About Steve
Coaching informed by real organisational experience
I'm Steve Neary, an executive coach and senior talent leader. For over a decade, I've worked at senior level with leaders and organisations, helping them navigate the people, performance and leadership challenges that come with growth and change.
My career has taken me through talent, learning, leadership development, organisational effectiveness and senior talent leadership. I've worked across different sectors and organisations, which has given me a broad view of what leadership looks like in practice — and how much context matters.
I've worked closely with leaders at different stages of their careers, from those taking on greater responsibility to senior leadership teams and board members. I've seen people succeed, struggle, change direction, step up and sometimes get in their own way.
That experience shapes how I coach.
My approach to coaching
I don't believe there is one right way to lead, and I don't arrive at a coaching conversation with a model that I'm going to fit you into.
I'll listen carefully and ask questions. I'll challenge you. I'll help you notice things you might have missed and explore perspectives you may not have considered. And where my own experience or perspective might be useful, I'll bring that into the conversation too.
Sometimes we'll spend time thinking and reflecting. Sometimes we'll work directly on something you're dealing with — a difficult conversation, an important decision, how you communicate an idea or a challenge you're trying to untangle.
The aim is the same: greater clarity about what is happening and what you want to do next.
My style is straightforward, upbeat and challenging. I take the work seriously, but that doesn't mean every conversation has to feel serious.
Coaching and organisational life
Organisations are complicated. Priorities compete. People don't always behave rationally. Politics exists. Strategies change. Decisions have unintended consequences. And leaders rarely have all the information, time or resources they would ideally like.
I understand those realities because I've spent my career working within them.
That doesn't mean I'll tell you what to do. It means you won't have to spend half the conversation explaining why the apparently obvious answer isn't quite so obvious in your organisation.
Experience and credentials
I hold the ILM Level 7 qualification in Executive Coaching and Mentoring and am certified to use Hogan personality assessments, including HPI, HDS and MVPI.
I also hold a CIPD Level 7 qualification in Learning & Talent Development and have extensive experience across talent, leadership development, performance, organisational effectiveness and change.
Where it adds value, psychometric assessment can form part of a coaching relationship. I use it as another source of insight and conversation — not as a label or an answer in itself.
Sapien Coaching
I established Sapien Coaching in 2019.
Sapien gives me the opportunity to work selectively with senior leaders and organisations alongside my wider professional career. For larger or specialist assignments, I can also work with a small network of trusted associates.
The practice is deliberately straightforward: good conversations, thoughtful challenge and practical action focused on the things that matter.