How I Lead This: Behind the Leadership Brand of Triathlete/CEO Steph Corker

As founder/CEO of human capital consultancy The Corker Collective, Steph Corker brings the same drive and focus to recruitment, leadership development, and personal transformation that she brings to competing in triathlons.
Since founding her business, Steph has worked with corporations both big and small across different sectors to find the best possible fit for their teams. As she puts it, “The Corker Collective is a human capital consulting firm dedicated to crafting people strategies that put the heartbeat into your business’ bottom line. Through innovative talent acquisition, transformational coaching, and impactful training, Team Corker delivers programs and people that take companies to the next level.”
Steph is also the creator/author of The Now What—a digital-program-turned book aimed at people who are transitioning careers—and a sought-after speaker.
In addition, Steph tells us that she is “a proudly washed-up (aka retired!) athlete from days as a competitive triathlete.” Today she counts chasing her three-year-old bernedoodle, Bernie, among her life’s blessings and sweatiest pursuits.
Here’s what Steph Corker had to share with The Helm:
Emoji you can’t live without: 💁🏻♀️ (as if to say: Heeey!) or ❤️ (because: always, love).
TED Talk you’d really love to give: Creating connection among the loneliest generation. (Spoiler: it’s not about social media!)
Secret sign from childhood you were destined to be a leader: As soon as I got my driver’s licence, I started my first “company,” Swimming with Steph, and offered swimming lessons in people’s backyard pools. I remember distinctly the summer day when gas prices rose above the $0.50 threshold and I came home crying, “There is no way to ever make money if I had to pay so much in gas.” I’ll never forget the look on my mom’s face when she calmly said, “Well, get a new job.” And with all of my might, I held my breath and said “Nooooooo!” This may be less about leadership and more about entrepreneurship, yet for me there is a deep rooted commonality between the two. Ultimately, it was my first step into leading self; entrepreneurship becomes about leading beyond self!
Stories are everything in business. What’s your go-to story that consistently moves people? Ohhh, for the love of stories! This changes constantly for me. I truly feel inspired by experiences worth sharing weekly, especially as discovered out in nature. I remember one year on Earth Day, we were climbing a local mountain to watch the sunrise and celebrate the occasion. On the way up, still in the dark, before 7 a.m., I saw a very fit woman running *down* the trail. I looked up and said, “Holy heck, you are incredible! Happy Earth Day!” Her reply was short and trite, “I gotta go. I’m already late for my first Zoom meeting.” Gulp. I mean, the sun wasn’t up yet. She was on one of the most beautiful trails, rushing to get off because … Zoom. Now, I understand that speed is a way of life for some folks and that people work all over the world via Zoom. Yet still, I believe Mama Earth is begging us to slow down and appreciate this beautiful place.
I’d also be remiss to not share our weekly podcast called Uncorked. Each week I riff with different leaders about the untold ordinary stories of their lives that make them all so extraordinary. From authors and athletes, to restaurateurs to tech moguls and dog store owners — it is indeed the most eclectic group of guests and most inspiring stories told. I think these are conversions that move people.
As a leader, what keeps you up at night? Taxes. Thank goodness for our incredible accountant.
What three words or phrases define your leadership style? Wildly passionate and totally possible; connection is my currency; gratitude is my religion. (Core value: We sweat at dawn — win the morning; win the day!)
My biggest insecurity about how people perceive me as a leader is … Recently this conversation was shared between a VC doing a background check on me with a founder:
“And Steph — I don’t know. She seems wacky to me and hard to get a read if she can deliver on anything. What do you think?”
“I can confirm her passionate quirkiness is genuine.”
“She does seem like a good person”
So I suppose there is an insecurity about how I can communicate, especially over email to be authentically HUMAN, properly RAD and still inform you that The Corker Co knows how to deliver?! I’m up for the challenge of keeping it real!
Social media as a leader: love it or leave it? Ahhh, I had to break free. It’s been 13 months since I deleted my personal Instagram account. The truest thing I can share is that I wasn’t strong enough to override the emotional response I would see when scrolling from certain people. I wish I could tell you that wasn’t the case. That said, I’ve focused more on creating offline, deeper and fewer relationships that really really matter. I totally get why leaders have social accounts and the enormous value of the cyber-spread. I think it is important to ask though: if you needed help moving, wanted to throw a dinner party or celebrate a milestone—who would you invite/who would show up from social? Never say never, though I’m not sure I’ll be returning anytime soon. (I still have a Facebook account mostly because I love the local groups/Buy Nothing pages to keep things out of the landfill!)
Your #1 must-follow account on social media: If you are going to waste your time scrolling, make it cute! I’m proud of our content thecorkercollective.com. Admittedly, I am a podcast junkie and my recent favorite is The Diary of a CEO (DOAC). I think his conversations are exceptional.
The ROI question—the biggest benefit you’ve seen from building your leadership brand: Without question and arguably an unmeasurable ROI is the joy of having a full team of incredible people to work with. I could not ask for a better business partner [COO Cecily Elmas] to dream and scheme with; she leads our consultants and is so great at all of the many things I am not. I can say unequivocally that I’m humbled and inspired that I have the chance to work alongside everyone I do. I feel so fortunate. And beyond our team, there is not one client who I’m not proud to be supporting. So this feels very self-fulfilling, yet having the ability to care as deeply as I do about the work we are up to in the world makes me feel like the luckiest leader! I’d argue here: what came first — the chicken or the egg? 💁🏻♀️