ELBA’s Leaders in Partnership programme is a 1:1 coaching programme where community leaders get partnered with volunteer coaches from the corporate sector. Here we catch up with Deborah Harvey, Company Secretary at UBS, who was partnered with Bolatito Idowu, HR Manager at Headway East from, to hear about their respective experiences of this programme:

BOLATITO IDOWU, HR MANAGER, HEADWAY EAST LONDON:

Why did you engage with ELBA’s Leaders in Partnership programme?
At the time when I decided to engage with the programme we were just coming out of the pandemic. As the HR Manager, I had to deal with implementing a lot of processes and procedures, as well as supporting staff through these changes. My role as HR Manager can sometimes be isolating, so I thought it was best to engage with an external coach who would support me during this period by increasing my confidence, growing my skills and enabling me to see a different perspective of my career.

What has been your biggest learning from the experience so far?
How talking with my mentor – despite us working in different sectors – has made an impact in the way I work, the work-related decisions I have made and how empowered I have come out of every session.

Has anything surprised you along the way?
It was quite interesting to know that there are similar issues in the workplace regardless of the sector.

Have there been any specific outcomes that have been achieved as a result of the partnership?
I have learnt to be more assertive, grown in confidence, feel able to ask for help, delegate tasks and be more reflective.

What would be your top piece of advice for someone considering taking part in the programme? I would just say embrace the experience!

DEBORAH HARVEY, COMPANY SECRETARY, UBS

Organisation you are volunteering with: Headway East London

Why did you engage with ELBA’s Leaders in Partnership programme?
A number of factors motivated me to apply for the programme. My daughter had a mentor who was himself working in the voluntary sector and my daughter had completed some voluntary work for a local charity in Brighton. As a result, I had seen first-hand the positive results of both their efforts. In addition, the pandemic also made me want to branch out and have new experiences and so volunteering for this programme felt like a great way to enable me to do that whilst hopefully helping others too.

What has been your biggest learning from the experience so far?
Understanding the importance of listening to others. I have found that learning to take the time to listen to somebody can be really empowering for that person.

Has anything surprised you along the way?
The thing that surprised me the most has been that despite working in very different sectors there are many transferable skills we can share, and a lot of the people issues individuals experience are the same whether in a large corporation or a smaller voluntary organisation.

Have there been any specific outcomes that have been achieved as a result of the partnership?
During the process I watched my community partner grow in confidence and self-belief. As we discussed particular aspects of their role at our partnership meetings, they found that by being able to take some time to step back and reflect on things they could see that often the actions and decisions they were taking each day were more impactful than they realised.

What would be your top piece of advice for someone considering taking part in the programme?
Take the plunge and do it. The most important thing is to commit to the monthly meetings, but these can be by Zoom or in-person. Be flexible with your expectations for each session – often what you’ve planned to discuss goes out the window because other things have happened in the meantime.