How Stella Circle brings NQ® to C-level leaders
A friendship older than the collaboration
Some collaborations are built on contracts. This one was built on something older: a shared conviction about what leadership is really for.
Dr. Tanja Wielgoss and Prof. Dr. Katia Tieleman met as students in Aix-en-Provence. Two women from different countries, both determined to make an impact, each on their own terms.
Their paths diverged, but their fundamental belief did not. Leadership is more than a title. And the way we negotiate, with others, with systems, with ourselves, shapes every room we enter.
Tanja went on to lead organizations including Vattenfall Wärme Berlin and Berlin’s waste management company BSR, before co-founding Stella Circle, a leadership platform for progressive C-level executives. Katia built NegotiationWize and the Negotiation Intelligence (NQ®) model. Different trajectories, one direction.
A platform that asks the right question
Stella Circle operates from a premise that will feel familiar to anyone who knows NegotiationWize. It does not ask leaders to fit a model. It asks what model fits the leader. The platform supports executives across every phase of their career, meeting them where they are, whether they are preparing for a top role, navigating one, or ready for what comes next.
That orientation resonated. When the Stella Circle team engaged with the NQ® digital learning journey, the goal was not simply skill development. It was a shared language. A common understanding of Negotiation Intelligence that could become part of how Stella Circle guides and supports its members.
Building a shared language through the NQ® learning journey
The Stella Circle team completed the NQ® digital learning journey, a self-paced program built around the four keys of the NQ® model. Through the journey, participants developed insight into their own negotiation profile, the moments of choice that define every negotiation, and the mindset shifts that move leaders from reactive to strategic.
The enthusiasm within the team was clear. What started as a collaborative exploration became the foundation for a formal partnership.
The NQ® model showed me where I had room to grow — and strengths I had underestimated in myself. But what stayed with me most is this: negotiation is, above all, about connection. That insight fundamentally changed how I lead.Dr. Tanja Wielgoss, Founder and Managing Director, Stella Circle
What this means for Stella Circle members
From this shared journey, Stella Circle became a preferred partner of NegotiationWize. Members of Stella Circle can now access NegotiationWize’s personal NQ® path, including the NQ® scan, a personal insight session with a certified NQ® coach, and the full online learning journey.
It is a collaboration that reflects what both organizations believe: that the most powerful leadership development starts with self-knowledge, and that negotiation, understood in its full depth, is one of the most important capabilities a leader can build.
