CMI Magazine - Issue 8

SPRING 2022 / ISSUE 08 THE MAGAZINE FOR CMI MEMBERS

CLASS ACTS --------How great leaders combat socio-economic bias

Welcome

These are some seriously classy leaders...

ANN FRANCKE OBE CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CMI

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Background shouldn’t matter. Let’s level up people as well as places to be honest, I find it pretty staggering that an individual’s socio-economic background can still have such an effect on their career prospects. But the fact is that it does, and we need to start talking about this. In many ways, socio-economic background is the last workplace taboo.

Very few organisations talk about socio-economic diversity, let alone measure it. So, in our 75th anniversary year, CMI is determined to bring this topic up the public agenda (alongside the other critical diversity pillars of ethnicity, gender, disability and age). That’s why we’re devoting much of the content in this CMI members’ magazine to the subject.

To give you a feeling for the prevalence of socio-economic bias, we recently surveyed 1,000 of our members from across the UK about it.

In our survey, about a third said that socioeconomic background is still a barrier to progressing to a senior or executive position.

A similar proportion said that class is a barrier to even gaining a middle management role in --------their organisation. This is crazy!

I was interviewed by the Financial Times in “ About a third of 1,000 managers February about this, and I can only repeat what I from across the UK said that told them: “There is so much talk about levelling socio-economic background is up when it comes to place. But really, what we still a barrier to progressing to need is levelling up when it comes to people.” a senior or executive position” 02 — SPR ING 202 2

Contents

Remembering HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

CMI, represented by chief executive Ann Francke OBE and membership director Matt Roberts, was honoured to attend the memorial service for HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey on 29 March. The Duke of Edinburgh was associated with the Chartered Management Institute for 50 years, having become an Honorary Fellow in 1969 and Royal Patron in 1992. He handed over patronage to HRH Sophie, The Countess of Wessex in 2019.

In one of his last public events, the Duke attended CMI’s President’s Dinner in 2017. The Duke’s values and those of CMI were always closely aligned; indeed, this was reflected by Dean of Windsor David Conner, who spoke at the memorial service of the Duke’s commitment to “the equipping of young people to face tomorrow’s challenges, the encouragement of respect and care for the natural order, and his pioneering work in facilitating conversation between representatives of the different world faiths”.

05 — rethink Left your student days behind? Well, that’s one mindset which might be worth revisiting...

12 — Not just grit There are lots of unwritten rules in the workplace, but not everyone will know them from the outset.

These three CMI Companions had to learn on the job 24 — “I’ve never had sushi” 23 practical tips to support people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, as shared

by CMI members 34 — Know your place Yes, management and social mobility still go hand in hand. Time for a short history of class in the workplace...

42 — First-gen professionals The term is catching on in the US, and it could be a useful way of reframing our thinking about class 48 — This is my story...

Chris Cummings may be “a white Yorkshireman” who attended “a bog standard comprehensive”, but there’s power in that personal branding

I love what Gemma Donnelly CMgr has to say on page 24.

She speaks from the heart. Sure, she lacked aspirational role models growing up. But the Civil Service – and specifically Gemma’s mentor – have built up her confidence.

56 — Tobyn Brooks After overcoming drug addiction and homelessness, this business owner is using recruitment to help others get their start 67 — CMgr Meet the managers on the front lines of sustainability and remote working

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TRANSFORMING CAREERS WITH A CMI BURSARY We believe that everyone, irrespective of their background, should be able to achieve their full potential.

To celebrate our 75th anniversary, we are offering 75 aspiring, junior or middle managers the opportunity to develop their management and leadership skills, with a £1,000 yearly contribution, for up to three years.

Apply before 31st May 2022 or share the link with someone you know who could benefit.

BENEFITS INCLUDE:

Manisha Mistry, Portfolio Director Digital Culture and Collaboration, Rolls-Royce

“

“

CMI has enabled me to not only benefit from accessing world-class resources but more crucially, connect and engage with an incredibly diverse community.

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£1000 each year for 3 years towards your chosen management programme*

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CMI Membership while you study and for 5 years after

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Achieve an internationally recognised qualification

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A tailored pathway to Chartered Manager status FIND OUT MORE ON HOW TO APPLY Apply before 31st May 2022 or share the link with someone who could benefit. *CMI approved

rethink

M I N DSET S OF T H E MODE R N L E A DE R We spend a lot of time studying the latest thinking about management, and right now we see a new image of leadership emerging. Where the traditional leader was meant to be assertive, thrusting and hyper-ambitious, the modern leader has a student’s spirit, a balance of interests, and is self-reflective ---------

Words / Emma De Vita

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THE ABILITY

T O DE TAC H

01

Many leaders wear their busyness as a badge of honour. Yet Elizabeth Uviebinené, author of The Reset: Ideas to change how we work and live, argues that it’s smarter to step away from your desk to allow time for reflection. This, she says, will not only help you to see the bigger picture when it comes to managing yourself and your team, but it will help you detach yourself from your job. And that is A Good Thing. People are happier, more fulfilled and work better if they have a full life outside of work. We may have been sold career dreams, but it’s best not to conflate your identity with your job title.

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rethink

W H O L E S OM E S E L F-AWA R E N E S S 02

Gary Vaynerchuk is a super successful entrepreneur and author, so you might expect him to advocate bulletproof leadership behaviours. In fact, in his book Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the emotional ingredients necessary for business success, he says

that leaders need to be able to unpick their strengths and weaknesses. Becoming more self-aware forces you to acknowledge your shortcomings and navigate around them, he says. It also gives you the emotional intelligence to put yourself in the shoes of the people

you manage, giving you the empathy and understanding to lead a strong team. Oh, and it might just prevent you from becoming one of those “bulldozers” or “gaslighters” that Tessa West warns us about in Jerks at Work: Toxic coworkers and what to do about them.

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A S E L F-C OAC H I NG S PI R I T 03

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We’re all encouraged to cultivate a “life-long” approach to learning, and a good way to achieve this is by becoming your own coach. That’s what Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper argue in You Coach You: How to overcome challenges and take control of your career. For example, it’s useful to ask yourself: “What do I want to be true in 12 months’ time that isn’t true today?” Answering these kind of “coach yourself” questions fast-forwards you to the future and prompts you to identify what positive action you need to take today. In turn, having a student mindset means that you can lead yourself through setbacks.

rethink

B E I NG A N E T WO R K NAV IG AT O R 04

As we move into a world of hybrid workplaces, it pays to be connected to other humans – in the real world and virtually. You achieve this by thoughtfully creating and maintaining the right networks, says Julia Hobsbawm in The Nowhere Office: Reinventing work and the workplace of the future. “Network navigators” configure their workspaces to prioritise social engagement, says Julia. They also get actively engaged in digital social networks. Julia encourages leaders to be community-minded, which will help you be socially healthy and effective at work.

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A ST RONG R E A S ON F O R B E I NG 05

In her book The Reset, Elizabeth Uviebinené references the Japanese concept of Ikigai, meaning “a reason for being”. Leaders, she says, should be able to cultivate a deep sense of purpose and motivation in themselves and their team.

Essentially Ikigai is about aligning your internal needs with the needs of the external world. It’s also a way of matching up what your organisation needs with the different talents and experiences across your team. If you can figure out where your team’s values lie – and give them what they need through their work – then you are able to create a fulfilled group of individuals.

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rethink

R E G R E T S ... I ’V E H A D A F E W...

06

The pandemic has made everyone think more deeply about their lives, including their regrets. Daniel Pink, author of The Power of Regret: How looking backwards moves us forward, created a World Regret Survey, which found that a big regret for many people is not being bold enough at work.

That could be speaking up about something bad, role-modelling new ways of working or taking a risky job opportunity. We most regret things we weren’t brave enough to do, the survey found. Looking forward, it may be that fortune will favour those who challenge pre-pandemic ways of thinking and working.

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NOT

People from disadvantaged backgrounds need active support from their employers

J UST

to help them advance. That’s according to three CMI Companions.

GRIT

They each understand the issues, having come from such backgrounds themselves

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Words / Hazel Sheffield

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hen teddy nyahasha CMgr CCMI reached a career plateau in the early 2000s, he turned to the tools he had always used to get ahead. Nyahasha is now the group chief executive of OneFamily, a financial services provider based in Brighton, but then, working as a technical specialist at the newly formed Financial Conduct Authority (then the Financial Services Authority), he saw education as the way to progress.

Teddy had seen the power of education as a young man growing up in Zimbabwe. His father had moved the family to London to pursue a degree; his mother had also shown extraordinary commitment to distance learning despite the barriers of her social status and her sex.

So, faced with a career challenge, Teddy applied to Birkbeck University to take a postgraduate diploma in statistics.

But it was when talking to one of his directors that he realised that education alone would never be enough. “Actually there are these other, unwritten rules that you need to understand,” Teddy recalls. “It was a bit of a downbeat moment, because I suddenly had to learn something that I was less sure about.”

Teddy was born outside the UK, but his career progress was still dictated by the --------British class system. All too often, success “ Actually there are stories from disadvantaged backgrounds these other, unwritten are put down to strength of character; rules that you need the idea that “tenacious” or “gritty” people to understand. It was will “drag themselves up” in life.

But the reality is that individuals from a bit of a downbeat any background who end up at the top moment, because I benefit from constructive interventions, suddenly had to learn whether that’s a proactive boss, the something that I was sponsorship of more powerful people, less sure about” access to strong networks, education and, often, a good deal of luck. In the most progressive organisations, the focus is on improving these interventions so that 14 — SPR I NG 202 2

Teddy’s childhood was split between the UK and Zimbabwe.

He finally settled in the UK in the 1990s

more people from different backgrounds can get into management and leadership positions. That might involve recruitment, training, transparency or communication in everyday business.

In Teddy’s case, he says he spent many years being someone else in order to assimilate. “I was trying to sound right,” he says. “Even something as minor as a joke which I suddenly felt a need to find funny, even though I don’t find it funny. You’re always second-guessing yourself. It took me a while to work through that.”

In the end, Teddy realised that being himself could actually be a good thing. His boss at the time started inviting him to business meetings with those higher up. Teddy discovered, through mentorship, that a successful career in management cannot be learned in books.

“You need other attributes, softer skills, and that’s where management comes into play. So, we need to ask: what are the ropes you need to show to someone who might not have had the education to allow them to climb to that peak?”

Select people who can solve your problems

Angela Noon CMgr CCMI, now chief financial officer at Royal Mail, also believes that progressive organisations need to make positive interventions to help people from less well-off backgrounds. One way companies can hire people from a more diverse range of backgrounds is by adjusting their selection process. At graduate fairs at top universities, she says, you might be able to find bright people, but their ability to problem-solve and handle pressure might not be as strong as people from difficult social backgrounds. “Adversity and challenges or thinking for oneself at an early age are invaluable life lessons.”

For example, Siemens (her previous employer) introduced a “commercial academy” to seek out not necessarily just the brightest graduates, but those with social skills and the right values. It also

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 15

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“ You start to attack unconscious bias, not just in recruitment, but in the day to day.

Tackling that and makes companies more successful” changed its recruitment process in finance in order to capture a wider spectrum of entry-level talent. The company kept some of the more traditional assessment processes involving mathematical reasoning and looking through paragraphs to identify key messages, but added more criteria to assess what candidates believed in, what had influenced them and how they had overcome challenges and dealt with conflict.

And finally, Siemens encourages discussions about backgrounds and experiences within the company. “That way, you start to attack unconscious bias – not just in recruitment, but in the day to day.

Tackling that makes companies more successful,” Angela explains.

Role models, sponsors and mentors

Allison Kirkby CMgr CCMI says that mentorship and sponsorship from people within her industry have been pivotal to her success. She became chief executive of Telia in May 2020 and is now one of a small handful of women at the helm of a major global telecoms company; others include Keri Gilder at Colt, and Christel Heydemann, slated to be the new head of Orange.

Allison grew up on the south side of Glasgow, with what she describes as “an inner desire for progress beyond Glasgow, equipped with financial independence”, having grown up in a working-class family.

Nonetheless, her family believed in the power of education, and she saw the power of hard work in her early role models, including her “very glamorous” godmother, who was both a ballerina and a doctor. “If I hadn’t had those hard-working role models, who knows where I would have ended up,” she says now.

Then there were the professional sponsors who have really made the difference: first Jeremy Darroch, formerly chief executive 16 — SPR IN G 202 2

Angela has previously described how she was inspired by a business person who visited her school in Glasgow when she was 10

of Sky, who was on the interviewing panel when Allison joined Procter & Gamble.

“He put himself on the line in hiring me into P&G, as it was rare for P&G to hire non-graduates, so he was personally invested in making me a success,” she says.

Later, the UK & Ireland country manager at Procter and Gamble encouraged Kirkby to get some exposure to life beyond her functional remit, including moving her out of finance and into general management. “I wasn’t the most obvious candidate to become the managing director of P&G UK & Ireland’s salon professional business, but he spotted that I would be a natural fit for building the customer relationships that were vital to success in that business, so he pushed me out of my comfort zone and away from a functional finance role.”

She says of sponsors: “They advocate for you when you’re not in the room, which is so important for career progression. Great managers need to be great not just at building the business but also in developing their people so that they create the managers and the leaders of the future. For me, building the organisation around and below you is key to building a sustainable business.”

On this point, Teddy believes that COVID-19 has provided an opportunity for managers and leaders to learn more about their workforce and to be curious and empathetic about the career goals of their people. “Part of a manager’s job is to create that atmosphere that enables a conversation,” he says. That’s good for the bottom line.

Angela adds that more diversity equals more brainstorming, more innovation – and a more profitable organisation. But it’s also a key part of how companies can work on their recruitment and retention as they strive to become more inclusive. “The younger generation are asking us [to do it],” she says (speaking in her last few weeks as CFO at Siemens). “It’s their expectation that we are open-minded and liberal, so we are striving to be thought leaders on this.”

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A L L I S ON K I R K BY ---------

Allison Kirkby CMgr CCMI is president and chief executive of Telia, the largest digital communications and media company in the Nordic/Baltic region. At 14 though, she was the most successful Avon rep in Glasgow. But when her dad fell terminally ill, she put aside dreams of university and instead became the first female trainee accountant at The Distillers Company, going to college one day per week.

After qualifying as an accountant in 1990, she joined Procter & Gamble and stayed with the company for two decades, including a stint in the Balkans, where she saw the benefit of hiring local talent from a full range of economic and academic backgrounds.

The company recruited directly from universities in the region and gave its graduate

recruits leadership and career opportunities that reminded Allison of her early accounting apprenticeship in Glasgow.

Later, when she became CFO at Tele2, Allison inherited an executive trainee programme where talented graduate recruits would shadow C-suite executives for a whole year, before then progressing into roles within the company. This gave her the opportunity to coach and mentor talented young women (she still remains a mentor to many of them), while also serving as a valuable sounding board for them as they grew within the company.

She also sits on the board of BT, where she encourages the company to think broadly about the diversity of the talent it recruits, both of a graduate and non-graduate nature.

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 19

T E DDY N YA H A SH A ---------

Teddy Nyahasha CMgr CCMI is chief executive of OneFamily, a financial services company in Brighton and Hove. He was born in rural Zimbabwe and became an accountant at what was then Zimbabwe’s largest accountancy firm; people of colour made up about five per cent of the partnership. He spent his childhood between London and Zimbabwe, returning to the UK to work at a subsidiary of Coopers & Lybrand in the 1990s.

In his early career, Teddy benefited from working at companies with a traditional pyramid management structure, “where you start at the base and there is a pathway created within that environment”.

20 — SPR IN G 202 2

Later, when he joined the Financial Conduct Authority in 2003, he realised that he couldn’t rely solely on internal structures to further his career.

It was only after talking to one of his directors that he realised that getting ahead would be as much about developing softer skills such as networking as it would be about his qualifications on paper.

He went on to work for Aviva for six years, becoming financial director. He’s now been at OneFamily for almost six years, where he is passionate about helping young people invest in their future through savings, investments and access to the firm’s education grants.

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 21

A NGE L A NO ON ---------

Angela Noon CMgr CCMI was appointed CFO and executive director of Siemens UK & Ireland in January 2018, after two decades with the company. It’s a long way from her upbringing in a tenement in Glasgow, having left school at 16 and got a job in a car dealership. There, a finance director encouraged her to go back into education to get her A Levels. Later, at university, she studied accountancy.

After graduating, she took a summer job in an insurance company and struggled to get a training contract in an accountancy firm. Eventually, one of the partners interviewing

22 — SPR ING 202 2

her told her straight that despite having a lot of talent, it was simply a fact that they had candidates from better schools with a much better education.

So Noon went into industry, first working in a steel plant and later at a packaging manufacturer.

The latter was a turning point in her career. It was this diversity of experience that got her into Siemens, when the company was looking for internal auditors who had a commercial background.

In March 2022, after 22 years at Siemens, Angela joined Royal Mail, a decision she says was motivated by her desire to stay in the UK with her family.

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People from so-called “lower socio-econonic backgrounds” shouldn’t have to rely on tenacity and determination to get ahead.

Here are the active steps their managers and employers should be taking to support them

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Words / Matthew Rock, James Sutton & CMI members

I’V E NEV ER HAD SUSHI

23

WAYS TO DRIVE SOCIAL MOBILITY IN THE WORKPLACE

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 25

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IM AG E_ MIKE PINC HES

ven in 2022, your background can still influence your chances of success in life. It’s not always a question of the obstacles you have to overcome; it’s sometimes about fighting the self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness.

Gemma Donnelly (right) had a lot going for her growing up. She came from a loving family. Her mum and dad – “one of 15 in a massive Irish Catholic family” – supported her in everything she wanted to do.

Gemma was clever, did well at school and went on to become one of the first people in her family to go to university.

But money was always tight growing up. Things that many people take for granted – such as going on school trips – required a bit of financial sacrifice for her family. And she wasn’t exactly surrounded by ambition.

“At school, we were told you could be a teacher or a police officer; no-one wanted to be a doctor because no-one’s parents were doctors.”

After university, Gemma worked in a pub and as a teaching assistant, but she was keen to push on. When she spotted a Home Office job advert in her local paper in Sheffield, she applied for a role as admin assistant, even though it was the lowest rung in the Civil Service and she had a good university degree. “A lot of it stems from a lack of confidence and not really feeling as if I was worthy,” she reflects.

Today, 15 years in, 38-year-old Gemma is a Level 6 civil servant, a programme delivery lead at the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

And she’s a passionate and prominent advocate for social mobility.

“I don’t want kids not to realise what’s out there and not fulfil their potential because they haven’t had their eyes opened.” She gives talks in schools and mentors five people across the Civil Service.

Having her own mentor was a turning point for Gemma. When she applied to do a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship, she had to find a mentor. She landed on Alison, a deputy director in her department. The two women didn’t know each other beforehand but ever since they’ve been meeting once a week for an informal check-in.

“Hands down, it’s been the thing that’s helped accelerate my career.”

Perhaps more than any thing, the relationship has helped Gemma realise --------that it’s OK not to know stuff. “If you’re “ At school, we were told from a lower socio-economic background, you could be a teacher you’re constantly asking yourself, should I know this? You don’t want to come or a police officer; noacross as stupid.” She says this applies to one wanted to be a a lot of experiences, even trivial ones. “Not doctor because no-one’s everyone has had sushi before. If you’re parents were doctors” from a lower socio-economic background, you may not know what to order.”

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 27

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Here are lots more ways you can support your team members and new recruits from lower socio-economic backgrounds. All these ideas are drawn directly from a recent Manager’s Voice poll of CMI members. We’d like to thank everyone who shared their views.

RECRUITMENT ---------

1. Give attitude the same weighting as you would experience and qualifications.

“We clearly state on our ‘person specification’ that experience is as valued as qualifications,” says one respondent.

2. Use clear inclusivity messaging throughout your recruitment process. Then make sure you continue to use this in company updates and reporting.

3. Consider starting a nongraduate scheme which leads to apprenticeship training. This respondent’s comment brings this point home powerfully: “Routinely asking for a degree during recruitment, although often appropriate for the role, limits opportunities for those like myself from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who were unable to go to university due to social circumstances and who now find themselves unable to do a degree due to work commitments.”

4. Treat apprenticeships and paid internships with as much respect as graduate schemes and conventional hires. One respondent said that “the biggest difference would be 28 — SPR IN G 202 2

to offer apprenticeships at a foundation degree level and a commitment to provide the work experience to fulfil this training.” Another said that their organisation’s Apprenticeship Levy is used to support another company in the sector to take on an apprentice.

5. Build links with local schools and colleges, particularly in areas with lots of people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. This will help you identify talented people who may lack the connections/formal qualifications to progress.

More organisations do seem to be thinking this way: “Apprenticeships and connections with local universities will become part of the next stage of recruitment,” said one poll respondent.

6. Get some socio-economic diversity in your interview panels.

This would help to reduce the risk of people simply hiring in their own image, and it should be a familiar idea from other aspects of EDI-friendly recruitment.

It helps for all roles to have clearly defined lists of the skills/ experiences required, so that there’s less room for bias in the interview process.

8. Think about specific challenges that some people will face. Don’t assume that candidates can afford to travel across the country to get to an interview and then claim for it. If you routinely hold interviews in London, you might automatically be selfselecting people from wealthier backgrounds. These are the sort of assumptions that cumulatively count against people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

CULTURE ---------

9. Start by making the point that we need to consider socio-economic background.

Lots of senior managers won’t even have thought of it.

7. Try blind CVs. As one respondent put it: “While policies are in place to improve recruitment from lower socio-economic backgrounds, bias still exists in the process. The only way to remove it is to not provide hiring managers with all the information about a candidate’s background and to base the process on job-related skills only.” One organisation we heard about actively encourages applications from anyone who identifies as being part of a disadvantaged group. “This benefits our organisation because it keeps our minds open to talent and skills that might not come through the usual routes.”

10. Talk about socio-economic background alongside your existing work on race, gender etc. Talking about the struggles of “white, working-class men” can sometimes feel like it’s intended as a counterpoint to a “woke” agenda, but it’s important to acknowledge that it’s a legitimate area of focus in its own right. One respondent says: “Our managers specifically support and promote the inclusion of those from lower socio-economic backgrounds – it’s just part of our language and anti-discrimination practice.”

11. Encourage managers to challenge behaviours which don’t fit the organisation’s values or which may harm an individual.

One example might be people who comment on others’ accents in a derogatory way.

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 29

DATA ---------

12. Start collecting data about people’s backgrounds from the outset, in order to give you a better picture of progression trends over time. Then track it. In one respondent’s organisation, annual data monitoring includes socio-economic status, which is reported to the board and an equality subgroup.

13. Make sure you actually do something with the data that you collect. It needs to lead to follow-up work, ideally by setting measurable goals.

14. Interrogate what people really mean when they selfreport their socio-economic background. Including questions about their parents’ occupations and their highest level of educational attainment in the data collection process would help to identify where people are calling themselves workingclass when they’re actually comfortably middle-class.

COACHING & MENTORING ---------

15. Put a future leaders programme in place, with training for progression. Start with a good, solid employee evaluation process and build out from there.

16. Consider establishing social mobility networks. This might involve groups for people at the same level (to share their experiences), and groups which cut across different levels to 30 — SPR IN G 202 2

give senior staff a sense of the obstacles that “first-generation professionals” face (see our feature in this edition on the rise of this term). One word of caution: make sure you act on any issues or grievances raised by such networks. A lack of action will suggest a lack of genuine commitment.

17. Use coaching and mentoring to encourage people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to aspire to greater career progression. Gemma Donnelly from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (see above) says: “A lot with people I manage say, ‘I earn more than my parents so I can stop now’.” Encourage them to be ambitious. When setting up mentoring schemes, pay specific attention to how you pair up mentors and mentees – think about the skills of the mentor and the interests of the mentee.

18. Use personal development plans to support people and identify any weaknesses or training needs. One respondent said: “Each role should have a development/skills plan for progression to their next, more senior role, with the organisation providing the necessary training or supporting individuals to acquire skills. Each individual should have a development plan that is actively managed by their manager, and not left up to the individual.”

TARGETED SUPPORT

LEADERSHIP ROLE MODELS

19. Think carefully about what you’re asking of people. Some people may not be able to pay upfront for their own travel to work events, for example. Have financial support schemes in place to cover the cost, make sure people know about them, and make sure they feel comfortable enough to say when they need to use those schemes.

21. Could your leaders tell their own personal story? One CMI member in our poll explained how the socio-economic background of his company’s owner plays an important role.

“He has achieved success and has developed a premium client base despite not having a university education or coming from a wealthy background.”

(See our feature in this edition on leaders’ personal brands.)

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20. Consider the intersections with other EDI characteristics.

For example, women from lower socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to have caring responsibilities. What can the organisation do to support them? Offer flexible working to support people with childcare needs. Similarly, consider whether those individuals who are more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds (eg, veterans, care leavers and ex-offenders) need dedicated support. And might these groups benefit from dedicated recruitment schemes?

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Need a helping hand?

To make sure everyone has the chance to reach their full potential, CMI is offering 75 people a yearly bursary of £1,000 for up to three years to invest in management and leadership training. Visit www. managers.org.uk/campaigns/ bursary to find out more

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22. Leaders themselves need training to understand the issues around socio-economic background. At one poll respondent’s organisation, senior leaders undergo inclusive leadership training programmes in subjects such as white allyship.

Others talk about inviting notable speakers to talk about race, disability and equality issues. “The challenge is the bias still held by many senior managers to select people from higher socio-economic backgrounds. The perception is still very much that they will be better candidates.”

23. Finally, just don’t overlook this topic. With so many other diversity and inclusion priorities to think about, socio-economic background tends to be one that gets forgotten. Try to provide managers with a simple toolkit to allow them to focus on this and set clear objectives.

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“

Simon Cyhanko CMgr MCMI Head of Wastewater Networks, Northumbrian Water Group.

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Simon Cyhanko CMgr MCMI Head of Wastewater Networks, Northumbrian Water Group.

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34 — SPR I N G 202 2

K NOW YO U R P L AC E A short history of class in the workplace – and why management is the answer to social mobility in the 21st century --------Words / Ian Wylie

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 35

IT ’S

a classic comedy sketch from 1966. A 6ft 5in John Cleese, representing the upper class, looks down on the Two Ronnies, who represent the middle and working classes. In the middle, Ronnie Barker says: “I look up to him [Cleese] because he is upper class, but I look down on him [Ronnie Corbett] because he is lower class.” The tiny Corbett says: “I know my place.”

More than half a century later, it has not become much easier for someone to move up a “class”, even inside our supposedly more inclusive organisations. “I’ve met many people on ethnic diversity schemes who tell me that, actually, it’s their working-class background that has prevented them from getting on in the workplace,” says the University of Exeter’s Lee Elliot Major, the UK’s first professor of social mobility.

Thankfully, managers and management education have become vectors of change in recent years. Workplaces once full of glass ceilings are gradually being remade as they face up to long-held biases against people on the grounds of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual identity. But organisations won’t be truly inclusive and diverse, says Elliot Major, until the “class ceiling” has been removed too.

The golden age of management mobility

In the centuries before the industrial revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries, the land-owning aristocracy were the most powerful section of many societies. But the transformation of largely rural, agrarian nations in Europe and the US into industrialised, urban economies allowed the middle classes to swell in number and confidence. Social mobility rocketed as --------they took on new professional, managerial, “ Mass production and the technical and clerical roles which required growth of companies education, training and expertise. New into complex, multiskills and occupations boosted people’s layered organisations social status as well as their incomes. increased the need for This “professional managerial class”, as defined by American political theorists many different types Barbara and John Ehrenreich, expanded of management” further in the 20th century as the private and public sectors grew dramatically in economies such as the UK and US. “Mass 36 — SPR ING 202 2

Management roles were a key part of the suburban dream in the 1950s and 60s

production and the growth of companies into complex, multi-layered organisations increased the need for many different types of management,” explains Elena Beleska-Spasova, professor of international business at Henley Business School. “The shift towards services and the expansion of government also demanded workers with higher levels of skills and further managerial roles.” Indeed, in his 1941 book The Managerial Revolution, philosopher James Burnham argued that managers had become the new “ruling class”.

In the UK, the 1950s and 1960s were, in the words of Oxford sociologist John Goldthorpe, a “golden age” as professional and managerial jobs more than doubled as a proportion of the UK labour market, spurring a dramatic growth in upward mobility. In 1951, higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations made up just 11 per cent of the working population. Today, says Elliot Major, that figure is closer to 44 per cent.

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 37

A new era of inequality

Unfortunately, the transformative impact of managerial jobs on social mobility has diminished over time. For example, during the second half of the 20th century, many of the new professions – eager to maintain or raise standards and the status of their occupation – began to restrict entry, often excluding those without degrees. The expansion of managerial and professional jobs has slowed too, as the growth of developed economies has become more pedestrian. According to Snakes and Ladders, the latest book by Oxford professor of modern history Selina Todd, that “golden age” of social mobility in Britain ended abruptly with Margaret Thatcher’s election as prime minister in 1979.

It’s a contentious view, but inequality has certainly become more extreme in recent decades. A new report by the Resolution Foundation points to “jobs polarisation”: in the 1980s and 1990s, there was as much growth in low-paid occupations as there was in higher-paying occupations. Social mobility may not have --------disappeared completely, says Goldthorpe, “ That ‘golden age’ of but for those born since the early 1980s, social mobility in Britain it is as likely to be down as up. According to research by Elliot Major and his colleague ended abruptly with Stephen Machin, the UK and US are now Margaret Thatcher’s at the bottom of the table for income election as prime mobility among developed countries. minister in 1979” What is incontestable is the role and power of family. Who you are born to and where you come from still matters. Armed with the same university degree, someone from a poorer home will earn less on average than their equally educated but more privileged counterpart. You are still 60 per cent more likely to get a professional job if you come from a privileged rather than a working-class background, according to figures from the UK government.

Why? Because “loss aversion”, as psychologists call it, means that parents in managerial and professional positions will do all they can to prevent their children from falling down the social ladder.

The desire of parents to do the best for their children is only natural, but this instinct makes it harder for those without that family background to climb the social ladder.

38 — SPR I N G 202 2

Thatcher may have promised “a chance to climb to the top”, but her government made social mobility harder

“As things stand, you are less likely to get into the managerial classes if you’re not there already,” says Elliot Major. Studies

by Goldthorpe and his colleague Erzsébet Bukodi found that the children of parents in higher managerial and professional positions are 20 times more likely to end up in such positions than the children of working-class parents.

Time for a new golden age?

So, how do we remove the obstacles for “firstgeneration” managers and professionals?

Well, we need a new “golden age”, says Goldthorpe, who argues that governments should develop an industrial strateg y that creates more good management jobs.

That means upgrading low-paid jobs such as caring roles and turning them into professions with secure, regular income and prospects of career progression.

The UK government’s latest “levelling up” plans, aiming to tackle low-paid, low-productivity economic activity by redistributing wealth and opportunities outside London, could be a step in that direction; 20 towns and cities are being targeted for redevelopment in an effort to create more high-quality jobs. In England alone, the government aims to encourage 200,000 more people to complete skills training annually, including 80,000 more completing courses in the lowest-skilled areas.

Technological changes could also help drive further growth in managerial roles. “I’m confident that as technology and automation advances, they will generate greater demand for higher-level skills to manage these more complex systems,” says Beleska-Spasova.

In the meantime, employers can and should do more. Social class is conspicuous for its absence from the diversity and inclusion strategies of most organisations. This is odd, says Elliot Major, as we know socioeconomic background profoundly affects people’s life chances. Research

by Paul Ingram of Columbia Business School found that workers from humbler backgrounds in the US were 32 per cent less likely to become managers than those whose families sat higher up the social ladder.

That represented a greater disadvantage than the one experienced by women compared with men (27 per cent), or black employees compared with those who are white (25 per cent).

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 39

YOUR IDENTITY CAN HURT YOUR CHANCES OF BECOMING A MANAGER

32% 27% 25%

“When we talked to FTSE 100 companies, we found that very few are looking at socioWORKING-CLASS? YOU’RE A THIRD LESS LIKELY TO BECOME economic background alongside other A MANAGER attributes in their diversity efforts,” says Elliot Major. Even so, he applauds outliers such as KPMG, which has set a target of 29 per cent of its partners and directors coming from lower socio-economic backgrounds by WOMEN ARE LESS LIKELY 2030. The firm is measuring this in terms TO PROGRESS THAN MEN of the occupations of an employee’s parents when the employee was a teenager. It’s a powerful predictor of life outcomes.

“I challenge employers to produce targets around social class,” Elliot Major says, “and BLACK CANDIDATES ARE LESS I’d encourage them to rethink how they LIKELY TO BECOME MANAGERS define ‘talent’. Often, we use middle-class THAN THEIR WHITE PEERS traits as proxies for talent, but is performing well in front of an intimidating interview panel really a guide to the talent needed for a job, or just a demonstration of middle-class confidence?”

A recent study on “first-generation professionals” for the Harvard Business Review recommends that employers offer and actively promote resources from groups that help to prepare employees for greater success in the workplace. Its recommendations also include making inclusive communication a core competency for everyone and assessing the current workplace culture and norms – in other words, don’t simply appoint people according to how well they’d fit within the existing culture.

The rise of management and degree apprenticeships

Employers can also make greater use of opportunities for upskilling such as degree apprenticeships. These are proving to be a powerful vehicle for social mobility. Two-thirds of degree apprentices at Middlesex University, for example, come from non-professional backgrounds. Overall, 44 per cent of management apprentices come from the bottom half of UK areas ranked by deprivation levels. What’s more, half of management apprentices are women.

“Many of the learners we see wouldn’t be studying management if it wasn’t for the degree apprenticeship route,” says James Farr, external engagement manager for apprenticeships at Henley Business School. “Typically, they’re people who didn’t go to university and who entered the workplace at 16 or 18 and worked their way up the ranks 40 — SPR IN G 202 2

A degree apprenticeship has helped Joe O’Hara climb the ranks at Lloyds Bank

with employers. Apprenticeships are democratising management education and broadening its reach.

And I think this government is right in seeking to create more alternative paths to higher education, more lifelong learning and greater flexibility with shorter and more modular courses.”

Joe O’Hara CMgr MCMI is one manager who has progressed via the degree apprenticeship route. He had been working for Lloyds Bank for more than a decade when he enrolled on the Chartered Manager degree apprenticeship which Henley runs in partnership with CMI. “My parents didn’t go to university and I wasn’t the most academic of students at school, but after 10 years of gaining practical experience, the bank offered to fund me through a degree apprenticeship,” says Joe, who is now client services director within the bank’s commercial division. “Worth the best part of £30,000, there was nothing to dislike about the opportunity. I’ve always been conscious of not having a degree. I know what I’m capable of, but I was curious about whether I could back up what I know with a proper qualification.”

Within the first six months of studying, Joe was promoted into a more senior role. “The degree apprenticeship has made me feel a more rounded, thoughtful and reflective individual. I might even consider doing an MBA next!”

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 4 1

W E N EED T O TA L K A B O U T F I R S T- G E N E R A T I O N PROFESSIONA LS When it comes to diversity, --------equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, managers often Words / Jess Stillman focus on factors such as ethnicity or gender. But according to a growing number of DEI professionals, there’s another group that managers might want to consider too: first-generation professionals.

A first-generation professional (or FGP for short) is someone who is the first in their family to hold a professional, white-collar job. They often come from diverse backgrounds, and recent studies have shown that they tend to feel less valued and included at work than those with deeper roots in the professional world.

So, why does the management lexicon need this new term, which is increasingly being used in the US? Experts argue that thinking in terms of FGPs – rather than more traditional language around “socio-economic background” – helps remove stigma, illuminate barriers faced by professional newcomers, and focus attention on how leaders can help them succeed.

We spoke with Karen Hinds, a DEI expert and CEO of the Workplace Success Group (who is herself an FGP), about the challenges faced by this often overlooked group and how managers can best help them thrive.

42 — SPR IN G 202 2

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 4 3

---------

“ FGPs don’t really have people they can depend on to help them figure out the nuances of work within a whitecollar environment” Why is it helpful for managers to think in terms of FGPs?

It’s important for them to know that FGPs are trying to figure out how to learn the unwritten rules. They don’t really have people they can depend on to help them figure out the nuances of work within a white-collar environment. Managers need to be mindful of that.

Can you give a few examples of things that might be difficult initially for those entering this type of environment for the first time?

A lot of FGPs have been told to work hard, get a degree, and everything is going to unfold magically. What you quickly realise is the value of your network. You spend a lot of time just trying to get through the education system, and nobody’s really there to say that your network is a critical part of your professional development.

We take for granted that people who are coming into the workplace understand how to move up in a corporate environment. But the barrier comes when there aren’t any mentors to show that person how it’s done.

What often happens is people say, “That person has sharp elbows”. It’s not that they have sharp elbows. They just don’t know how to navigate their environment.

You yourself are an FGP. Could you share a little bit about your own early experiences entering the corporate world?

I felt like a foreigner in so many ways. It was an eye-opening experience.

I didn’t know how to advance, how to build relationships or how to conduct myself in social settings.

Where I grew up, you were taught not to toot your own horn. That’s different in corporate spaces. You have to become visible, so you have to make that shift from waiting for somebody to tap you on the shoulder to being confident enough to recognise that it is acceptable to elevate yourself. In the very beginning, I struggled with not just keeping your head down and hoping magic is going to happen – because you can work really hard and still be in the same place 10 years down the line.

44 — SPR ING 202 2

---------

“ We can’t use a broad brush for every employee. Managers need to sit down and figure out, ‘Who do I have in front of me?’”

What are some concrete things managers might want to consider doing to support FGPs in their teams?

I tell every manager that their goal is to grow their people. While we need to pay attention to the needs of FGPs, if you are a good manager, you should be doing that for everyone.

My parents used to be farmers. They would be growing bananas, oranges and sweet potatoes. The goal was always the same – to get the product ready for shipment – but the approach was different.

When the bananas are at a certain maturation level, you have to put a plastic bag over them. You can’t do that for oranges.

Likewise, we can’t use a broad brush for every employee.

What managers need to do is sit down and figure out, “Who do I have in front of me and what are their specific needs? What are their career aspirations?” Start by telling people that it’s OK to speak up. Make sure that they’re taking advantage of the resources that are available to help them grow and excel, and make sure they understand the need to have a mentor. Also, explain to them that the way to move up is not always a vertical move. It could be getting involved in special projects or stretch assignments. What managers should be doing for FGPs is what every professional wants.

There’s this idea of hiring for “cultural fit”. Is that problematic? If you’re looking for someone who fits into your culture, perhaps you’re less likely to hire an FGP…

I’ve moved away from encouraging managers to hire for cultural fit because often, when we hire for cultural fit, the culture is people who play golf or are from certain universities. We’ve seen across a number of clients that when they hire for cultural fit, over time everybody has the exact same lifestyle. And if you’re looking to go into new markets, then your culture doesn’t prepare you.

We’re also finding that some of our clients are eliminating certain requirements because they’re not necessary to perform the job. You

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 4 5

---------

“ These people are learning how to play a game that they haven’t been taught the rules of. How do you, as a manager, teach them how to play?”

might have someone who has 15 years of experience doing a particular job, but because they don’t have a Master’s degree, they can’t get it. Ensure that you’re hiring for what your company needs to take it to the next level.

B eing succe s sful a s an FG P means learning the codes of your organisation. But authenticity is valuable too. How do you think about that balance bet ween adapting but also staying true to your authentic self?

That’s one of the big areas where FGPs often struggle. I know I did. When you’re at home, you’re one way, and when you’re in the corporate world, you have to almost become somebody else. You change the way you speak, the way you dress, the way you interact with people. You have this delicate dance of “Which identity do I bring to work that’s safe enough that I can keep moving up the ladder?” It can be something as simple as hair. For a lot of black women, they don’t wear their natural hair because it’s seen as unprofessional. How do you bring your authentic self to work when your colleagues think that your natural hair is unprofessional?

So, have one-on-one conversations with employees. Find out who they are. Don’t make assumptions and don’t judge. They may do things differently on the weekend. They may eat different foods. They may speak differently, but give them the space to exist in a non-judgmental way. Learn about them instead of trying to put them into the box of, “This is what an employee should look like”.

Is there anything else that managers need to know about FGPs?

Some managers, when they hear “FGP”, think you have to give a handout. That’s not what this is about. These people are learning how to play a game that they haven’t been taught the rules of. How do you, as a manager, teach them how to play that game? Because the person who understands the rules and plays better wins.

46 — SPR ING 202 2

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THIS IS MY S T O R Y… Leaders are encouraged to be authentic, to bring their whole selves to work.

So, how honest should you be when you share your own backstory?

--------Words / Seb Murray

48 — SPR ING 202 2

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 4 9

chris cummings has a striking personal brand. His corporate biography speaks honestly about his working-class roots. This, you feel, is a leader of genuine humility.

And beneath the words, there’s another message: that Cummings, CEO of the Investment Association, has not benefited from any hereditary privilege. His career success is largely down to his own efforts.

Cummings’ approach is useful on several levels. Yes, there are real lessons here about how to forge a compelling personal brand, but his honesty will surely also help to tackle wider issues about how we address socio-economic imbalances in the workforce.

Many managers and leaders would feel uncomfortable sharing personal details. They may fear that revealing their background, especially any socio-economic challenges they have faced, might harm their career prospects. But this can have negative effects. “If you don’t see people thriving who look and sound like you, it can be hard to imagine a long-term future in that industry,” says Cummings.

These issues run deep, explains Louise Ashley, senior lecturer in organisation studies at Royal Holloway, University of London.

“Class is associated with stigma and shame – and that can give people strong perceived reasons to hide their background.”

The answer is for more leaders to adopt Cummings’ approach. Leaders are the public faces of their organisations and can set an example by sharing their stories. “It’s only when people become quite senior and occupy positions of power that they feel able to open up,” says Ashley.

The impact can be powerful, creating role models and helping to create a culture in which employees don’t feel they need to conform to a uniform image.

Serge da Motta Veiga, professor of human resource management at France’s --------EDHEC Business School, believes this is “ Class is associated beginning to happen. “Leaders are being with stigma and more open about who they are, sharing shame – and that personal stories and struggles.” can give people He says this is in tune with the pandemic strong perceived era, where leadership traits such as compassion, communication and empathy reasons to hide have come to the fore. “Saying I wasn’t given their background” this on a platter, these are the hurdles I had to overcome to get where I am – I think people will be drawn to that.”

50 — SPRIN G 202 2

Chris Cummings’ corporate bio is refreshingly candid

So, what’s next?

Your executive biography is the first glimpse people will get of your personality and values. They’re often very bland.

But more and more leaders are revamping them, with a scope that goes well beyond a list of professional achievements.

Cummings is showing the way. “It’s time we shed all the taboos and feel comfortable bringing our whole selves to work, talking openly about our backg rounds, our upbringing, the journeys we have taken in our careers and any obstacles we may have faced,” he says.

So, what’s the best approach to take?

Max Whicher, co-founder of Spin Brands, says it’s important that your personal leadership story has positivity. “You don’t want to dwell on how tough your life has been – it should be aspirational,” he says.

“Focus on how you overcame the challenges.” He encourages leaders to talk about their values, goals and extra-curricular achievements and, where possible, to tie their own story to their company’s goals.

The biggest mistake is not staying humble, says Whicher. “What you don’t want to do is come across like you’re bragging about your success. It’s not about ‘I didn’t have much and now look at me’ or ‘If I can do it, anybody can’. It’s more about recognising your good fortune in difficult circumstances.”

And please be honest. Sam Friedman at the London School of Economics knows this area well. He’s written books such as The Class Ceiling: Why it pays to be privileged. His research has found that people from privileged backgrounds often “misidentify” their origins in order to demonstrate their success “against the odds”.

Da Motta Veiga encourages people not to attribute all their success to intrinsic factors and instead to recognise the role played by education, role models and connections. The message that you’re trying to communicate is that “you don’t want to only hire people who share your pedigree,” he says. “The future of leadership won’t be all old white men who went to Oxbridge – it’ll be many people who had to work their backsides off to get there.”

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 5 1

FIVE LE A DERSH I P JOU R N E YS Let’s look in detail at how modern leaders are telling their own stories...

Chris Cummings CEO at the UK Investment Association

Mitesh Sheth Former CEO of financial consultants Redington

“I am a white Yorkshireman – born and bred! I attended a ‘bog standard’ comprehensive school and then went to Newcastle University to read Philosophy & Politics. I was the first person in my family to go to University – only possible because of getting a full grant.”

“I am a proud British Indian, a practicing Hindu, a Vegan and I don’t drink alcohol. Growing up, my parents worked multiple jobs to make ends meet as immigrants to the UK from Africa, as did their parents when they emigrated from India. I went to a state school in Crawley, then got into LSE to study Actuarial Science. After graduating, I spent a year reconnecting with my roots in India […] I am passionate about developing agile and inclusive cultures, where diverse talent can innovate and collaborate to create a more sustainable and equitable future for all.”

—

—

This comes across as a really “interesting journey,” says Max Whicher of Spin Brands. “You get a feeling of humble beginnings and a good work ethic.”

—

—

We love Mitesh’s story. It’s got personal details about his lifestyle, work ethic and childhood. Max Whicher admires how it also includes “values, goals and aspirations”.

40 — SPR IN G 202 2

Ann Carter-Gray Head of estates at the Cabinet Office

Sir Peter Lampl Founder of education charity The Sutton Trust

Ben Gold Head of investment, XPS Pensions Group

“When I was a child, my family became homeless and lived in a caravan for nine years. My parents had bought a tiny piece of land, so they created a smallholding. It took those nine years to work their way through the planning system and save sufficient money before we could build a home on it. That’s what sparked my interest in land holding and planning regulations”

“Sir Peter Lampl was brought up in Wakefield in Yorkshire on a council estate, the son of a Czech refugee who came to Britain in 1938, and qualified as an engineer by studying part-time at night school. He went to Reigate Grammar School, at that time a direct grant school […] and then won a place at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. This was an agreeable one in the eye [of] the physics teacher who had told him at Reigate ‘The only way you’ll ever go to Oxford, my boy, is on the bus’.”

“I am a white British male from a Jewish background, although I am not religious at all. I grew up in Essex where my parents were not wealthy, and I went to state school.

I worked throughout secondary school from the age of 11, doing jobs including washing cars, mowing lawns, a paper round, washing up in pubs and restaurants, supermarket cashier and working in a butcher’s shop, driven by my desire to pay my own way. I was the first in my family to go to university, studying Maths and Statistics at Leeds University […] I want to see everyone thrive and meet their true potential, and this can only be done in an inclusive and diverse culture. I am also a passionate believer that everyone should have an equal opportunity regardless of background or privilege.”

—

—

What a compelling journey this is. Whicher calls it a “captivating introduction” and loves how Ann’s backstory connects to her current role.

—

—

This story is told in the third person and, says Max Whicher, has “a great balance of personal and professional.” It conveys Sir Peter’s achievements and initial motivation in a really powerful way.

—

—

Ben’s willingness to work hard to get what he wants shines through in his story. He’s honest about his motivations. Max Whicher admires how it touches on Ben’s personal values.

M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 5 3

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Personal reflections from our 2021 CMgr of the Year, Simon Cyhanko, with top tips on making the most of opportunities.

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LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2022

AFTER COVID The opportunity and ambition

Looking to network, learn or be inspired by leaders and managers at the cutting edge of their profession?

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VIEW OUR FULL PROGRAMME OF EVENTS CATCH UP ON PREVIOUS DIGITAL EVENTS

Explore how women, men and organisations can work together and break down the barriers to gender equality.

HERE’S A FEW OF OUR UPCOMING EVENTS What are the barriers that female managers and leaders face?

What are the opportunities for change?

How can we support women across their careers?

Join us in person or virtually as we look to answer these questions through the expert knowledge of our speakers and a series of interactive workshops.

MEET THE SPEAKERS

Wednesday 6th April 18:00 BST

Monday 11th April 10:00 BST

Thursday 28th April 11:30 BST

Tuesday 10th May 12:30 BST

Personal reflections from our 2021 CMgr of the Year, Simon Cyhanko, with top tips on making the most of opportunities.

Are you equipped with the skills to deal with changing and challenging times? Tips for building your personal resilience.

Necessary skills and competencies for building a talented workforce for the sustainable development of society and the global economy.

A session looking at the do’s and dont’s of maximising the potential that LinkedIn offers to you and your business.

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OR Ann Francke OBE CMgr CCMI CEO, CMI

Lord Mark Price CVO CMgr CCMI President, CMI

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“There’s nothing I can do about the damage I caused in the past,” says entrepreneur Tobyn Brooks.

“But I can share my story” --------Words / Stuart Rock Images / Will Amlot

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I T ’S

september 1992. Socially uncomfortable and anxious, a 13-year-old boy starts to take drugs. He soon slips down the path of addiction. He drops out of school before taking any exams.

Unaware of what he is doing to himself and thoughtless about the future, his life swiftly spirals out of control. And it remains out of control for more than 15 years. Scarred by drug addiction, he lives on the streets, gets involved in crime and causes deep hurt to his family.

He’s nearly 30 when he returns to his mother’s home in Didcot, Oxfordshire. He’s in pitiful physical condition; in and out of hospital with huge bandages on his legs, struggling to walk because of the damage inflicted on his vascular system.

Today, the 42-year-old Tobyn Brooks reflects deeply about that past chaotic life – and the lessons it has taught him about management.

Because today Brooks is running a specialist garage business based in Didcot with turnover in excess of £4m. He employs nearly 40 people. Not only that, he has just started an Executive MBA at Oxford Brookes University.

“I saw and felt that I was a detractor from society, and that was the catalyst for realising that I had to care about myself,” he says.

“Taking care of yourself in order to be able to take care of others is one of the greatest lessons that I learned through my addiction. That is fully transferable to running my business. You must take time out from constantly being on the phone or email because when you do interact with people, whether you’re coaching your staff or meeting with customers, you can genuinely apply your very best wisdom and energy. It’s really important to the way I think about management.”

Brooks’ impressive story of rehabilitation through entrepreneurship began – after --------he had returned to his mother’s home – “ Taking care of with selling car parts on eBay. Importantly, yourself in order having his own venture gave him back to be able to take a degree of control in his life. care of others is Then he discovered the idea of buying cars in online auctions, shipping them to one of the greatest the UK and doing them up before selling lessons that I them on. That led him to focus on the learned through Nissan Figaro, the cute retro car of which my addiction” only 20,000 were made and which was never intended for sale in the UK. Providing maintenance and repairs to Figaro owners has proved to be a valuable niche for Brooks. As Nissan ceased making a given part for the Figaro,

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Brooks believes that good management starts with looking after number one

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Brooks’ company – The Figaro Shop – would step in to make the parts in small production runs. The Figaro Shop soon became a trusted source of information for the Figaro community across the UK. To begin with, Brooks had two parking spaces in a tiny slot on an industrial estate in Didcot; within a couple of years the two parking spaces were still there but so were another 30-plus cars, in various states of assembly. And The Figaro Shop had a 14-month waiting list. Sheer obsessiveness got him a long way.

But there were no processes and systems in place. “My management skills were non-existent,” he says. “I had enjoyed doing it, but it wasn’t making any money and the business that I had pushed so hard to get moving was now chasing me.

“I didn’t understand the improvements and huge steps forward we could make with a good management structure in place. My ignorance meant that I just kept focusing on how to build a better product and how to sell more.”

Deteriorating health eventually forced his hand. The “pain and struggle and worry that resulted from the lack of management of the business” coincided with the need for major surgery. Brooks was out of action for several months. Battered by years of injecting drugs, it was touch-and-go whether he would need an amputation.

In stepped Danny Smith. While Brooks was recovering, the former business manager at McDonald’s brought in structure, organisation and routine. By the time Brooks was fit enough to return, his business was also fit enough to grow and be profitable. He and Smith are now joint owners.

The business is expanding on several fronts. It has acquired Best Autocentres, --------a small chain of garages in Hampshire. “ The automotive Then there’s “ecological repair”, which industry has brought involves the electrification of classic cars, me success and as well as using recycled materials instead happiness and a of leather in refurbishment. This is a business with rehabilitation at its core, feeling of belonging, so Brooks is deeply and passionately of being able to committed to training, second chances, and contribute” personal growth.

“It’s important to give other people a chance,” he says. “The automotive industry has brought me success and happiness and a feeling of belonging, of being able to contribute. And I want to help other people be able to do that.”

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Hiring people from a military background has helped Brooks’ operation expand

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“ People fall and get stuck – not necessarily in the way I did – and don’t see any room for growth or that the opportunities are out there”

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But finding and developing talent is a real challenge. “We hire based on attitude and then teach people. It’s much more successful if you hire people who will fit with your culture and have the mindset that will help them get further – and then worry about the skills.”

One source of recruitment has been the Army; the company is a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, a pledge from the UK to military personnel that they will be treated fairly. What sets military people apart, says Brooks, is “their appetite to learn.”

This is the vital spark, he explains. That aspiration to learn is what opens up management and leadership positions to all.

“Somebody once told me that he didn’t think he’d worked long enough to move up to be an assistant manager – but we don’t live in a world where you have to wait. We live in the knowledge era, where you can be smart enough to study and read and learn and step into being a manager. I don’t think everybody knows that.

“People fall and get stuck – not necessarily in the way I did – and don’t see any room for growth or that the opportunities are out there.”

He says this is particularly noticeable in his industry. “Not everybody expects career progression. As their new boss, I’m asking people about their goals and career progression expectations and aspirations – and I find that they have never been asked that before.”

Self-doubt is still a formidable enemy. “One of the toughest things when you’re trying to learn as a small business owner is knowing how to find the right help. You can end up thinking that you’re not good enough to receive help. You ask yourself, ‘Why would I be of interest?’”

After a conversation about an MBA piqued Brooks’ interest, he realised that “I didn’t know how to spell university”. So he finally went back to --------education, starting with Mad Libs for Kids, “ A s their new boss, the short educational books for children.

I’m asking people Now he’s beginning his Executive MBA about their goals and in earnest. At least in part, it’s proving to career progression him that it’s possible to move in whichever direction you like – and that’s a message expectations and he wants to spread. aspirations – and I Telling his own personal story to fellow find that they have students on the programme will also be never been asked important. Brooks is keen to explore how to that before” use his own experience to help others who have faced personal challenges. “There’s nothing I can do about the damage that I caused in the past,” he says. “But one of the best things I can do is to share my story.”

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Brooks hopes an Executive MBA will help him use his own experiences positively

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It’s not easy being a leader in the age of sustainability. The societal and stakeholder pressures are enormous. You must educate yourself in highly complex issues, and take decisions which may be fraught with compromise. We looked for guidance from Emma Wilcox CMgr FCMI, chief executive of the Society for the Environment ---------

“It’s complicated” Decision-making around the environment can be a very complicated thing. Take coal: it would be logical to assume that we shouldn’t be opening any more coal mines, but we still need to use carbon in order to manufacture solar panels and wind farms.

This one example illustrates why the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) exists. It’s an umbrella organisation made up of 24 related member bodies, and it’s the custodian of the Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv), Registered Environmental Practitioner (REnvP) and Registered Environmental Technician (REnvTech) registers.

“People generally want to do the right thing,” says Emma Wilcox CMgr FCMI, SocEnv’s chief executive. But don’t let the good intent mask the management and leadership challenges that come alongside these decisions.

Stronger together Most of the time, a high level of collaboration will be required when making decisions about sustainability. The scientific evidence may seem to point in 68 — SPRING 202 2

different directions. Then there are historic and cultural issues which can hold back decisions.

For Wilcox, who’s a materials scientist by training, managers should try to rely on the evidence as far as possible. “I’m a scientist by background, so evidence is really important to me,” she says. “If I can’t say something to convince somebody, I’m going to try and show them the evidence.

Some people are persuadable and some people are not. At the end of the day, you’ve got to have faith in your own convictions.”

Making a difference On a wider level, Wilcox is keen for managers and leaders to really engage with environmental issues. She encourages people to think about their operations and the environmental impacts.

For example, how many people in the organisation travel regularly?

What chemicals are used in the production of its products? Once the positive and negative impacts have been identified, leaders then need to look at how they can move the dial.

Some of this might involve simple measures such as using Zoom instead of taking a plane.

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Organisations should also review the amount of waste they produce and make changes to reduce it.

According to Wilcox, no matter what industry you’re in, there are three overarching aspects to consider: environmental, financial and social factors.

“Think about the social impact that you’re having as an organisation – not just locally, but around the world as well. If you decide you’re going to switch your fleet of cars from diesel to electric, do you really know where all the materials that have gone into those batteries are coming from? Do you really understand the impact of those supply chains around the world? Think about it in that people context as well as the environmental and financial context.”

Learn as you go For individual managers who want to be more sustainable in their decision-making, Wilcox recommends a healthy curiosity.

Read, learn and be humble through the process. Accept that you don’t have all the answers – nobody does. You’ll need bravery and the ability to step forward and act. Don’t let striving for perfection get in the way of the good steps you can already take.

“We could wait around forever for some miracle technology that ---------

“ We could wait around forever for some miracle technology that may or may not ever come. We’ve just got to get on with it and make these changes”

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may or may not ever come.

But we’ve just got to get on with it and make these changes, whether we like it or not.”

She believes that SocEnv has an important role to play in this process. “The thing that I like about the society is that it allows people to demonstrate their competence. When people have clearly demonstrated that they’re competent, it gives you trust in that person, because they clearly know what they’re talking about in this really complicated world.”

Wilcox’s journey to the top of SocEnv started in lab work, but working in laboratories wasn’t as satisfying as she hoped.

“You’re very much on your own, and I like working with people.”

She took a sideways step into education and training, becoming knowledge transfer leader for the National Physical Laboratory in 2000. She worked for several skills academies in the manufacturing and energy and utilities sectors before taking the role at SocEnv in 2015.

“I’m somebody who likes to help other people come together and solve problems,” she says.

“If I look at the jobs that I’ve done over the past 20 years, they all involve different people from different areas working together.”

Science and sustainability are characterised by complexity.

Ultimately, someone has to make a decision, says Wilcox.

You need to do your homework, gather the evidence, be brave enough to make a decision, and then stand by it. That’s true leadership.

Lorraine Halford CMgr MCMI has been fully remote as a leader for almost five years. She made – and learned from – her mistakes long before the world changed ---------

Four rules for remote managers Lorraine Halford CMgr MCMI first managed a remote team long before COVID, furlough and Zoom became part of everyone else’s vocabulary. Having accepted a job as a regional manager for programmes at Teach First in 2017, she was tasked with managing people who were developing trainee teachers.

She only saw them once every two weeks for a team meeting.

“In a previous job at The Guardian, I used to describe being a team leader as the art of eavesdropping. How I knew what was going on in my team was just having that awareness of what was going on around me all the time,” she says. “I lost that in my remote role.”

Despite having to change her approach, Halford found that managing remote teams has freed her – and her development leads – to do their jobs better.

We asked her to draw out some threads about how to manage teams effectively from a distance.

01

Beware careless delegation In a remote environment, it’s easy to delegate a job and not recognise that the person is struggling with it. You’re not there all the time for people to come over and ask you for troubleshooting advice.

Halford’s advice is that “you need to make sure that they know what’s expected of them and they have the resources to do it.” If the person truly understands the task they’ve been given, then they’re likely to run with it.

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02

Show your team you trust them (constantly)

03

Trust gives employees the freedom to do their jobs, to feel confident in their ability to do the work and, potentially, to do it even better. “You cannot express often enough how much you trust people,” says Halford. In her initial role at Teach First, she constantly reinforced the fact that she trusted her team to do their jobs. “Knowing that they’re trusted and that it’s OK to make mistakes is really important. You need to trust people to do their job and give them the clarity to do it really well. They will repay your trust 99 per cent of the time.”

Use every opportunity to connect Halford made a mistake during her first year in the job. The team was supposed to meet every fortnight, but people were constantly sending their apologies because they were so busy. In an attempt to respect their autonomy and because she was still working on building trust, she decided to leave these meetings flexible.

However, as people skipped meeting after meeting, they began to feel isolated.

They lost clarity about what they were doing. At that point, Halford started to require people to attend the meetings.

“It was a big ask to lose half a day every other week to travel to the office, but coming together as a unit and as a functioning team happens through being connected to each other.”

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04

Don’t overthink it Whether you manage someone who’s 500 miles away or five feet away, remember that you’re still managing a person.

“You don’t have to throw out your approach,” says Halford.

“Sure, you need to adapt, but I think you can absolutely hold true to whatever your management style is, rather than having to start from scratch. With a little bit of adaptation, the fundamentals are still the same.”

Ahsan Gulabkhan CMgr had to step up, along with many of his colleagues, to ensure the survival of Virgin Atlantic ---------

Leading through an existential crisis On 17 March 2020, Virgin Atlantic effectively lost its reason to exist. The UK government, like many others, had advised against international travel. Virgin Atlantic’s primary source of income – passenger flights – was suddenly gone.

While it shifted its efforts to focus on transporting cargo, including PPE equipment, around the world, the company had lost most of its usual routes.

For Ahsan Gulabkhan CMgr, associate general counsel for Virgin Atlantic, it was time to step up and focus on the company’s survival. As a qualified lawyer, he had started as a legal counsel for Virgin Atlantic after almost seven years working in practice.

By the time the pandemic hit, he

had worked his way up to legal director for engineering, finance, fleet, network and alliances. With its primary sources of revenue effectively shut off, Ahsan was part of a team working to steer the business through.

“We had to focus on our own existence,” he says. “An airline generally makes money through passengers, and cargo isn’t usually the dominant aspect of our operation. It was more than 600 days that we didn’t fly to the US, and that’s our main market. We didn’t get any public funding, so we needed a private solution, which for us was a private solvent recapitalisation.”

Mission impossible?

At the start of the pandemic, many thought this was an impossible task. It would require huge sacrifices and a lot of work for the company’s legal team, all while Ahsan was adapting to the pressures of being a new parent and undertaking an MBA. “I had to try and make sure that mental and physical wellbeing didn’t get forgotten. This included the basics such as sleeping at the end of the day. I had to take the rest periods where I could. At M AN AGER S .ORG.UK — 7 3

the same time, I had to balance that with my family commitments, helping with the newborn and meeting my course deadlines.

Managing my time became really important.”

These were two of the most difficult years in Virgin Atlantic’s existence. Ahsan was part of a team fighting for the airline’s survival. Everyone was working in isolation but trying to collaborate at the same time. “We all became experts in Teams and Zoom and whatever else was out there that we could use,” he recalls.

People were working long hours, and every action came with the question of whether a meeting was necessary or if people knew what they needed to do. It would have been easy to end up in back-to-back Teams calls all day, Ahsan explains.

“It was a challenge that we all had to overcome. It wasn’t as if the deadlines we were working towards were far in the distance.

It was all very time-pressured and time-consuming. It was a new challenge for everyone.”

Empathy in a crisis Working towards that private solvent recapitalisation was an iterative process, involving a large number of people across several teams, making decisions throughout the day. Sometimes decisions had to be taken at board level, sometimes in the leadership team. Other times, the sub-divisional teams had to make the decision themselves.

It was an environment that required a healthy dose of empathy, says Ahsan. Everyone 74 — SPRING 202 2

was going through their own personal and professional challenges, cocooned within their own homes. As a manager, it was important to be understanding of each individual’s personal circumstances and to give them the space to deal with them.

“We would put in calls just to talk about anything other than work. We weren’t seeing each other in the office. You still want to feel part of a team, so you need to replicate those water-cooler conversations.”

As a result of the pandemic, Virgin Atlantic had no choice but to let around half of its workers go. A large number were also furloughed. This was tough on both those who were leaving and those who were staying.

“We still have an airline today because of the sacrifices everyone made,” Ahsan says.

Having come out of the other side of it, Ahsan hopes that it was a once-in-a-lifetime crisis.

It puts you under a microscope as a leader, he explains, when you have to operate in such an extreme environment. It has brought the team closer together, building on the people-focused culture the organisation already had. The team is certainly more mutually supportive now, he says, and there is also a stronger awareness of the need to look out for each other.

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“It was a challenge that we all had to overcome. It wasn’t as if the deadlines we were working towards were far in the distance. It was all very time-pressured and time-consuming”

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