StepStone x The Listening Collective
In 2022, The Listening Collective delivered ±400 hours 1-2-1 coaching to ±80 leaders at one of the world's leading next generation recruitment platforms, StepStone. With over 90% saying they would recommend The Listening Collective to a colleague, leaders have found benefits ranging from transformations in their approach to leadership, better decision making, improved communication, decreased stress and self-doubt, big increases in confidence and self-awareness.
The video below tells the story of 4 leaders who’ve felt these benefits.
Enjoy 🐘
The Story
In late 2021, StepStone - one of the world's leading next generation recruitment platforms - were in the midst of a tremendous amount of organisational change as the world was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The organisation was relying on its leaders to lead their teams through this change. This was not only a complex task for them to undertake on an operational level, it also required these individuals to deal with high levels of pressure and stress.
The organisation needed a service that would increase operational excellence as well as employee wellfare, amongst leaders and beyond. Specifically, StepStone needed a way to help leaders to:
Navigate change successfully and optimise performance
Level up their thinking in the face of complex challenges
Look after their own wellbeing in the face of change, ambiguity and stress
Lead their teams through successful implementation
Support their teams as people through transformation.
What they needed was a service that would give their leaders access to 1-2-1 coaching with a difference, one that went deeper that surface level troubleshooting, and helped individuals as ‘whole people’ to be able to use their professional challenges as the starting point to delve into their own personal processes and emerge greater leaders.
On this basis, StepStone chose to partner with The Listening Collective.
The Benefits
Almost a year later and The Listening Collective has delivered ±400 hours of coaching to ±80 leaders in different areas of the organisation, in different languages and regions.
Over 90% of leaders would recommend The Listening Collective coaching to a colleague.
From our internal survey the main benefits included improvements in:
Team leadership
Focus prioritisation
Confidence, assertiveness and overcoming self-doubt
Decision making
Self-awarness and identification of internal barriers
Communication
Stress management
Nik Evans, Head of UX at StepStone described the 1-2-1 coaching he had with his coach at The Listening Collective as:
“The style of coaching I’ve had has been so much more effective than any other form I’ve had before.”
What leaders say
Here are some of the stand-out quotes from leaders who have worked 1-2-1 with The Listening Collective’s coaches:
“The Listening Collective has fundamentally changed the way I approach leadership with both my immediate team and across the organisation. Here is the thing that has helped me - this is not coaching. The approach is that of listening, meaning I have the space to express where I am, to be listened to, heard and to partner with working through tools that can help me be the best, most present leader I can be.”
“I have found it incredibly beneficial. It's helped me understand where I need to focus and what I need to work on.”
“The Listening Collective has been a 100% positive experience for me. Like everyone, I have moments of self-doubt and frustrationwith work. Those moments can be paralysing or demotivating when left unaddressed. The Listening Collective sessions give me a confidential outlet to describe and discuss these situations and my reactions to them. In addition, the LC are able and willing to offer support and suggestions on resolving the issue, in many cases offering anecdotal evidence or comparable case studies to discuss. I can honestly say that 100% of sessions leave me more positive and energised.”
“I have found the experience very beneficial (…) The biggest area it has helped me is talking about my confidence/assertiveness and bringing my whole self to work. The biggest area being confidence, which I have struggled with my whole working life and these sessions have had a big impact in helping me with this.”
“It has been incredibly useful to share challenges and get insight into how to manage them, and myself. It has helped me to understand how my behavior is affecting, and being affected by, the work that I do, and the people I work with. It has helped me to gain confidence in the decisions I make, and my ability to take action. It has provided a powerful outlet during times of high stress and uncertainty. I have gained invaluable insights and tools to improve my performance.”
“My coach helped me to understand some of the internal barriers I had put up inside my head which were blocking my ability to build the relationships and connections I need in order to perform and feel at my best in the workplace. Having an external voice ask the right questions and coach me into understanding was very validating and created a space which allowed for growing self-development and self-awareness in a safe environment.”
“A hugely positive experience - an experienced business coach that you can talk with confidentially about our challenges, who can offer their own experience and opinions to help you take control of your operational environment.”
“The facilitation of the conversations which you don't know you need to have, but make you feel all the better for having them.”
“Support that can help you become aware of your own emotions and how to cope with them.”
“A no-bullshit 'tell me about your childhood' no-nonsense forum to just talk and listen. A guided tour through improvement.”
“Your safe space to be listened to and your growth space to lead.”
