September 2023 – Nicole Hansen

After a break for summer, we are delighted to be introducing Nicole Hansen, our mentor of the month for September.

Nicole is a Program Manager at NatWest Group, currently leading technology solutions for the investment bank.  She has over 20 years of experience in banking, working in Singapore, Frankfurt and London, with a background in Risk and Legal.  She lives in Hackney, with her two daughters.

Grace Seyi-Ogedengbe Chartered MCIPD is a HR Business Partner with 10 years experience in Human Resources. She has led on HR & EDI Projects and initiatives with the Legal, Engineering and Financial Sector.  Grace is an enthusiastic HR Professional that is passionate about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion issues, especially issues pertaining to women, ethnic minorities and disabled colleagues. In her spare time she enjoys painting in the park, traveling, experiencing new cultures, and volunteering with charities
close to her heart.

Grace has been mentored by Nicole and we spoke to both of them about their mentoring relationship and the WIBF Mentoring programme.

How did you get involved with WIBF and what prompted you to join the WIBF Mentoring programme?

Nicole: My firm, Natwest Group, promoted the WIBF mentorship scheme within the Gender Network.  I’ve been involved in mentorships as both a mentor and a mentee throughout my career.

Grace: I have been a WIBF member for nearly a year now. My previous employer joined WIBF last year and my manager nominated as one of 10 colleagues in the entire organisation granted WIBF membership. I am forever grateful for this opportunity. I have benefited a lot from the membership and so I decided to stay on even after leaving my previous employer.

Can you explain how the WIBF mentoring process works?

Grace: When I got paired with Nicole, I reached out to her for an initial virtual conversation. The video call went really well, I could understand why we got paired. As a woman I felt like she completely got me and understood where I was coming from. She had the right kind of experience to mentor me and we got on really well. After our first meeting I said to myself “yes this is the type of confidence and finance industry savvy I would like to build”.

Nicole and I agreed to set up fortnightly 30 minutes catch up sessions which I always looked forward to. Each session covered particular topics that I wanted to get her view on. I appreciate the fact that she always gave me her honest opinion and practical advice that she has also implemented. She would sometimes send me resources on the topic and always followed up at the next meeting to see how things were progressing which kept me accountable.

Nicole: Grace and I meet every 2 weeks via video call, for 30 minutes.   We spend the first few minutes updating on any changes, and then either discuss a pre-agreed topic or introduce a new one.  We then use coaching techniques to move ideas forward or determine a course of action.  As we are usually rushing straight to another call, we wrap up promptly and pick up at next call where further discussion is useful.

Nicole, It must be rewarding to see your mentees grow, can you tell us of your success stories? 

Nicole: I’ve worked with mentees who have achieved major career goals of taking on a senior position or obtaining an international transfer, but the success is all theirs!   I feel the most reward when I see individuals are “self-mentoring” – trying new techniques and reflecting on success.

Was there a particular reason for joining the mentoring programme?

Grace: I joined the mentorship programme because I was particularly looking to be mentored on how to achieve my personal career ambitions within the financial corporate structure as a woman of colour. I had worked in HR within the Engineering and Legal sector and was fairly new to finance industry at the time.

…and what was the best piece of advice or support that Nicole gave you?

Grace: There are so many it’s hard to choose. I think it has to be a tie between when she used her personal network to broaden mine (EDI wise) and when she shared a presentation with me on ‘Compensation Conversation: Strategies for Success’.

I was looking to grow my network within the EDI space to see what other companies are doing to build a more inclusive culture and to understand how other HR professionals established themselves within the EDI space. Nicole got in touch with a few of her contacts and connected me to a few women from Lloyds Bank who also lead on EDI strategies centrally and with their business areas. I was able to meet with them virtually and they shared some really useful insights with me.

Like many women I used to feel awkward about having conversations around compensation. I wasn’t sure how and when to broach the subject. Nicole had just delivered a presentation to some women at NatWest about compensation conversations as part of their Gender Network Intiative. We discussed typical gender differences in salary negotiations, negotiation strategies for women and how to prepare for those conversations. That was invaluable for me.

What other benefits are there to being a mentor, Nicole?

Nicole: For me, mentoring has enhanced my leadership skills, through coaching and problem solving.  Extending my professional network is also a fantastic benefit – I’ve leaned on Grace for expert advice in building an employee engagement programme!

What advice would you give someone who was considering joining the WIBF mentoring programme? 

Nicole: With a time commitment of just 30 minutes a fortnight, it’s a really effective way to build your skills and give something back.

Grace: My advice to them will be to go for it! I know I have definitely benefited a lot from having a mentor, the webinars and resources they make available for all members.

I would also advice them to maximise the opportunity of having a mentor. Be proactive in setting up meetings, communicate what you would like support/advice on, don’t feel embarrassed to ask questions and most importantly be open to learn and be challenged.

Nicole, do you have a mentor yourself? How does it help you? 

I have a mentor as part of a Natwest “reciprocal mentoring” programme.  I’m relatively new to Natwest, so my primary goal was to gain a deeper understanding of business priorities.   My mentor has been incredibly helpful, and also connected me to his internal network to accelerate that learning.