Case study

Watch Circl match, Beth and Victoria share their Circl experience here.

Landsec is one of the leading real estate companies in the UK with an £11 billion portfolio of retail, leisure, workspaces and residential hubs across the UK. The company prides itself on addressing issues such as sustainability, diversity and community employment through its work and internal initiatives. Diversity and engagement within Landsec is prioritised via regular development opportunities, mental health initiatives, and inclusive workplace practices as outlined in its D&I strategy. 

In alignment with its D&I goals, Landsec offered its managers the opportunity to take part in Circl’s inclusive leadership development programme. Following a successful experience with the first and second cohort, a third group of Landsec professionals took part in the programme at the end of 2021. 17 managers worked on their core coaching skills during theory sessions alongside underrepresented young adults. These core coaching skills included working on their abilities to observe, listen, ask the right questions and embrace challenges. Each professional was matched with a Future Leader to meet with outside of the theory classes. These matches would put their new coaching skills to practice by coaching each other 1-1 on their personal goals and development. For Circl match Beth and Victoria (featured in the video above), this was an extremely positive experience:

Beth Howell, Retail Manager at Landsec: “The sessions and our 1-1’s have been an anchor for the week. It’s been something to look forward to and something to focus on in terms of personal development, plus something to showcase to the team. It’s had a three-fold effect which has been amazing. It’s been a great time of self-reflection and Victoria’s been fabulous to work with. We’re definitely going to continue speaking afterwards.”

Victoria, Future Leader: “I’ve literally grown so much over the last three months in regard to my skills. Having Beth has been amazing and I feel very fortunate to have met her. It’s allowed me to reflect on my own skills in life and think more deeply about what I want for my future.”

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For the majority of the Landsec team, the biggest highlight of the programme was learning alongside the Future Leaders. 100% of the professionals said that they had a better understanding of young people by the end of the programme, and others remarked on the rewarding quality of the relationships they had developed. The team also enjoyed learning coaching techniques that they could put to use in the workplace. Several managers shared how they’ve been using their new coaching skills with their team:

“I have been setting my team's targets for the next year. Previously this has been quite a Parent/Child dynamic with me telling them what their targets will be. While there will still be some objectives that I set for them, I’ve used the skills I’ve been learning to get them to think more about their own personal development and set their own goals.” Landsec professional 

“I've been using the coaching techniques in one to one meetings with line managers using lots of open questions such as "What have you got going on? and "What can I help you with?" I've been using less advice-giving and taking a more coaching approach.” Landsec professional 

The programme also proved extremely beneficial to the Future Leaders who were able to gain new skills that would be useful for future work. All of them reported improved confidence in meeting new people and 90% believe they have created a useful professional contact through the programme. “It helped me become more confident which helped significantly with my well-being. Previously, I had always been intimidated by talking to professionals, particularly those in higher positions. However, after the programme, I've become more comfortable.”– Future Leader

Learn more about Circl's unique leadership development programme here.