Our Partnership
with M&S

At M&S, building a high-performing, inclusive culture has long been a strategic priority. 

They had already made strong progress on representation including exceeding targets for female Board membership and maintaining a significant proportion of women in senior roles. 

But like many organisations, they recognised that sustaining that progress required ongoing focus. 

Particularly when it came to ensuring that female talent continued to progress consistently, and at every level of the organisation. 

They partnered with Talking Talent to strengthen that pipeline, and to better understand what supports progression in practice. 

The challenge wasn’t a lack of ambition or capability. There was a strong pool of high-performing women across the business. But progression is shaped by more than performance alone. 

Confidence, visibility, access to opportunity, and how leadership is experienced day to day all play a role – often in ways that are not immediately obvious. 

There was also a wider question: 

How do you ensure that development feels relevant and meaningful not formulaic  and that it contributes to a broader shift in culture, not just individual growth? 

Talking Talent worked with M&S to design a coaching-led leadership programme tailored to their context. 

The programme combined: 

• 1:1 coaching sessions 

• Group coaching and peer learning 

• Ongoing reflection and application between sessions 

• Active involvement from line managers 

The focus was not on prescribing a single model of leadership. Instead, it created space for participants to think more clearly about how they lead – building confidence, clarity and direction in a way that felt authentic to them. 

Participants were also encouraged to support each other, strengthening networks and reinforcing a more connected, collaborative culture. 

At the same time, involving line managers helped ensure that development was supported beyond the programme itself. 

The programme contributed to measurable shifts in representation and progression: 

• Female representation in senior leadership in the UK increased from 29% to 43% 

• 40% of senior roles globally now held by women 

• Gender-balanced longlists became standard practice for senior appointments 

M&S also continued to be recognised externally, including being named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women. 

Beyond representation data, there were important behavioural shifts: 

• Participants reported increased confidence and clarity in their leadership 

• Individuals applied learning in real time, making tangible changes to how they worked 

• Line managers observed noticeable improvements in performance and collaboration 

There was also increased awareness at leadership level. 

Managers, particularly those who hadn’t previously considered these dynamics developed a clearer understanding of the barriers that can shape progression. 

The programme didn’t position progression as something individuals needed to “fix”. It created space for reflection, growth and practical change – while also bringing the wider environment into view. Participants developed confidence and clarity in how they led. Managers became more aware of their role in shaping progression. And the organisation gained greater focus on how talent decisions were made. 

That combination helped connect individual development with broader cultural change. 

M&S didn’t start from a position of low representation. They started from a position of momentum and chose to build on it. By continuing to invest in how progression is supported, they strengthened their pipeline of senior female talent and made that progression more consistent. 

The result is not just improved representation, but a more sustainable approach to developing and retaining talent over time. 

Talent doesn’t leave organisations. It leaves environments that hold it back. 

We should talk about that.