Stok
“I’m constantly talking about how much Within has helped us. We went through several different sets of consultants to try and help us on this journey of self-management. The way that they approach it philosophically has just fundamentally really helped improve our organization.”
Growing the next generation of leaders
STRATEGIC GROWTH - Successful expansion through merger as part of a 5 year strategy
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - 100% of employees are actively engaged in driving their own professional growth
LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY - 100% of leaders trained on leadership for self-management
The Challenge
Stok is an interdisciplinary team of ESG and sustainability experts working to create a radically better world for all. Like Within People, Stok operates on principles of self-management, enabling a flatter organizational structure with greater equity and decision-making at all levels. As the business grows, Stok faces the challenge of maintaining this trust-based, distributed approach while increasing in size and complexity.
The Within Way®:
The foundations of self management
Within is embedded into the Stok team to help scale their self-managed, hybrid culture through clear structures and collective agreements that supported equity and autonomy. We shaped a leadership manifesto grounded in human-centered qualities, and coached leaders to move from consensus-seeking to confident, trust-based decision-making. Our work spanned values evolution, feedback culture, and ownership transition — embedding new behaviours across the business. We also redefined professional development as a strategic growth lever, creating purpose-led learning plans through 1:1 coaching with every team member.
The Impact
Hear Burke Pemberton share the story of Stok on Reimagining Work from Within
Stok has doubled in size while maintaining its values and identity. Self-management has become one of the company’s core strategies for future growth, with trust-based leadership driving performance. Every team member has a personalized growth path, and the company continues to demonstrate that purpose-driven, self-managed organizations can scale without compromising culture.