G15 Accelerate – in their own words – Leila Satar
In 2020, G15 Chief Executive’s signed the G15 Ethnic Diversity Pledge, committing members to achieving meaningful change to support minority ethnic colleagues and to better reflect the communities we serve throughout our organisations.
As part of the pledge, we committed to collaborate to invest and support our minority ethnic talent. From this, the G15 Accelerate programme was launched.
G15 Accelerate is a high calibre Chartered Management Institute (CMI) leadership development programme that’s open to minority ethnic managers who want to accelerate their career trajectory. The programme aims to break down barriers facing talented minority ethnic people, with 37 colleagues completing the first edition of the course.
With the second edition of G15 Accelerate launching this summer, we caught up with Leila Satar, Senior Management Accountant at MTVH and G15 Accelerate Programme 1 Alumna, to ask her about the programme and his experiences.
Can you tell us a little about your day job?
“I am senior management accountant and part of the Finance team. I manage 13 colleagues, with 5 direct reports. I look after the management accounting function and prepare reports for the senior management team and third parties. A key part of my role is to ensure that figures and commentaries reported are complete, accurate and valid.”
Why did you apply to take part in G15 Accelerate?
“I felt that it was a good programme for my career progression. It looked at my skills gap to see how I can bridge that. The programme got me in line for my next promotion. I think it is a really great programme that gives minority ethnic people a chance to gain the skills and experience that they need to take the next step in their career. There is a lack of minority ethnic people in senior roles, but it’s not right just to tick a box by promoting people; staff need the right skills, and this programme helps to achieve that. The programme really makes you think and reflect, and it changed me as a person.”
What is your highlight from the programme?
“The highlight was when I got the new coach, Steve. He was really experienced, and he moved us forward, motivated us, and helped us apply what we'd learned in practice to demonstrate the skills we gained. There were lots of practical tips that make you a better manager too. I also had a great mentor who worked in a totally different area to where I work, which was great.”
What did you find most challenging?
“The assignments were quite challenging in terms of fitting the time in to get them done."
Any words of advice for people considering applying?
“You need to look to see if you have the commitment needed. You need to be ready for it in terms of where you are at in your career too. I suggest people do a development plan for themselves and identify where their skills gap is, and where they want to be in 2 years’ time. They can then ask themselves how they are going to achieve that, and this programme might be the way to go, but it doesn't necessarily have to be through this programme.”