WIBF TEAM STRATEGY DAY . MENTORING SCHEME . WAITING LISTS

I hope that you have each enjoyed a summer break, and are ready for Q3 and all that September and the “back to school” feeling it brings.

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I hope that you have each enjoyed a summer break, and are ready for Q3 and all that September and the “back to school” feeling it brings.These last days of summer, hopefully having enjoyed an opportunity to reflect on how the year is going, and where you are going, provide a useful chance to think about what we might like to achieve – what we can achieve – by the year’s end. These last days of summer, hopefully having enjoyed an opportunity to reflect on how the year is going, and where you are going, provide a useful chance to think about what we might like to achieve – what we can achieve – by the year’s end.

The WIBF Executive Board, Advisory Board members and Operations team will be doing just this as we gather together this month for our annual Strategy Day. We will be gauging how we are meeting the needs of our members, looking at what we are doing well, what we need to think about doing differently, and most importantly, planning our strategy for the next three years. If you have any views on this do let me know via [email protected]

Our new Awards Alumni Network for WIBF award winners launches this month, and our Hot Topics series is a great new addition to our programmes.

What’s on your personal career list at this point in the year? Not on your team’s list, nor your boss’s, nor your family’s. Just yours. Let us know at #WIBFitsmytodolist

WIBF EVENTS – JOIN US

If you are thinking of a change or need some inspiration why don’t you join us at a WIBF event? Remember, WIBF events are free to members. Join us at one of the extremely popular Personal Excellence Programme events, Women on Boards, Networking or Mentoring events taking place around the UK. See what we have to offer at www.wibf.org.uk/events.

Mentoring Programme – Getting Involved

We are delighted to announce that we have launched the next round of our highly popular Mentoring programme. The scheme provides all our individual members with the opportunity to seek a mentor and/or to be a mentor to others.

If you wish to find a mentor, complete the MENTEE survey (link below); please ensure you complete the correct one for your location.

London
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LondonMentee

Birmingham/Edinburgh/Glasgow
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/92BDFNX

We invite those of you who are interested/available to be MENTORS to provide us with information about the mentoring skills you can offer via the below link; again, please ensure you complete the correct one for your location.

London
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LondonMentors

Birmingham/Edinburgh/Glasgow
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/92SVGND

Did you know we can also accept MENTORS onto the programme who are not WIBF members. If you know of anyone who would be available to participate in this programme as a MENTOR please do send them the above link.

All surveys, except Birmingham, need to be completed by 15th September (the Birmingham deadline is 30th September). Matching will then be completed and we will be looking for mentors/mentees to meet for a six month period. Official start dates will be confirmed to the participants.

Volunteers are also needed to help us with the matching process, if you would be interested in volunteering please contact [email protected]. This is a great opportunity to get more involved with WIBF and help support the wider network.

Movers and Shakers
Please help us to spread the news and celebrate your career moves, NED and charitable appointments and public engagements. Contact us at [email protected]

Congratulations to Laura Thorburn who recently took on the role of WIBF Glasgow Co-Branch President. Laura joined WIBF in 2016, and was subsequently appointed to the Glasgow board in June 2016. In her new role, Laura is keen to advance and encourage members to develop their confidence and share experiences that will ultimately help achieve and realise their career aspirations and good balance across all aspects of their life.

WIBF Corporate Members
A special thank you to BP who have renewed as a Corporate Member. We thank them for their continued support with WIBF and look forward to another year partnering with them.

Event Reports

Edinburgh: An Interview with Alison McGregor

Women in Banking and Finance welcomed Alison McGregor, CEO Scotland, HSBC as our high profile speaker in August. The event was also an opportunity for our Scottish members to meet our WIBF Chair, Vivienne Artz.

Alison gave an insight into how she progressed through her career, from bank teller to becoming a senior leader responsible for the HSBC Group in Scotland with a focus on people, customers and shareholders – with Alison providing many interesting anecdotes and tangible tips along the way.

In particular, Alison recommended influencing outside your sphere, engaging with an ‘interfering mentor’ and aiming to take on initiatives outside of your day job, such as Board work. Her experiences as a Non-Executive Director of The Beatson Cancer Charity, a Board member of Scottish Enterprise and Chair of CBI Scotland have all been invaluable experiences in taking her to the next level.

It was a pleasure for our members to have the opportunity to ask questions and learn from a remarkable leader – a truly inspirational interview was followed by the opportunity to network with members and guests from across financial services in Scotland. Many thanks to our hosts RBS for the wonderful venue and to fellow Board Member Sally McFall for leading our interview.

Event Waiting Lists

Please look out for the new waiting list functionality when booking your event. Rather than having to email Operations to be put on a waiting list when an event is sold out, you will now be able to add yourself via the Waiting List button.

Many of our events are sold out before the day so do please remember to cancel your booking if you are no longer able to attend so that others have the opportunity to attend.

Events

All events can be viewed on the website here.

The full event listing will be emailed out on the 14th September.

Vivienne Artz

WIBF President

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