Damien is a man on a mission. He is a young man with a sharp focus and a deep determination to make a difference in life. “It’s all about using your experience and skills to make a difference. Simple as that,” he says.
He was born and bred in the border country of Northern Ireland which has given him an energy and passion to get on in life and to help others along the way. Damien McGarrigle has achieved much in life and continually strives to do more. He has reached a senior position as Head of Commercial Insurance at Lloyds Banking Group, a position that brings considerable pressure and responsibility. However he has a desire to make a difference in ways that assist to shape the lives of others – and business mentoring is one way that he makes a big difference.
Damien knows the importance of small businesses to the economy and to local communities. His father ran his own business in a small community and this gave Damien an early insight into the challenges of running a small business. It also left him with a fundamental understanding of the importance of enterprise and a strong belief in the necessity to sustain and grow small businesses in local communities as part of a healthy sustainable economy.
“My upbringing and experience with my father’s business gave me an insight into the challenges and the tenacity required to keep an enterprise going and be part of the economic lifeblood of the area. The social aspect of enterprise was also clear alongside the need to make profits to keep everything working as a community. It’s the same anywhere”.
Having started as a Commercial Accountant at Playtex in the 1990s, Damien went on to develop a successful career in the finance sector. He also continues a commitment to the wider economy and community being on the board of a number of such social enterprises. His life experience and professional career have given Damien a practical competitive edge to all his activities and a real desire for improvement.
As Damien says “I really want to make a difference in everything I do. My work in insurance is about protecting and assisting businesses and my involvement in mentoring and social enterprise is also about helping people.”
Formal training and continuous professional development only helped to reinforce Damien’s belief in the need for mentoring in business and in life. He started slowly in mentoring small businesses and now has a proven approach that works for businesses and for him.
“I am lucky that my employer supports mentoring and the business mentoring programme. I make the time to do business mentoring as I know it can provide a real boost to the business leader who often wrestles with a great idea that just needs some prompting and guiding and maybe some tools such as setting clear goals. I normally work with a business for a year and it is an interactive process. I like to gather the facts and establish the trust basis within the first three months then plan what we can achieve together. It is a questioning process where the business participant provides the answers – I just prompt the progress and bring some experience and insight that might help”.
And it does help. Damien is modest about the achievements and his own role however the results and direct feedback have been good.
“It is good to know that the experience helps the business person” says Damien. “It doesn’t guarantee success; there are no guarantees in life but it does seem to make a positive difference. I put a lot into the relationship and I get so much back from business mentoring. I am constantly learning and I love the variety of the challenges as well as the range of new business ideas that get turned into trading realities. They are all vital to the person as they represent their passion and many go on to become important in the economy and the community. You can’t argue with that”.
Damien has been involved with mentoring through his employer, Lloyds Banking Group, as well as through the School for Social Entrepreneurs and Scottish Business Mentoring with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce. The support of his employer and their commitment to business mentoring has been important.
“The involvement has given me a broad perspective on issues and challenges. It is vital for me as a mentor to be flexible in the relationship and see where I can best add value and help people. Often it is about confidence building and having someone there to provide a different form of support and understanding. This understanding then enables me to see how to build confidence as well as share learning and set out possible approaches to handle different situations.”
Damien has helped business leaders in SMEs and social enterprises address many issues through business mentoring. The issues can range from property to personalities, from the physical business assets to the intangibles of success.
“I always encourage individuals in an enterprise to review their own achievements and recognise their success as that builds self-confidence and aspiration to do even more. I also want to help individuals and communities to build social resilience. Many are small fish in a large pond where the challenges can be tough.”
Damien helps individuals navigate these challenging waters. He knows that it can be a lonely place with scary moments as well as experiencing the thrills of success and doing something worthwhile day in day out.
“It takes massive courage and commitment to get a business idea off the ground and to get it up and running. I know what is required and I have been inspired by the commitment of so many people. My input is minimal in the grand scheme of things but so long as it helps then I am happy to do it” says Damien.
So what is necessary for a successful mentoring relationship?
“We need to recognise that it takes time and patience to build a relationship and a basis to help. The 12 months goes in quickly but that time is needed as we set out the planning in the first three months then move forward to implement things thereafter. We bounce ideas around and I help to shape these and provide frameworks that help to organise and focus without stifling the creativity or energy. We try to get into a rhythm of regular contact.
“I am often the sounding board that people need; I can also be a channel to reflect their progress and build the confidence from seeing real progress from their work – and it is their work not mine. I just listen and respond; they do all the work”.
Damien loves to see things build and progress.
“Maybe I help to show people what they can do, how they can achieve things that are fundamentally important in their lives. I love to see the signs of progress then I leave them to get on with it. Being involved as a form of support to the business leader for the 12 months can be a great relief for that person – just knowing that there is someone there to ask, a check on things to get the reassurance that they are doing the right thing and able to make the decisions for the right reason that recognises the risks. Their decision is then made with eyes open to the risks”.
So how does Damien measure the success of his mentoring?
“I think we would need to look at where the person and the enterprise is now compared to where they were before. It is a long term change measure. In the short term we can help to provide the space to think more clearly with the mentor alongside as a sounding board. The system can also be confusing with different agencies and authorities so we can help to de-clog things and get quicker to the sources of further assistance where it is needed”.
Damien is happy to help through business mentoring and looks forward to helping more people in future.
“Yes I want to keep doing it. We are all in this together so the more we can develop sustainable small businesses and social enterprises, the more we will all benefit”.
In these times of economic challenge and new forms of competitiveness the need for business mentors like Damien and support from employers like Lloyds Banking Group will become more important than ever.
Damien McGarrigle
Mentor
