In today’s fast paced, turbulent world, what sets exceptional leaders apart is more than business savvy, strategy or skill – it’s mindset.
LeaderShifts Coaching develops leaders with a more empowering mindset and more effective ways of leading themselves and others.
Most of us unconsciously fall into patterns of blame, avoidance or reaction. However, true leadership begins when we stop pointing fingers – and start claiming ownership. When we make the shift as leaders we are able to:
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From
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To
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Blame others |
Claim responsibility and drive solutions |
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Needing to be right and closed minded |
Staying curious and open to learning |
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Seeking credit for self |
Giving praise and growing others |
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Avoiding mistakes |
Embracing failure as fuel for growth |
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Doubting themselves (impostor syndrome) |
Backing themselves and leading boldly |
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Playing it safe |
Challenging comfort zones |
Our work is built on a powerful psychological model – the Drama Triangle developed by Dr Stephen Karpman – that we have uniquely adapted and updated to address today’s personal, leadership and organisational challenges.
LeaderShifts Masterclass series
The LeaderShifts Masterclass series – 5 x 90 mins highly interactive modules to develop the foundations of Empowering Leadership
Investment: R5,500
Coaching Circles
5 x 120 mins sessions for 4 or 5 people to coach each other on real business issues – supported by a skilled facilitator – develop coaching skills whilst building collaboration and psychological safety
One to one coaching
5 x 60 mins individually coaching sessions to develop more emotionally intelligent, results focussed, empowering leaders
Talks & Keynotes
Interactive sessions on psychological safety, performance management, and empowerment-based leadership that transform cultures.
Senior leaders across industries trust Ron Hyams to unlock leadership potential, shift culture, and deliver lasting results. Here’s what they say:
He brings insight, empathy and strategy in equal measure.
Jessica Chivinge
Working with Ron was a lifetime investment.
Desmond Odhiambo
He helped me shift our culture and develop high-performing teams.
Craig Simmer
When Sean Stegmann stepped into the CEO role at Cash Crusaders, he inherited a toxic blame culture. He realised that unless the culture shifted, this would prove an insurmountable barrier to growth. In order to break the barrier, he brought in executive coach Ron Hyams. “When I brought Ron in, this is where ‘book smarts’ met ‘street smarts,'” recalls Sean.
Ron brought decades of global coaching expertise and academic rigour (including his role as a University of Stellenbosch business school lecturer). Sean brought commercial grit, entrepreneurial flair, and battle-tested C-suite experience.
Together, they replaced what Sean called the “ABCs” (Avoid, Blame, Complain) with a high-performance, learning-driven culture, and delivered outstanding results: 10X increase in profit, 3X faster growth than competitors, 4X improvement in retention (from 18 months to 3-10 years)
After turning around Cash Crusaders, Sean was inspired to join Ron to codify and teach the methodology they’d developed to help leaders make the ‘inner’ (mindset) and ‘outer’ (behavioural) shifts needed to unlock performance.
Ron is an executive coach and leadership developer and University of Stellenbosch USB-Ed lecturer.
He started his coaching career with Alexander Corporation, described by the Economist Intelligence Unit as ‘market leaders in coaching’. He’s delivered coaching in more than 20 countries across all sectors. Clients
Clients include Absa, Cliff, Dekker, Hofmeyr, Ernst & Young, PepsiCo, Shell, Standard Bank, Toyota, Vitality, and Woolworths.
Qualifications
• Masters in Organisational Consulting from Hult Ashridge Business School
• Qualified Enneagram and MBTI practitioner
As a young entrepreneur, Ron cut his teeth by launching one of the first profitable private/public ventures with the London Science Museum in 1985. This involved raising finance, building and publicising an exhibition of holograms and lasers that attracted 250,000 visitors.
The exhibition, called Light Dimensions, was sponsored by the London Evening Standard and British Telecom and was shortlisted for the Guinness Book of Records and featured on the UK’s Channel 4 news.
Sean Stegmann is a seasoned business executive and leadership strategist with a track record of transforming companies through culture-driven leadership and operational excellence. With a foundation in electrical engineering and an MBA in Entrepreneurship, Sean blends analytical thinking with entrepreneurial insight to drive sustainable growth and innovation.
Over the course of his 15-year tenure as CEO of Cash Crusaders, one of South Africa’s leading retail franchise brands, Sean led the business through a period of remarkable expansion—growing annual turnover from R600 million to R2.5 billion and more than doubling the franchise footprint from 110 stores to 260 stores. Under his leadership, the company developed proprietary systems in inventory management, point-of-sale, and e-commerce, allowing for a more agile and customer-centric operation.
Sean began his executive career as Managing Director at iTouch, one of South Africa’s early tech success stories listed on the London Stock Exchange. He later transitioned into leadership development, co-founding Leadershifts—an organisation that helps executives build high-performing, learning-driven cultures.
Client reviews: talks
A high-performing commercial director had been identified as high potential but was stuck in technical specialist mode. Feedback from direct reports revealed he was operating from a directive, coercive leadership style that created a culture of fear rather than collaboration.
We explored the shift from their current style of leadership to a coaching, pace-setting style. From having all the answers to collaborating with his team.
The transformation was reflected in the numbers: double-digit growth was achieved, and the client was promoted to CEO.
A top 5 South African law firm wanted to become a magnet for attracting and retaining talent. In service of this, it was looking to build greater emotional intelligence and people skills in its partners and senior associates.
We designed a leadership programme combining skills building with behavioural change. Five workshops covered crucial conversations, trust-building, values clarification, leader as coach, delegation, and feedback. Each workshop was complemented by individual coaching sessions to embed the learning. We used Insights psychometric assessments to build self-awareness of strengths and preferences.
Delegates reported multiple instances of improved delegation, better prioritisation, and more effective development of others.
Programme satisfaction exceeded 90% across the criteria of practicality, relevance, and impact. The firm began building the empowering culture needed to retain top talent.
A talented manager had a breakthrough Fintech idea that could transform the bank's capabilities. However, he couldn't gain traction because his idea crossed organisational boundaries between tech and sales, and neither department could see the value.
We coached the client to believe in his idea. This meant letting go of impostor syndrome and backing himself despite organisational resistance. We also coached him to craft a compelling pitch that would enrol stakeholders across boundaries.
He gained the confidence to take bold action. Rather than remaining stuck in a system that couldn't see his value, he moved to another organisation that fully backed and financed his idea, building a team to execute the vision. After he proved the concept elsewhere, his original organisation realised what they'd lost - and invited him back to execute his idea, but now with full support and the resources he needed.
This five-module Masterclass series deepens your growth journey. Each 90-minute session blends cutting-edge mindset tools, practical leadership models and peer interaction to help you unlock powerful new ways of thinking and leading. This programme is ideal for executives leading change or seeking to develop greater emotional intelligence, clarity and and influence.
You’ll walk away with:
Set a bold, meaningful goal for this 5-session training that stretches you beyond your comfort zones. Identify what holds you back — and replace limiting beliefs with empowering ones. Clarify your intention through reflection, coaching, and peer support.
Create a culture for learning by making it safe to take risks, to fail, to correct and to learn — fail faster to succeed sooner. Learn the 4 levels of psychological safety and how these link to a high-performance culture.
Learn to recognize emotional triggers as opportunities for growth. Explore the beliefs behind your reactions and shift from reactivity to conscious response. This session deepens your emotional intelligence, awareness and ownership.
Master the art of courageous conversations. Learn to give feedback with both care and courage, using the Radical Candor model. Practice crucial conversations in a safe, supportive environment.
Learn how to shift from hero to coach. Meet the advice monster - the ego driven desire to have all the answers rather than empowering others to find their answers. Reflect on your own leadership style and how you may need to shift to bring the best out of others.
Ron is a true master craftsman of executive coaching.
Craig Alistou Executive Head, Standard Bank CIB