Episode 117
Embracing Diversity and Developing Inclusive Leaders with Lisa Reynolds
In today's episode of The Career Confidence Podcast, I'm joined by Lisa Reynolds, Managing Director of ioda, a learning and development provider that focuses on not just developing their learners' knowledge, skills and behaviours to make them better at their job, but also to help them grow as a person.
Lisa gives us an insight into her rather unique career path, her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion, and what it really takes to be an inclusive leader. We also talk about the power of apprenticeships, busting the myth that they are just for school leavers and how you can potentially access an apprenticeship to support your own learning and development.
Links Mentioned In This Episode:
Lisa Reynolds on Linked In
About Nicola Semple
I help people to build their career confidence and achieve their career goals.
You can book a free no-obligation chat about how I can support you to achieve your career goals: https://nicolasemple.com/chat
You can get my free guide "Back Yourself: Your 7 Step Plan to Build Confidence and Achieve Your Career Goals": https://nicolasemple.com/backyourself
You can buy my book The Career Confidence Toolkit: Take Control of Your Career and Fulfil Your Potential: https://nicolasemple.com/book
Connect with me on Linked In to carry on the conversation: https://linkedin.com/in/iamnicolasemple
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:Hello and welcome to the Career Confidence podcast where we share inspiring stories, practical strategies, hints and tips so that you build your career with confidence in in this ever changing world.
Speaker B:I'm your host, Nicholas Semple, a career and confidence coach and author of the Career Confidence Toolkit.
Speaker B:And today I have got an absolutely fantastic guest for you.
Speaker B:I'm joined by Lisa Reynolds.
Speaker B:Now, Lisa is the managing director of ioda, a learning and development organization.
Speaker B:And what's really special about IOTA is they focus not just in developing their learners knowledge, skills and behaviors to help make them better at their job, but they're also incredibly focused on helping their learners grow as individuals.
Speaker B:Lisa gives us an insight into her rather unique career path, her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Speaker B:And she talks about what it really takes to be an inclusive leader.
Speaker B:We also talk about apprenticeships and how they're not just for school leavers.
Speaker B:And also and crucially, how you could potentially access an apprenticeship to support your own learning and development.
Speaker B:Lisa Reynolds.
Speaker B:Hello.
Speaker A:Hello.
Speaker B:Really delighted to have you here, Lisa.
Speaker B:Now, one of the things that I get all of the guests to do just so that we can get to know you a little bit, is for you to talk us through your career history and how you ended up where you are today.
Speaker A:Okay, so it's a long one.
Speaker B:I love a long story.
Speaker A:I've been around a long time.
Speaker A:I'm in my 40th year now in employment, always been employed, never been unemployed.
Speaker A:And Left school at 16.
Speaker A:Went with no qualifications, so absolutely no qualifications.
Speaker A:And went into the Royal Air Force as a YTS and went in as an assistant air traffic controller, which was the.
Speaker B:Oh wow.
Speaker A:The trade that I was handed, which was brilliant.
Speaker A:Absolutely loved it.
Speaker A:There's a story as to why I left, but that's probably not for now.
Speaker A:But I did four years in the Air Force and, and then I moved to Warwickshire Police where I did 13 years within policing.
Speaker A:So I joined as a emergency call handler and then very quickly became a supervisor in the control room and did that for several years.
Speaker A:And then I had what I would consider to be my dream job, which was the diversity manager for Warwickshire Police.
Speaker A:And that was a whole range of issues linked around equality, diversity and inclusion, but predominantly implementing them at first and recommendations that had come out after the death of Stephen Lawrence.
Speaker A:So really important role and I wasn't looking to leave, to be fair, until ioda, my current organization, asked me to go and join them as a quality trainer.
Speaker A:So big shift going from public sector, very secure to private sector to a training or Organization.
Speaker A:I wasn't a trainer particularly.
Speaker A:I hadn't got any formal training qualifications, but after 13 years I thought, okay, I'll give it a go and, and that's what I did.
Speaker A:So I came across Toyota 23 years ago, took on the role of head of training and operations probably, I don't know, 12, 15 years ago and, and now I'm the managing director.
Speaker A:So IOTA was acquired last September by a company called Apprentify Group.
Speaker A:I got the MD role.
Speaker A:So that's, that's quite a long journey.
Speaker B:Can I rewind back?
Speaker B:Almost back to the very beginning.
Speaker B:And you talk about that YTS scheme at the Royal Air Force and ending up in air traffic control.
Speaker B:Is that something that you requested or how, how did that happen?
Speaker A:Well, if my memory, if my memory is correct and we always have a range of memories, whether they are correct, fault or just somewhere in the middle.
Speaker A:My memory is that I went to the, the Air Force recruitment center and you did some tests and the test then gave you a list of, of the different trades that you could go into.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:And it was listed recollection and whether it's true or not, it's a great story now but my recollection was that pilots and navigator and all those kind of things were all officer led which meant that you had to go in with as an officer, which I wasn't.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But the highest one that I could get on the list was for, for non commissioned was air traffic control assistant and, and that's the route I took and I can remember discussing with the careers advisors, navigator and pilot.
Speaker A:And, and it was very clear that if you had a womb, those were not jobs that you could go into.
Speaker B:Yeah, okay.
Speaker A:Women couldn't be in any of those trades.
Speaker A:So yeah, that's why I ended up as an air traffic controller in assistance.
Speaker B:It's great and I'm, I'm making huge assumptions here, but I'm imagining that must have been a really high stress environment to be working in.
Speaker A:Well, we're not controlling the planes though, so that was, so we were the assistants that covered the things the radar, made sure everything, all of the advice and guidance was in place for the pilots that were flying, filing flight plans and all of those kinds of things.
Speaker A:So we weren't doing the controlling, but we were doing all of the, all of the, all of the stuff that needed doing so that the people could control, if that.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, no, that makes perfect sense and I'm sure along the way picking up some amazing skills that you could then put into Practice with Warwickshire Police.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And, you know, the best.
Speaker A:The best skill I think I learned at that age was when we were in listening to radar, we would listen to several different frequencies.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So the skill was being able to pick up what was on each of the different frequencies.
Speaker A:And that is a great skill when you're in a restaurant and.
Speaker A:And you can hear conversations on several different tables.
Speaker A:And I'll quite often zone into other people's conversations and hear every word from.
Speaker A:From several tables away.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And I'm not sure that was the skill that they wanted us to have, but it's really useful.
Speaker A:But then when I went into policing, it was really interesting because I was a call handler to start with, but then became a dispatcher, so that was the job I really enjoyed.
Speaker A:And that was managing and controlling all of the police vehicles going out to different jobs.
Speaker A:And again, that was listening to several frequencies.
Speaker A:So having the ability and to be able to tune into lots of different frequencies and follow a range of different series of conversations became a skill.
Speaker B:And actually, if you translate that into the workplace for everyone, what a brilliant skill to have where you're able to keep on top of what's going on in different parts of the team and be able to draw your own analysis and conclusions from the things that are going on.
Speaker A:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker A:So, yeah, it's a really good skill.
Speaker A:Not one that I set out to get, to be fair, but it stood me in good, steady.
Speaker B:So you're now at iota.
Speaker B:You've been at Iota for quite some time.
Speaker B:Tell me a little bit more about the organization and what they do.
Speaker B:What specifically do they deliver to their clients?
Speaker A:Okay, so we are an independent training provider.
Speaker A:So we deliver leadership training, but also equality, diversity and inclusion training.
Speaker A:So we've always been specialists around inclusion and we've always been specialists around leadership.
Speaker A:What we've done in recent years, probably the last dozen or so years, is combine those two.
Speaker A:So we create inclusive leader programs.
Speaker A:So the.
Speaker A:The output of those is that leaders are skilled and have a strong understanding around what it.
Speaker A:What it means to be an inclusive leader.
Speaker A:So we do huge amounts in that space.
Speaker A: pprenticeship levy came in in: Speaker A:And we went on a very steep learning curve around how did we translate what we did within our clients, which everybody seemed to love.
Speaker A:And it's got great feedback and got great results for leaders.
Speaker A:How did we translate that into apprenticeships, which is what we've done incredibly successfully, I have to say.
Speaker A:So we now, although we still do commercial training, we do a lot of commercial training in that leadership space.
Speaker A:We now run a range of successful leadership apprenticeship programs, equipping people all over the country in a variety of different skills, but predominantly linked around leadership, either coaching and professional coaching or as an inclusive leader.
Speaker B:And I'm really keen to explore more about apprenticeships because it's something that I find absolutely fascinating.
Speaker B:But before we do that, I'm really curious what you were saying about the inclusive leadership programs and the DEI work that you've done.
Speaker B: e're recording this September: Speaker B:It feels like there has never been a more important time for that, for that learning and that training to be out there in the world.
Speaker B:But it's blooming tough.
Speaker A:Yeah, I've just taken a big intake of breath at that point.
Speaker A:Yeah, you're right.
Speaker A:But having been in this field now for 30 odd years long.
Speaker A:Yeah, we've had some bumps in the road, you know, we've had some bumps in the road.
Speaker A:So we have been through, we have been through some times over the years that have been really, really tricky with either the political situation or globally.
Speaker A:There's been a whole range of things that have occurred over the years, but you're right, now's.
Speaker A:Now's really hard.
Speaker A:Now's really hard.
Speaker A:And I think I understand the discussion, I understand all of the discussions, but we've now got to kind of take hold of what we've got, particularly within the workplace, to look after people that might be from minoritized backgrounds and how tricky the world is for them.
Speaker A:And, and that just isn't about how we look after them at work.
Speaker A:But those individuals have to leave work and go home.
Speaker A:They have to travel and commute into work, they have to go about their, their life and take their children to school.
Speaker A:All the things that, that we would take for granted, but in the current climate can be really uncomfortable for people.
Speaker A:And I think you're right in the recognition that now is a very difficult time.
Speaker A:And if inclusive leaders ever needed to step up to the mark, now's the time.
Speaker A:Because your teams need you, your teams need you to understand what's happening for them and understand how as an inclusive leader, you can really make a difference because you can really demonstrate a level of support and allyship for your, for your team and your colleagues.
Speaker A:And yeah, it's, it's, it's an interesting time, Nicola.
Speaker A:And that might be another podcast.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I actually just as a takeaway for anyone listening to this, so that that was all couched in terms of being an inclusive leader and what.
Speaker B:What you can do if you are the leader of your team.
Speaker B:But actually, I think we all have a responsibility.
Speaker B:So how do we be inclusive individuals and just meet people where they're at and have a little bit of compassion and consideration that one person's experience of the world might be very different to yours?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And we always say leadership isn't a title, it's a mindset.
Speaker A:So it doesn't matter where you sit, within your career or within the workplace.
Speaker A:We're all leaders.
Speaker A:We can all lead and we can all inspire and we can all create an environment where everyone can flourish, which is what we're always interested in.
Speaker A:So you're absolutely right.
Speaker A:We've all got a responsibility.
Speaker A:And for me, we use the definition here at IOTA that I wrote a while ago now, which talks about inclusion is not just about being invited to the party and it's not just about being asked to dance.
Speaker A:It's about having your tracks on the playlist and the playlist being left on shuffle.
Speaker A:Now, that's really important and so important at the moment because we've always talked about everybody's got a voice and should be allowed to be at the table.
Speaker A:But with that comes a level of responsibility.
Speaker A:So that doesn't give you the freedom of speech to say what you like and offend people.
Speaker A:It gives you the freedom of speech to be in the conversation, but also be respectful in the way in which you're going about it.
Speaker A:So if we were going to have a discussion about whether somebody agreed or disagreed with immigration, then those are conversations that should be being had and have always been had for a very long time.
Speaker A:There's nothing wrong with that conversation, and that doesn't indicate in any way that somebody has racist tendencies.
Speaker A:However, the way in which we voice that conversation is massively important.
Speaker A:So for me, there's a bit around having your tracks on the playlist, and the playlist being left on shuffle is about saying we have to learn to hear other people's views, even if they're not ours and even if we disagree with them.
Speaker A:But that means that people have also got to be responsible in how they share those views.
Speaker A:And I think what's happening at the moment is that lack of respect in having those conversations seems to be missing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And with the what's happening globally, it's almost as if permission has been given for people to be disrespectful.
Speaker A:In the way in which they give those views and that's what we've got to wind back.
Speaker A:So we've always said, have, you know, have those views, have those conversations and a good, a good leader will allow those conversations to take place in the right context, in the right, you know, at the right time in the workplace.
Speaker A:But that allows people to feel that they've been hurt instead of closed down.
Speaker A:And if we keep closing people down, then we get a jack in the box kind of response, which means that we can push it, we can push it, we can push it and at some point it will explode.
Speaker A:So having the conversation is really important.
Speaker A:Managing the conversation is even more important.
Speaker A:And that's where we kind of position our leadership stance around, you know, let people have, have a voice, let people have those tracks on the playlist, but make sure they understand with that comes a level of accountability and responsibility to do it in a, in a careful, caring manner.
Speaker B:And as you mentioned earlier, one of the vehicles that you're now using to deliver that inclusive leadership training is apprenticeships.
Speaker B:Now up until probably about 12, 18 months ago, I thought apprenticeships were something that 18 year olds went on.
Speaker B:I thought it was the modern day equivalent of the YTS scheme that you went on 40 years ago.
Speaker B:But I have, I've been on a steep learning curve and I appreciate that that is no longer the case.
Speaker B:So for anyone listening that might have shared the view that I had that apprenticeships are for people coming out of school, coming out of college and starting out.
Speaker B:Enlighten us, tell us more about what an apprenticeship really is.
Speaker A:Your view, Nicola, I think is held across the UK and I think it's starting to shift, I think it's starting to change.
Speaker A:But there's.
Speaker A:That definitely needs a lot more education out there.
Speaker A:But they're not just for beginners, they're structured, what we call structured learning pathways that can support development in lots and lots of different ways.
Speaker A:So we have our, our youngest apprentice on our senior Leaders program is.
Speaker A:I'll do a shout out now for Blake Sweet in, who's a 19 year old super, super guy who is CEO of a marketing company that he started in his bedroom at the age of 14 and he's now CEO and he's on our Senior Leaders program because he understands the importance of being a good leader and actually he wants his business to succeed as it is doing and to grow.
Speaker A:He needs to make sure that he's doing it right, you know, so we've got, we've got at one end of the spectrum, we've got a senior leader CEO at the age of 19 and then we've got people well into their 70s.
Speaker A:We've actually got one learner, he's not an apprentice actually, but he's on the program as a, as a commercial delegate and he's 80 and that's.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:So when I go from one to the other, the life experience, if we're just talking about that, is so vast and so different.
Speaker A:But they're both wanting to be really good, inclusive leaders and that's at the forefront of what they do.
Speaker A:So, yeah, apprenticeships are for anybody who is looking to develop their knowledge, their skills and their behaviors.
Speaker A:And you can go into them where, whether that be a digital apprenticeship or whether that be a marketing apprenticeship, which our sister company does across apprentifying juice, or you can go the route that we've taken, which is leadership and coaching apprenticeships.
Speaker A:So they are great ways, particularly for people in their career, where they're looking at picking up a qualification, where they are thinking about what shall I do next?
Speaker A:And they're looking at maybe the next two or three years, where do they want to get to?
Speaker A:And what skills, knowledge and behavior do they need?
Speaker A:And the leadership, sorry, the apprenticeship pathway is an incredible pathway to be on to get you where you want to go and if we think about to.
Speaker B:Try and bring it to life for people.
Speaker B:So I guess as I'm hearing all of that structured learning pathway, what's the difference between an apprenticeship and doing something like a university course?
Speaker A:Okay, really good question.
Speaker A:And I would package it in as much as to say this is about doing your qualification whilst at work.
Speaker A:So your apprenticeship development time, as we turn it here at IOTA ADT is about how do I learn these skills and this knowledge whilst in the workplace.
Speaker A:So it's very much based around what I do and what I can be doing and developing you as a, as a leader within that working environment rather than maybe going away on a, on a course that's external to the workplace.
Speaker A:And they're a place for both, they're an absolute place for both of those routes.
Speaker A:But one of the things that I love about apprenticeships is it's all about that practical application.
Speaker A:So how do I apply what I've learned in the classroom events?
Speaker A:You know, those real immersive classroom events to back into the workplace?
Speaker A:How do I apply it?
Speaker A:How do I learn by it?
Speaker A:How do I develop my next step and what you know and, and, and develop my, my understanding?
Speaker A:How do I work with my line manager in order to create the, the pathway that I'm after or that the business needs.
Speaker A:So it's a very different way of approaching your development.
Speaker A:Now we, we have with all our programs, CMI diplomas, so Chartered Management Institute and Chartered Manager status.
Speaker A:So that actually whilst you're going through your apprenticeship, you're also getting a very credible qualification which has got that Royal Charter and, and is well recognized around the world.
Speaker A:So you come out with the apprenticeship standard, which is very, very robust.
Speaker A:You come out with the CMI diploma, which again is very, very robust.
Speaker A:And you come out having had a learning experience that is very grounded within your workplace, which allows you to get maybe visibility that you haven't had before within that working environment.
Speaker A:You've been given opportunities that, that you wouldn't have had if it wasn't an apprenticeship program that you were on.
Speaker A:And, and I think the end point of an apprenticeship is what we called endpoint assessment.
Speaker A:So anybody who's listening to this, who's been on an apprenticeship will probably get goosebumps at that point, because the endpoint assessment and the live assessment day is the pinnacle, is the bit where everything they have learned for the last 18 months, which are the length of our programs, comes to a head within a professional discussion.
Speaker A:And that's where you showcase what you've learned, how good you are, what brilliant skills you've now developed and mindset shift that might have taken place.
Speaker A:That all happens at that live assessment day and, and then across here at Iota, everybody applause at the, at the amazing achievements that our graduates get.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I think I went off on a bit of a tangent there.
Speaker B:No, no, no, no.
Speaker B:Really, really helpful to get that insight.
Speaker B:What I loved about what you said was about having that, that CMI certification.
Speaker B:So it's not just about, you know, there are.
Speaker B:Most organizations of a particular size will either send their employees on some kind of leadership training or run leadership training in house to be able to develop their people, which is brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
Speaker B:But what I love about what you're saying about that apprenticeship model is that you get that rubber stamp from the cmi, you get that external validation that you are meeting a set of leadership and management criteria that is then transportable.
Speaker B:So if somebody's thinking about how they want to develop their career in future years, and that might involve leaving their organization and going somewhere else, they've got something very tangible that they can take with them.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker A:And it's fostering that learning culture that we want lifelong learners and we want all of our leaders that Leave programme to think about that as the future, which is, you know, every day is a school day.
Speaker A:I know we hear it all the time, but it absolutely is.
Speaker A:And as a leader, if you ever stop learning, then we've probably got a problem.
Speaker A:We want to create those leaders that see it as that pathway is all about.
Speaker A:We can learn now, we can learn on the apprenticeship program, we can get the CMI accreditation, which means that we've got that to take with us, but we should always keep trying to learn and that's learning in lots of different ways.
Speaker A:So we're into people learning from their team, you know, the multi generational teams now that exist mean for a leader, there's as much knowledge to be gained from someone who's just arrived in your organization, who's been there for 40 years.
Speaker A:Actually, as soon as a leader can understand that, then they'll go looking for those learning opportunities, which is, you know, reverse mentoring and all the other aspects that a good leader will look to within their teams and within their, their people to always understand what's happening, always understand the best way of doing things or a different way of doing things.
Speaker A:And in that respect, whether it's the apprenticeship route or a CMI route, separately, all of them give you the academic rigor that you need.
Speaker A:Because we want that knowledge to be, you know, we want it to be steeped in that academic space as well, but it also gives you the practical application.
Speaker A:And we've seen lots of leaders over the years that have got all of the academic qualification, but when you speak to them and you need them, they're not there in the way in which you want them to show up.
Speaker A:And that's because they haven't got the practical application that's never been tested or that's never been developed.
Speaker A:And the beauty of the, the apprenticeship is it does both.
Speaker A:So the CMI accreditation, it gives you the, the academic rigor to what it is that you've learned, but then it also gets us to test what's that skill, what's that behavior, what do you show up with and how do you show up as an inclusive leader?
Speaker A:And that's what makes the difference.
Speaker A:That's the magic, really.
Speaker B:What is clearly coming out from you is the passion you've got for inclusive leadership, but also the passion you've got for this style of learning, this mix of the academic rigour and the practical application.
Speaker B:If somebody's listening to this and thinking, oh, do you know what, I quite fancy doing that, what would be the first steps for that person?
Speaker B:How Would they go about finding out if it's a possibility for them?
Speaker A:Okay, well, there's a few things.
Speaker A:Financially, there's two routes.
Speaker A:One is that you've got an apprenticeship levy that your organisation will have.
Speaker A:So depending on what their salary bill is, there is an amount that is top sliced.
Speaker A:So there is an apprenticeship levy and you need to have a conversation to see whether that levy is in place within your organisation or if it isn't, the government funds 95% of the apprenticeship.
Speaker A:So actually as an organisation, if you're a, you know, if you're a small organization, you can still have an apprenticeship and it will be funded through the government, which is brilliant.
Speaker A:And we've also got lots of our clients who gift apprenticeship levy.
Speaker A:So any apprenticeship levy that they've got left, they will gift.
Speaker A:And I think there was, I saw something yesterday around, I think it was Liverpool Football Club, not one of our current clients, but they hopefully will be soon.
Speaker A:They've just gifted hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds of levy that they haven't used to other organizations.
Speaker A:So there's huge amounts of, of apprenticeship gifts out there.
Speaker A:And for me, what I'd be thinking about is if I was an individual, what skills am I looking to develop?
Speaker A:Where do I want to be maybe in five years time, you know, what's my future pathway looking like?
Speaker A:And then using the apprenticeship levy and the qualifications that run with it to carve out that pathway.
Speaker A:So for example, within iota we have the coaching professional apprenticeship which is brilliant for anybody who wants to absolutely learn the craft of coaching.
Speaker A:And it is a craft, it's an absolute craft and our team are brilliant at how they bring that to life.
Speaker A:We've also got the leadership, so we've then got our inclusive leadership programs that run at levels 3, 5 and currently 7.
Speaker A:And we've also got an apprenticeship program that looks at improvements.
Speaker A:So if you're looking at transformation within your business, within your organization, we've also got a transformational leader program which runs through the apprenticeship.
Speaker A:So for me I'd be thinking about where do I want to be and then I'd be speaking with my line manager or somebody else that I can have that career conversation with to say, okay, I want to look seriously at the apprenticeship as a route.
Speaker A:And then there are so many apprenticeships that are out there.
Speaker A:So whether it be an apprenticeship in AI, so apprentice doing an amazing apprenticeship at the minute, which is equipping people with the, the skills in AI, which actually for a lot of people we need those skills absolutely data Analyst or whether you'd like something linked around digital marketing or all sorts of whatever career path you want to, to take, there is an apprenticeship that will cover it.
Speaker A:And for me it would be just think big, think outside of the box, think about where do I want to be, you know, now and in the future and go for it because it's just such a great way of developing your career.
Speaker B:And that's opening up some amazing opportunities for individuals.
Speaker B:From an organization's perspective, what's your advice and what they should be thinking about to make sure that they're getting the most from, from the people that are on their apprenticeships?
Speaker A:That's an interesting question because we've been having it a lot in the last few weeks.
Speaker A:So we create improvement pods within our transformational leader program.
Speaker A:And what that is doing for clients is it's allowing them to, I mean, everybody's got business improvements they want to do, but can't find anyone to do them because everyone's so, so busy.
Speaker A:And what we found is that the improvement podcast is the vehicle and the time for everybody within that organization that's doing the improvement apprenticeship to come together to do those business projects.
Speaker A:So for me, as a business, I would be thinking about how do I enable my members of staff and our team, our people to develop their skills and at the same time, how do we as an organization benefit so that return on investment for the time that we're going to give those individuals to do that learning, that development, what are we going to get back?
Speaker A:Now we know from leaders we get lots back anyway because they improve what they do.
Speaker A:Of course they do.
Speaker A:They lead better, they have better conversations, they have coaching conversations.
Speaker A:They are more interested in the health and well being of their staff.
Speaker A:Quite often all of those kind of things come out of, of of it naturally.
Speaker A:But we've also now created a huge amount of return on investment within the way we've developed our programs to make sure that you can see it living and breathing in your business.
Speaker A:So it's not just about having an apprentice who's going to go off and do their training somewhere else.
Speaker A:They are living and breathing it within the business.
Speaker A:And therefore organizations that embrace that, particularly with leadership and closed cohorts where you can put your whole leadership community through the program, are getting great benefits.
Speaker B:What I'm going to do for anyone that wants a bit more information, I'll put a link in the show notes both generally about apprenticeships and how to get more information about that, but also about the iota offerings as well.
Speaker B:And the different apprenticeships that are available there.
Speaker A:Yeah, that'd be really kind.
Speaker A:And I think for me, the, the, the, the bit for me around what we create with that inclusive leader or that transformational leader is a, is a, is a shift of mindset.
Speaker A:So it's about, you know, we, and we do, we do a few mindsets within our programs, but entrepreneurial spirit is one of them.
Speaker A:So getting people to be smarter in the way in which they're making their decisions, quicker to move, thinking bigger, thinking outside of the box, being more creative.
Speaker A:And I think in lots of apprenticeship programs that's an important aspect.
Speaker A:It allows you to look at things from many different angles.
Speaker A:So yeah, if they get in touch, we'll be able to point them in the right direction.
Speaker B:Now, at the start, or possibly before we even started recording, you had said about how your career has been a long and winding road and not necessarily following any kind of traditional trajectory or traditional path.
Speaker B:If you were to reflect back and think about 16 year old Lisa leaving school, going on to that YTS scheme, what advice would you give to her, knowing what you know now?
Speaker A:Do you know what, it's a really tricky one because I don't think I knew where I was heading or what I wanted in the future.
Speaker A:And I think leaving school with no qualifications and what did the future look like?
Speaker A:I think the advice would be don't think too far ahead.
Speaker A:So live in the moment, try and do what you can enjoy.
Speaker A:Although that doesn't mean I enjoyed every day of my working career.
Speaker A:There are lots of things I really dislike even now.
Speaker A:So it's not all about enjoying every day, but it's enjoying what you're doing and not being too prescriptive because you never know what's around.
Speaker A:So say yes to opportunities because you never know what it might lead to.
Speaker A:And don't underestimate the role that you're playing wherever you are because I think quite often we're always looking further up the career path and don't realize the impact that we can have right at the start in people's lives, so many people's lives.
Speaker A:So for me it would be about living for now and not being too hard on yourself.
Speaker A:So sometimes it's about cutting yourself some slack and just taking what, what's on offer because I think there's a lot of worry around, you know, where's my career leading?
Speaker A:Is it going fast enough?
Speaker A:And actually we can have a really winding path and enjoying it and being able to, I suppose, outwardly show people that you're Enjoying it is a pleasure to be around people that have got that mindset and that's not about necessarily enjoying every day.
Speaker A:And I say that again because sometimes people expect to enjoy work and no, it's really, really hard.
Speaker A:Really hard.
Speaker A:And it doesn't matter whether you're just starting out or whether you're 40 years in, some days are really hard.
Speaker A:And, and I can't say I particularly enjoy all of them, but I do enjoy what we create and that's what I've always enjoyed.
Speaker A:So whichever role I've been in, I've always given it my all.
Speaker A:I've always worked really hard and I think that's probably why I've achieved some of the things I've achieved.
Speaker B:Amazing.
Speaker B:Lisa, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for sharing your enthusiasm about inclusive leadership and also about enlightening us about what apprenticeships really are.
Speaker A:Thank you, Nita.
Speaker A:Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker A:And I know we're not on camera, but I am smiling, which is really because actually I do love what I do.
Speaker A:So I hope my smile has come through.
Speaker B:It absolutely has.
Speaker B:Take care, Lisa.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker B:A huge thank you to Lisa for sharing her wealth of experience with us today.
Speaker B:What really struck me when I was talking to Lisa is how she is a brilliant example of somebody who didn't set out with a plan, but took the opportunities presented to her, made the absolute most of them, and has crafted a career that she loves and that allows her to make a difference to people's lives.
Speaker B:I particularly like the comment she made about not expecting to enjoy every single day of the work that you do.
Speaker B:This is so true, because no matter what, we will all have ups and downs.
Speaker B:But so long as there's more ups than downs, and when you take that overarching view that you're enjoying your work, then you know that you're in the right place.
Speaker B:That's all from me for today.
Speaker B:I've got some great episodes lined up over the next few months, so be sure to hit subscribe on your podcast app of choice and the episodes will be delivered straight to your device when they become available.
Speaker B:Remember, you can buy my book, the Career Confidence Toolkit on Amazon, where it's available on paperback, Kindle and Audible formats.
Speaker B:And if you'd like to keep in contact, be sure to download my free guide back yourself.
Speaker B:Your seven step plan to build confidence and achieve your career goals.
Speaker B:Just go to nicholasimple.com backyourself as well as getting instant access to the guide, I'll send you my fortnightly newsletter with career confidence hints and tips.
Speaker B:Thank you again so much for listening, and I'll talk to you again very soon.
Speaker B:Bye for now.
