FOR ESTABLISHED LEADERS - E.I. ACADEMY + COACHING
The Unarmoured Edge - for the leaders who already lead.
Twelve months. The EQ-i 2.0 framework. Five live workshops. Four 1:1 coaching sessions. The complete Unarmoured Edge methodology for senior leaders ready to convert technical brilliance into human leadership.
The reason you're stalling has a name. So does the way through it.
You're already a leader. You have the title, the team, the results. And yet some weeks you can feel it - the gap between the leader you want to be and the one you're showing up as.
The technically brilliant leader stalls in a predictable place: the moment leading becomes less about what you know and more about how you regulate yourself, how you read the room, and how the people around you experience the version of you that walks in.
That's not a personality problem. It's a measurable, trainable, fifteen-subscale problem. And it has a name: Emotional Intelligence.
“Technical skills will keep you in the game. Emotional Intelligence will win the championship.”
— Paul S. McLean
What's inside the Academy.
WHAT’S INSIDE
EQ-i 2.0 assessment
The world's most validated emotional intelligence inventory. A complete map of your leadership across 5 composites and 15 sub scales.
EQ 360 multi-rater
A 360-degree view from peers, reports, and stakeholders, the gap between how you think you show up and how you actually show up.
5 live Academy sessions
Facilitated cohort sessions with certified executive coaches. Each workshop maps to one EQ-i 2.0 composite.
4 × 1:1 coaching sessions
Private coaching, calibrated to your specific report, your role, your quarter.
AI-enabled habit app
12 months of micro-learning, peer-to-peer practice, and habit reinforcement.
Cohort of peers
Best of Breed Leadership Development with 6–18 senior leaders. Often the most lasting outcome.
THE CURRICULUM
One LEADER.
Five Academy Sessions - Four 1:1 Coaching Sessions
Five E.I. Composites - Fifteen E.I. Sub-Scales.
01 Self-Perception - the inner core.
Self-Regard, Self-Actualisation, Emotional Self-Awareness. The bedrock of every other competence. A leader who does not know themselves cannot lead others, they can only react to them.
02 Self-Expression - the outward voice.
Emotional Expression, Assertiveness, Independence. The bridge between what a leader feels and what their team experiences. Done well, it builds trust. Done poorly, it produces volatility, or silence.
03 Interpersonal - the relational core.
Interpersonal Relationships, Empathy, Social Responsibility. The single highest-leverage composite for leaders who lead through influence. Where culture is built, one conversation at a time.
04 Decision-Making - feelings informing judgement.
Problem Solving, Reality Testing, Impulse Control. EI doesn't remove emotion from decisions. It ensures emotions inform decisions intelligently, instead of hijacking them.
05 Stress Management - adaptive capacity.
Flexibility, Stress Tolerance, Optimism. Not about avoiding pressure, about working under pressure without deteriorating. And modelling that for the team.
OUTCOMES
Four leadership outcomes your organisation will feel.
Authenticity
The leader people trust because the inside and the outside match.
Coaching
The leader who develops other leaders, not dependents.
Insight
The leader who gives purpose and a hopeful vision & means it.
Innovation
The leader who takes measured risks, spurs ingenuity, and learns from challenge.
“A leader is the emotional thermostat of their team. Calm is contagious. So is panic.”
— Paul McLean - The Unarmoured Edge
THE NUMBERS
Why this works.
$8.8T
Annual cost of low engagement to the global economy. Gallup
1,484%
Reported ROI of high-quality Emotional Intelligence training.
+17% / −19%
High-EI teams exceed targets by 17%. Low-EI teams miss by up to 19%. Google Project Oxygen
FAQ
How long is the program?
Twelve months end-to-end. Five workshops are concentrated in the first six months; coaching and the habit app run throughout.
Is the EQ-i 2.0 included?
Yes both EQ-i 2.0 & (optionally) EQ 360. Each leader receives a full debrief with their coach.
Who coaches me 1:1?
Certified executive coaches from the IGNITE Performance network. Senior leaders can request 1:1 coaching directly with Paul S. McLean, subject to availability.
Can my company run a private cohort?
Yes. Most enterprise engagements are private cohorts. Pricing scales with cohort size.
What if I just want 1:1 coaching, not the Academy?
Visit the Executive Coaching page. Many leaders start with 1:1 and graduate into a cohort - or vice versa.
Two ways to start.
Apply for the next E.I. Academy cohort, or book a free 30-minute consultation with Paul to discuss your specific situation.