Highlights – 26 March

At CMI, everything we do hinges on sharing knowledge. But we recently decided to take a step back to get a sense of what others think. So we looked back over recent conversations with Chartered Managers, to collate their opinions on the power of mentorship. 

We found a wide range of managers who’d experienced both sides of the equation – those who’d supported others with their skills and experience, others who’d been mentees and some who’d done both. Taken together, these reflections showed the vast potential for mentorship, that intimate exchange of skills, experience and humanity, to transform lives, careers and even organisations. 

Mentorship really can help people to become better managers – something that’s more in demand now than ever. It’s been 18 months since we published our report Taking Responsibility: Why UK PLC needs better managers, yet its findings are still being cited in a range of publications and platforms. Most recently, in Entrepreneur and MSN. 

Helping yourself to help others

Petra Wilton, CMI’s director of policy and external affairs, was featured on the Voice of Islam Radio breakfast show last week, discussing how to improve as a manager. “A great leader is somebody that’s creating an environment where everybody else can succeed,” she said.

That concept may carry equal weight beyond the world of business. In this week’s newsletter, we feature an extract from The Arts of Leading, in which Pegram Harrison, a senior fellow in entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School, explores the links between music and leadership. These, Pegram writes, include “empathy, listening and operating both cognitively and emotionally”. 

We’re always heartened to see our community sharing similar values. Also in this week’s newsletter, we hear from Dervan Alleyne CMgr MCMI, a recent Chartered Manager of the Week, who mentions his commitment to continued development in his work selling innovative lighting solutions. 

We also meet Lewis Hodges ChMC, subject of our newly launched initiative, Chartered Management Consultant of the Month, who explains why consistency is key to building trust with clients. Suzy Masri CMgr MCMI also shares how she fosters a supportive environment and builds a sense of camaraderie in her role at Pfizer. 

Newfound trust

That sense of compassion should influence the working practices we put in place, whether that’s sabbatical leave, non-discriminatory hires or flexible working provisions. Ann Francke OBE appeared in the Financial Times recently, sharing how there’s been a newfound trust in staff who work remotely since the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Yet it seems not all organisations are thinking that way. CMI surveyed managers about hybrid working practices and found that many organisations have scaled back on more flexible options since the pandemic passed. That research was picked up in a recent Daily Mail article discussing working from home, which quoted Petra.

“The pandemic taught us invaluable lessons about the workplace,” she said. “That flexibility boosts productivity, that trust in employees drives success and that great managers are the backbone of any thriving organisation.” 

A topic for your next mentorship session, perhaps?

Best,

Matt Roberts CMgr FCMI

Director of membership and professional development, CMI