"The first thing Pilotlight gives me is a sense of perspective – I think I’ve got it tough in my day job? – well take a look at what our charity CEOs are doing! Then there’s the satisfaction element. I can look back at Voice for Change England and see a worthwhile organisation whose CEO has really developed – here’s Vandna who now understands the importance of her strategy, who can write a better document that gets to the heart of what her organisation is about, who can leverage her board.

“I worked with a great trio of Pilotlighters on that project and learnt from both of them. There was one exercise that Prerana [Unilever Global HR director] got us all to do. It was no more than three minutes but was one of those light bulb moments: we had to close our eyes, imagine the organisation in two years time and then write down our thoughts. It was so inspirational in that context and it’s definitely something I will use professionally when I get the opportunity. Pilotlight meetings can be like monthly training courses – lots of ideas, lots of listening.

“In my professional life I tend to jump straight to solutions, at Pilotlight, you’re working with highly professional people none of whom are shy! But I feel I should hang back and listen because other’s opinions are very valuable; it’s challenging, instructive and positive.

“My current project is very new, we’re all at the stage of wondering how we’ll get on with each other, how we can add value here. But this is where the value of the project manager really shines most clearly – it’s highly professional management, neutral, confident and helps us to stick to the process: it takes out the hassle factor, I can arrive having done no more than read up for the meeting and someone else has done all the hard work. The Pilotlight model allows me to give something back; I think if I wasn’t working for Pilotlight, I wouldn’t be volunteering at all because I have such limited time. This is such a satisfying way to give.” 
 

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"I would absolutely encourage people to Pilotlight! It’s a small amount of time, controlled and boundaried. And if you put the time in, do a small amount of preparation, learn about the charity and go to the meetings, I can guarantee you will have this incredible feeling of satisfaction. I could see my business skills were exactly what Su, Aanchal's CEO, needed.

"By having this interesting mix of Pilotligthers, we created a respectful, encouraging atmosphere. The charity  was a very worthwhile cause, it had been around a long time, with very dedicated, passionate staff who were, however, not business-minded and therefore not channelling their capabilities effectively. Their business plan included very detailed information but was not structured and did not provide a clear picture.

"However, the CEO, Su, took on every single piece of advice we gave her. I think what helped her most was being able to articulate the core focus of her organisation, prioritising the charity’s various initiatives and allowing her to say ‘No!’. We therefore helped her prioritise at a time when funding cuts made that essential, even though emotionally Su wanted to help everyone. And don’t forget, this is a charity that deals with crisis, we know that women are at risk of being killed by their partners in domestic violence situations, that children in these situations are affected for life and even at risk of being killed too, so Su has an incredibly difficult job – but we helped her to stay focussed on her priorities, we allowed her a safe space to explore the problems around prioritisation.

"I can in some ways relate to Su, I find it hard to delegate, but in this scenario I gained a wider skill set, new ways of approaching complex problems. I absolutely couldn’t do Su's job myself, but it was a brilliant use of my time because I could see my skills were just what she needed. Happily, she took our advice on board. It is incredibly satisfying to leave skills with an organisation.This is coaching at its most satisfying. It’s incredibly positive to leave an organisation stronger after a year of collaborative team work."
 

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Which charities have you helped?

Tourettes Action: which aims to improve the lives of people affected by Tourettes Syndrome
Albert Kennedy Trust: which supports young, homeless, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender people

What motivated you to get involved with Pilotlight?

My Masters was in aid economics and following that I worked in the field, most impactfully in Rwanda during the war in 1994, building an orphanage founded on sustainable agricultural principles. During that time I saw the good and the not so good of the charitable sector. For many years thereafter I focused on the pursuit of my career and various personal goals.

Whether the coming of a certain age (38 in my case), birth of my first child, reaching a degree of professional freedom or just a frustration at observing but doing nothing about the hardship faced by so many in our society, a couple of years ago I realised that blind giving was neither satisfying nor maximising what I could do to alleviate such problems. I had to get involved, hands on, and try to use whatever talents I had directly.

I wanted to gain exposure to a number of charities, be able to influence them in a truly fundamental – as opposed to single-issue or campaign orientated – way and to do so in a structured, measured and managed environment where the time between touch points could be sure to still bring steps forward rather than back sliding.

How have you helped the charity/social enterprises?

I would like to think we have:
• Given them the confidence in their own abilities in many of the more classically business orientated functions of the charity;
• Provided a touchpoint for debate and consensus building between management and trustees;
• Acting as a probing but supportive sounding board;
• Helping the development of the business plans and the implementation plans that sit alongside them.

What have you learned from the experience?

• How much people can achieve through passion and dedication
• To focus more on coaching than directing
• Many lessons in management/board interaction
• How much scope there is to alleviate exclusion and hardship by supporting the many willing people focused on particular issues and therefore that hope not pessimism should prevail.

What has your company gained from the experience?

A more empathic me to the benefit of all others that interface with OBMC, a greater social awareness in what we do and how we do it and some terrific business contacts.

What would you say to others thinking about joining Pilotlight?

It is the best way I know to help charities if you want to do more than just give money;

• Be committed: it is an intimate process involving a lot of trust between the charity and the team and that deserves focus and appropriate prioritisation;

• Be patient: remember this is about building the charities own capacity which requires coaching and support. That is slower but ultimately more impactful than the way we tend to impact our businesses by doing something ourselves or directing others.

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”I don’t think it’s too much of an exaggeration to say my two projects with Pilotlight have had quite a profound effect on me.  First of all, I would hire Shadna [Home-Start's CEO] any day for her engagement and total dedication. It is humbling and troubling to work with a charity that actually needs very little money but it does need a bit. And in these times, securing that is proving difficult. Their need is urgent, what they do with very little is utterly amazing.

"I’ve personally got so much out of my two Pilotlight projects: I’m taken out of my comfort zone, my colleagues don’t know my strengths or have preconceived ideas about me; we are in a serious environment but one very different to my usual area of work. It’s made me much more aware of the charity sector and all the work there is to be done.

“On my  first Pilotlight engagement the team was great, very cohesive. When we fed back at the end, we all agreed that it had changed the way we all thought about how hard we worked and the point of it all. Seeing a sector up close that is financially dependent but not financially driven is eye-opening.

“My current project, Home Start, is an incredibly humbling experience. It really touches me: the director and deputy,  are impressive and their situation is precarious, I feel a real sense of urgency. They need and want so little yet it is very difficult to source that bit of funding and make them secure.  You just hope you can help a bit because there’s a real need out there for what they do.

“I know how to solve problems in my day to day life but this problem I don’t know how to solve, and that’s troubling, you feel completely out of your comfort zone mainly because the solution is not obvious, this is real people with real lives. In this Pilotlight role I need patience and that’s not my strong point.

“The thing I like about Pilotlighting is that it’s completely different but a relatively safe environment to try out things which you can’t do at work. Personally, I’ve got a huge amount out of it. You’re in a serious but very different environment. It’s made me much more aware of the charity sector, the roles to be filled and the work to be done.”
 

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"There are many elements from my Pilotlight experience that feed into my professional life in intangible ways: it reinforces confidence because you appreciate how much you do know about organisations and management – and it’s a good feeling to know that you are using those skills for something that is really worthwhile, connected to the real world and people’s lives. I work largely in an artificial world and this gives me a perspective that otherwise I wouldn’t have. I value that.

“Then there’s the networking – it’s quite challenging to work with people from different backgrounds as opposed to my day job where everyone speaks the common language of banking. At Pilotlight I’ve learnt about marketing and a great deal about the Third Sector. With Mencap, my current project, I feel humbled: we’re working with two hugely talented and committed individuals from the charity. I feel Pilotlight encourages me to step back from my leadership role, I become an active, concentrated listener, I’m more reflective and it’s made me into, I think, a much better team player.”

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