for 12 months membership.

Please contact us for dates.

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Session 1

January 2023

Session 2

February 2023

Session 3

March 2023

Session 4

April 2023

Session 5

May 2023

Session 6

June 2023

Pace and change.

A series of evolving conversations to educate and inspire the wider organisation.

Supporting a newly formed leadership team leading technological transformation. Helping them forge strong interpersonal relationships and develop self-belief. Using the transformation to lift performance, build organisational pride and support retention.

Curiosity and clarity.

A leadership laboratory where leaders bring their different perspectives to push the boundaries beyond the traditional and explore the possibilities.

Team coaching to accelerate the development of an integrated care model which delivers enhanced population health. Using systems thinking and human systems dynamics, coupled with individual and team strengths to develop their model for the future.

Shifting board relationships.

A reflective set of conversations to resolve a profound difference of views and mend relationships between Board members.

Unpacking deeper motivations and ‘felt’ impact. Focussing on issues of trust, respect and positive intentions to establish a sustainable approach to working together

Co-creating strategy.

A cross organisation conversation to build this University Group’s strategy.

Co-creation from the very start of the process involving colleagues from across the Group. 30 internal storytellers and facilitators were trained to guide the work which created new energy, sense of purpose and understanding. Complemented by sessions with leaders and the Board.

Tapping into mastery.

A series of masterclasses to support the organisation’s leadership, sharing learning and tips from their best. Reconnecting senior leaders post Covid. Topics included influencing, communication, leading for resilience and challenging conversations. Highly practical, underpinned by research and immediately impactful.