Project: Establish a mentoring circle

IJ Samuel, an associate director at Turner & Townsend, shares her experience of empowering more women to get ahead in their careers.

I had an ‘a-ha’ moment after returning from maternity leave in 2014 as I struggled to settle back into the ‘usual’ project delivery drumbeat with my previous employer. Fast-forward to 2019, when I came across some colleagues with similar lived experiences, I discovered several articles all pointing to the lack of women in senior roles.

It was shocking to see that there are still only five female CEOs in the FTSE 100 companies. Even more disturbing is the limited diversity (in other areas besides gender) in management and senior leadership teams across many organisations.

Peer power

Wearing my project controls and PMO hat, I switched on my diagnostic and analytical skills to understand the root cause of limited progression for women. This sparked a burning passion for me to play my part. My intention was to offer a mentoring support group to help women build the confidence to drive their career. This led to the pilot launch of the Female Mentoring Circles initiative, a platform to change the narrative for women in construction and empower women in technical professions keen to transition into leadership positions.

Female Mentoring Circles is a peer-led mentoring and coaching programme in a safe space, where female colleagues are empowered to overcome the challenges that limit career progression. The sessions are structured with distinct objectives and each meeting is concluded with a monthly challenge that circle members need to achieve.

One of the sessions explored the personal vision and core values of each circle member as an enabler to keep everyone focused on where their career is going and the exact thing they are trying to achieve. People shared their journeys, and the discussion helped them set clear objectives for their career path.

Feel the fear

In another session, participants were set the challenge to contact three people who are seemingly impossible to reach. The idea was to explore how women can stretch themselves outside of their comfort zone. The question remains: what would you do if you were not afraid to fail? One participant emailed three CEOs and received a reply from the CEO of a FTSE 100 company. This challenge allowed the group to build connections. Some said that this challenge was daunting but made them feel they had achieved the impossible.

Whether it was a challenge about building their personal brand or presenting ‘elevator pitches’ to guest speakers, most participants agreed that there’s nothing more nerve-wracking than having to talk about yourself in front of your peers. Indeed, effective communication is a crucial skill for success.

The six-month pilot ended with so much positive feedback from the 18 circle participants; some said they leave each session feeling more empowered to succeed. They reported increased confidence and motivation that led to greater outcomes, more innovation from knowledge sharing, better ideas and support from a diverse group of women.

In March 2020, when the first COVID-19 lockdown hit, I recognised the uncertainties faced by many. I felt it was even more compelling for me to continue to play my part to support the women who were in my mentoring circles.

Pivot and adapt

I decided to take the mentoring circle online, continuing to invite guest speakers to virtual weekly events and organising lively fire-side socials. Lockdown led to the mentoring circles having a wider reach, with women dialling in from all over the UK.

Running weekly virtual mentoring sessions inevitably required additional coordination. This time I had to build a small support team to share the planning and delivery workload, and to ensure the vision was maintained. Delegation is one of the core skills in leadership and I applied this by building a team of trusted women who were part of the pilot circle.

Did you know that raising awareness to eliminate some of the obstacles that limit career progression can help to increase diversity and inclusion? The Female Mentoring Circles initiative has been a massive success for two consecutive years, with a growing number of participants sharing amazing stories of greater confidence and clarity to pursue their dreams and realise their ambitions.

Alongside the mentoring initiative, I invest my out-of-office hours equally in leading a Public Speaking and Leadership Development initiative, as well as supporting Black Professionals in Construction to diversify the talent pipeline within the built environment. All of these initiatives are linked by a common passion to drive inclusion in leadership.

So, have I met my objective of supporting women to break the glass ceiling and ambitious professionals to transition into leadership? I can confidently say yes to playing my part to change the narrative, based on feedback from participants of these amazing initiatives.

Lessons learned

One of my biggest lessons learned from leading these initiatives has been the agility and resilience to balance my day job with the time and effort I invest into developing others. As someone who is fuelled by a passion to empower others to succeed, I draw inner strength from making a positive impact on those careers that depend on the mentoring and leadership development support I provide.

In 2021, in spite of the uncertainties, the plan is to continue to play my part to inspire and empower professionals who need the opportunity to step into management and thrive in leadership. Together we will continue to build a truly diverse and inclusive industry and change the narrative in leadership.

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE SPRING 2021 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.