About Ascent Leadership

For over a decade, we have partnered with UK leaders and organisations to unlock extraordinary performance, deepen self-awareness, and build lasting leadership capability.

Our Story

Built on Purpose, Driven by Impact

Ascent Leadership was founded in 2013 by Victoria Hargreaves, a former senior director with two decades of corporate leadership experience across FTSE 100 companies in London and Manchester. Having witnessed first-hand both the power of great leadership and the damage caused by poor leadership, Victoria was determined to create a different kind of coaching consultancy.

"Leadership is not a title. It is a discipline — and every good leader is always a student."
— Victoria Hargreaves, Founder

From our offices in Manchester and London, we work with executives, senior managers, and high-potential professionals across every sector of the UK economy. Our mission has never wavered: to help good leaders become great ones, and to make great leadership accessible to every organisation that is brave enough to invest in it.

We are proud to have coached over 500 leaders, partnered with more than 40 UK organisations, and maintained an independently verified 98% client satisfaction rate across twelve years of practice. Our work spans the private, public, and third sectors — from FTSE 250 boardrooms to ambitious growing SMEs.

Executive mentoring session with Ascent Leadership coach

12+

Years of Excellence

What We Stand For

Our Core Values

Integrity

We are honest, transparent, and courageous. We say the things that need to be said, hold confidentiality with absolute rigour, and always act in the genuine best interests of our clients.

Growth

We believe in the limitless potential of every individual to grow. We are perpetual learners ourselves, continuously developing our practice so our clients benefit from the very best coaching science.

Collaboration

Great outcomes emerge from great relationships. We work in deep partnership with our clients, their organisations, and each other — combining diverse expertise to create solutions no single voice could find alone.

Excellence

We set the standard for quality in everything we do — from the rigour of our assessment tools to the depth of our coaching conversations. Good enough is never enough for Ascent.

Our Mission

To Unlock the Leadership Potential in Every Organisation We Serve

Our mission is to provide world-class, evidence-based coaching and leadership development that creates measurable, lasting change in the individuals and organisations we work with. We are committed to the belief that better leaders build better organisations, and better organisations build a better UK.

Our Vision

A United Kingdom Where Every Leader Leads with Courage and Clarity

We envision a future where courageous, compassionate, and competent leadership is the norm rather than the exception — where organisations at every level invest in the human capability that drives sustainable performance and create cultures in which every person can thrive and contribute their very best.

Professional development meeting facilitated by Ascent Leadership coaches

An Ascent Leadership professional development session in progress — Birmingham, 2025

Why Ascent

Why Leaders Choose Us

With a wealth of UK-based coaching consultancies to choose from, we understand that finding the right partner is a significant decision. Here is why hundreds of UK leaders have chosen Ascent and stayed with us.

ICF, EMCC & CMI accredited coaches — every coach on our team holds recognised professional accreditation, ensuring the highest standards of practice and ethics.
Bespoke programmes, never off-the-shelf — we design every engagement around your specific context, goals, sector, and culture. You will never receive a generic solution.
Deep UK market expertise — we understand the nuances of British professional culture, governance, and organisational life in a way that international providers simply cannot match.
Measurable, evidenced outcomes — we build measurement frameworks into every engagement so you can demonstrate clear return on your investment to boards and stakeholders.
Senior coaches, not junior associates — your programme is led and delivered by an experienced senior coach, not delegated to junior staff once the contract is signed.
Long-term partnership approach — many of our clients have worked with us for three, five, or even ten years. We invest in relationships, not transactions, and your success is genuinely our purpose.

Ascent Leadership coach in a professional development session

Professional Standards

Our Accreditations

Our coaches hold accreditation from the world's most respected professional coaching and leadership development bodies, guaranteeing rigorous ethical standards and continuous professional development.

ICF

International Coaching Federation

The ICF is the world's leading professional coaching organisation. Our coaches hold PCC and MCC level accreditations, representing the gold standard in evidence-based coaching practice and professional ethics.

PCC & MCC Certified

EMCC

European Mentoring & Coaching Council

The EMCC sets the standards for coaching, mentoring and supervision across Europe. Our team holds EMCC Senior Practitioner and Master Practitioner accreditations, reflecting our commitment to professional excellence.

Senior Practitioner Level

CMI

Chartered Management Institute

The CMI is the UK's only chartered professional body dedicated to management and leadership excellence. Our CMI affiliation ensures our programmes align with the highest UK standards for leadership development.

Chartered Partner