2019/20 Programme Highlights

The 2019/20 programme started with 1-2-1 coaching in April & May 2019 & our first group event in June 2019.

At the start of each cohort we survey all members & speak to each person individually, to determine the key challenges and opportunities they are facing. From these insights, we carefully design our programme of events so that it is tailored to suit the group & their specific needs. We also shortlist the mentors we feel would be best to share their knowledge & expertise to suit our members needs.

Sadly our finale event scheduled for April 2020 had to be postponed due to Covid-19 but we will have this event as soon as we can!

Also as a result of Covid-19 we extended the duration of this cohort to provide ongoing support to members during lockdown & we’re delighted at how the community has come together at such a difficult time.

See below for an overview of our events thus far & fabulous member feedback.

Session Overviews

1. Building your powerful network

We started the programme by introducing members to their new ready-made support network of peers from across the market. Here, they started to build relationships that will last the length of their careers. We also discussed key stakeholders, helping them to map current networks & identify gaps as well as sharing practical, actionable tips to help them fill these gaps and to deepen their most important professional relationships, their way.

2. Raising your profile to progress

Next, we discussed with members how to ensure that their value is visible at work; that they are being recognised for the contribution they’re making. We shared techniques to raise their profile in many different ways and helped them find ways to talk about their achievements with confidence & clarity to ensure they are positioned for recognition & success.

3. Developing a career strategy (group mentoring event) & summer social

Seven inspiring female leaders from across insurance and financial services joined us for this group mentoring event. They shared their insights so members could benefit from their experience & answered questions on a whole range of topics the members often feel it hard to address within their organisations.

4. Presenting your best self with confidence

From having difficult conversations at work, leading meetings or negotiating to presenting to clients or colleagues we frequently need to be able to perform under pressure with composure and credibility.

This session focussed on how we can set ourselves up for success by managing both our internal mindset and external persona to exude confidence, even in the most trying circumstances.

5. Speed mentoring

For this unique experience we invited leaders from across the market who were keen to support our members and provide guidance.

To give our members the best level of insight to their individual challenges we matched their first mentoring conversations with a leader whose specific expertise would help them.

After this, members were invited to choose their next conversations based on the mentors biographies shared in advance and this preparation led to what many say were the most impactful mentoring conversations of their careers.

6. Positioning yourself for success

This session looked at how members can position themselves for the career success they want. We identified key stakeholder relationships & explored where they need to focus time & energy to get the best results.

We also discussed how to get the constructive feedback needed in order to develop & how one can ask for career essentials such as promotion, new assignment, salary increase, overseas secondment, team hire etc…in a way to maximise chances of success.

As many of our members head towards annual reviews in Dec / Jan this was the perfect time to support them in planning for these important conversations.

7. group mentoring with market leaders

This session gave our members access to an incredible group of mentors from across senior leadership positions within broking, underwriting, innovation, technology & operations.

Having spoken with each member we shortlisted the topics that they most wished to discuss and curated groups with the leaders best suited to advise on those topics.

“Ice breaker” questions were shared for each topic and group to get the conversations flowing – and they certainly did! We were inundated with “thank you” e-mails after this session & are very grateful to the amazing mentors who gave their time to support our members.

All mentors will be invited along to the end of programme event in March (as well as our members’ sponsors) to hear first hand how their advice has made an impact.

8. Building resilience and setting yourself up for a successful year ahead

Key to career success is resilience. We focused the first part of the session on understanding how to build resilience, sharing the science behind resilience and why it’s so critical to health and career success. We looked at proven ways to build resilience and discussed healthy coping mechanisms to help individuals to thrive at work and in life. We then moved on to looking at how to set yourself up for a successful year ahead using some powerful reflection questions, celebrating accomplishments and understanding the barriers holding you back. The session concluded by looking at how to make plans spanning across all areas of life and stay on track with them to create maximum success.

9. Maximising your effectiveness as a leader

In our final breakfast skills-based workshop of the programme we discussed how you can maximise your effectiveness as leader. With practical tools to aide prioritising, members were able to look at the way they operate and discuss strategies to prioritise and overcome delegation barriers enabling them to delegate more effectively. The session provided tools and guidance on empowering others and finished with insights on how develop strategic thinking skills as a leader.

10. Insurance Breakfast Club Celebration Close event – Postponed due to COVID-19

The programme will close with a celebration of success for all the amazing achievements the members have accomplished. With leaders attending from across the sector, this session will share the highlights of the programme including a panel discussion with members of the insurance breakfast club. There will be a round table discussion hosted by industry leaders exploring some of the key challenges for women and leaders in todays market.

Member Feedback

“I would recommend the Insurance Breakfast Club because it creates a space for women to connect and learn from one another in a non-judgemental and supportive environment. The course is tailored to the Insurance Industry and so the learning points/examples feel relevant and more memorable.

If there is something I’m struggling with it is helpful to know there are a group of women within the square mile likely experiencing something similar and would be there to help. It would also recommend for career inspiration and training for anyone looking to return to work/get back on track generally.”

“It is an essential tool for anyone who lacks confidence, who has that voice in their head telling them they can’t do it. The club is absolutely effective in bringing people together, to help each other, to take accountability, motivate and inspire. The workshops have a lasting impact and you’re inspired to make change straight away!”

“Very well-tailored programme for bringing out the best in the members. The organizers have done a great job in selecting their members – all who have the same mindset and aspirations but at the same time, who are diverse in their backgrounds and approaches so it definitely has a collaborative spirit to it and I feel that this network will continue once the programme has finished. Along with the toolkits etc. I’ve found the coaching sessions invaluable as well as the mentoring sessions and appreciate the guidance that has been shared.”

“I would definitely recommend it to anybody who is looking to build their network and for inspiration on how to progress their career and personal goals. Exchanging experiences with club members as well as mentors has been very energising.”

“We rarely get the chance to discuss and benefit from the experience of our contemporaries, so this has been a very valuable process. It’s also helped me to view my career holistically, and to take a step back and assess where I have come from and where I am going”.

“It’s been a fantastic program which allows you to meet like-minded female peers and recognize that we all share similar struggles. The take-away material is great and makes the steps to progress seam less daunting. I left every session feeling inspired to make a positive change”.

Resources

All materials from each session are uploaded to the private membership portal so members have 24/7 access as well as additional videos & training sessions.

Toolkits

A summary toolkit is created for each session with key takeaways and action points to make implementation of each persons chosen next steps, easy.

What members are learning

This is what our members are saying about key learnings for them:

Through the sessions so far I have learned key skills in how to think, look and sound confident. This has been the most valuable learning for me. People generally just tell you to ‘be confident’ but having tangible tips and tricks to focus on is really helpful.
I have taken away ideas on how to be more visible on social media.If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Make sure that your voice is heard in a rational and controlled manner.
I’ve learned that I am in control of my destiny, and career. I am my biggest critique and create my own barriers. I have the power to change my mindset and perception of myself

That inspiring and motivating others can be as rewarding as achieving my own goals.
Building a powerful network is key in achieving my goals. How valuable a network can be and how to build out that network.
I shouldn’t be embarrassed to share my success and self-promote. Now I have some top tips for getting better at self-promotion.
Raising profile – I have had real difficulty in talking about my achievements and this session has helped me understand the value and benefit of doing this in a professional manner.

The value of having a mentor, or several to help give you some perspective and objective feedback.That it is ok not to have a set career strategy but I should take opportunities (and get out of my comfort zone and take risks) if those opportunities are of interest and fit with my values.
Navigating a career presents some sort of challenge for everyone and there are multiple valid approaches in response.
I definitely feel more confident and encouraged to broaden, develop and improve my work skills in order to progress my career effectively and successfully. I realised that at the end of the day sky is the limit while the opportunities are out there therefore it is up to me to grab and make the most of them.
You can have it all, just maybe not all at once. Life comes in seasons.