Supported by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and organised by the SBCC, Lee-Anne Gillie is the Programme Coordinator, and she is supported by some of the Borders’ and Scotland’s most experienced business leaders and coaches.
‘Accelerating Borders’ is delivering two elements: a series of six free ‘Drive Success’ workshops, and a Borders Mentoring Programme.
The workshops, led by Stephen McQuillan from moon developments UK Ltd, who runs business programmes across the UK, Europe and North America, kicked off last week in Galashiels with a session around strategy, and will run to the end of March, while the Mentoring programme is currently connecting local businesses with experienced leaders to find out what local people need to become more confident about growing their firms.
“The first workshop went well,” said Mrs Gillie, “and it was great to see a wide variety of people and businesses, from all sorts of backgrounds, coming together.
“We have five more workshops through the next two months and people are free to come along to those they want to – you don’t have to take part in them all. But we’re keen to ensure as many businesses know about this as possible and realise that it’s not for one type of business or another, for large or small, but for everyone at whatever stage they are at.”
The workshops to come include managing businesses to remove silos, developing entrepreneurial drive and leadership, improving decision-making, communicating with impact, and being confident about innovating.
“It is about developing sustainable business growth,” continued Mrs Gillie. “We blend a bit of neuroscience and psychology with practical leadership tools, but ultimately, it’s looking at how we grow a business, develop our business thinking and partnership working, take on new staff and grow sales.
“We’re focused on the challenges facing businesses working in rural areas and we are also looking particularly at under-represented groups, and particularly women in business.
“We worked with Stephen [McQuillan] last year, and he’s very good at not only looking at how small businesses can grow but how they can help their staff to grow and develop leadership skills, which ultimately strengthens the whole company and can take pressure off one MD or CEO.
“The Mentoring Programme is a pilot we’re developing with the Borders Chamber of Commerce, and I’m very excited by it, mainly because of the quality of people we have involved.
“Sudha Mani has over 30 years’ experience in public and private sectors, across engineering, finance and start-ups, and is a real expert in AI and how we can get the most out of it in small businesses. She also brings a lot of expertise in developing good HR and wellbeing.
“Cath Strachan is a passionate, award-winning business coach who started off in intensive care nursing, went into business start-ups and built global networks in oil, gas, pharmaceuticals and engineering, so she has quite a life experience there. She has great international contacts to open doors for Borders businesses and is also an expert on inclusive recruitment which is a key part of all business growth.
“Nick Sellars is a business coach that will be well known to many in the Borders, having spent the past 40 years helping business and business leaders in this area, and further afield, to develop, and we’re delighted to have Stephen McQuillan as a fourth Mentor.”
Mrs Gillie concluded: “The Accelerating Borders’ programme is a great opportunity for people to just take a short bit of time out of the business to think about where they are, and where they want to go, and come away with more confidence in how to get there.
“Often, once we get our business up and running, we spend years with the head down pushing on, and suddenly it’s five or ten or 15 years later, and you’re like ‘OK, what do we do now?
“So, this is a great chance for people to think about where they go next in the business, how they make the next steps, and how they develop their staff, and do that in a welcoming atmosphere with other people in the same boat from across the Borders.
“We are developing a very strong, supportive business network in the Scottish Borders and this is the next step to growing that, so I’d encourage anyone in business locally to get in touch because it’s a great community to be a part of. “
Drive Success Workshops:
Right-Sized Structure: From Silos to Seamless – 27th January
Leadership Reimagined: Relationships, Impact & Entrepreneurial Drive – 10th February
Developing the Mindset for Growth: Confidence, Inclusion & Better Decisions – 18th February
Developing Your Language of Service: Communicating with Impact – 10th March
Creating a Culture of Innovation and Accountability – 24th March
More information is available at:
www.borderschamber.com
