Where did the idea of offering an innovative programme together come from?

Marie Stephenson: On the advice of a friend, we met several years ago over lunch. We were both coaches, we were also both Franco-British nationals, with Belgian-Indian origins for Joanna and Iraqi for me. So we felt an immediate connection! Very soon, we decided we’d like to work together. It was obvious to me. I’ve never considered Joanna as a competitor because we each have our own unique qualities and our own areas of expertise.

Joanna Menezes: It started out as a friendship between us. Then, as we got to know each other better and learned more about each other's values, we came up with the idea of pooling our skills together and coming up with a joint coaching offer. During our many discussions, we realised that supporting women was a subject we both shared and one that was particularly close to our hearts. So, when the opportunity arose, we decided to take the plunge and turned the idea into a reality. Our first assignment, for a client based in Paris, took place on 8th March 2023, on International Women's Day.

 Why is the subject of women's leadership particularly close to your hearts?

M.S. : Personally, I'm convinced that the world would be a better place if gender equality were a reality. The complementary qualities of women and men can bring about positive changes! However, the women I work with in my coaching sessions are often hindered by their inner dragons: they don't dare express themselves, they lack self-confidence... There's a real need for change. That's why I wanted to create this specific programme for them.

J. M. : We need to highlight the added value of women and help them to go beyond the conventional expectations of society. But we also need to fundamentally transform the leadership model and pass this on to the younger generations. We are both working to ensure that young people - girls and boys alike - have inspiring female role models and are not held back in their careers.

 “Personally, I'm convinced that the world would be a better place if gender equality were a reality.”

Marie Stephenson

 How do you complement each other?

M.S.: We're both certified and supervised coaches. We do have, however, different backgrounds and areas of expertise. For my part, after studying literature at university, I trained at LKB Coaching School in Paris, then went on to train in Hypnotherapy and Transactional Analysis. Since 2012, I've been offering psychological support to my clients, helping them overcome their inner ‘dragons’ and increasing their confidence in their public speaking skills... Whereas Joanna is an expert in the more operational and systemic aspects of the corporate context. In their feedback, our clients talk about a "dynamic duo". As there are two of us, the energy is different and the participants appreciate this.

J. M. : Our sessions do indeed run smoothly, as if we'd always worked together! As far as I'm concerned, even though I'm aware of this internal dimension that hinders women, I've always been very sensitive to the systemic dimension of the subject linked to the business world and society in general. This undoubtedly comes from my training: I have a Master's degree in Human Resources Management and a diploma in coaching and mentoring from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) in London.

During our programme, whether it's coaching or training, we each express our own expertise to provide a holistic vision of the subject, while continuing to share our ideas with each other. Moreover, for our clients, another advantage is that we are both bilingual and, thanks to our multicultural backgrounds, we can also approach the subject from an international perspective.

"During our programme, whether it's coaching or training, we each express our own expertise to provide a holistic vision of the subject, while continuing to share our ideas with each other."

Joanna Menezes

Interview conducted and article written by Laure Blancard, April 2024