What does it mean to work at a company that encourages growth, mentorship, and innovation? This episode, we chat with Richard and Amy from Bank of America, our Co-Headline Partners for the NPWAwards, about exactly that.
🌟 Richard (25 years at Bank of America) shares why he’s changed roles every 20 months and how curiosity has shaped his career.
🌟 Amy (celebrating 10 years) reflects on why she never wanted to leave the North—and how finding Bank of America in Chester was a perfect fit.
Plus, we talk about:
🔹 How mentorship has evolved to be more strategic and impactful.
🔹 Why job descriptions need a refresh to attract diverse talent.
🔹 How advocacy and inclusion are at the heart of Bank of America’s culture.
Find out more about We Are PoWEr here. 💫
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello and welcome to the we Are Power
podcast.
If this is your first time here, the we Are Power podcast is
the podcast for you, your careerand your life.
We release an episode everysingle Monday with listeners in
over 60 countries worldwide,where you'll hear personal life
stories, top-notch industryadvice and key leadership
insight from amazing role models.
(00:21):
As we Are Power is the umbrellabrand to Northern Power Women
Awards, which celebrateshundreds of female role models
and advocates every year.
This is where you can hearstories from all of our awards
alumni and stay up to date witheverything.
Mpw Awards and we Are Power.
Hello and welcome to the we ArePower podcast.
(00:48):
Today I am joined in the studioby the Bank of America massive
over from Chester onto the couch.
Welcome Richard, welcome Amy.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Tell us about your roles because I think sometimes
you think Bank of America,you'll assume, right there you
go.
You're a teller, you'll sort ofmortgages out, because they
only hear the word bank.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
I'm in cyber security and we run part of the CTOC for
Bank of America globally, so werun a 24 by 7, 365 cyber
security capability from Chester.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Wow, powered by the.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
North Amy.
Yeah, I think we have the sameperception.
When people ask what we'redoing, it's either the
commercial side of it, but we'rein the investment banking side.
So I work in a trade controlsupport team which is in line
with the front office in TradingDesk in London, but we work
from Chester to support them,reconciling trades, thinking of
(01:42):
efficiencies where we can makeimprovements and working as a
team across global teams it'salways exciting.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
I love getting you know.
Bank of america are co-headlinepartners for the northern power
women awards.
We have a great partnership.
We love working for you guysand it's it's always fascinating
to hear about other roles.
But how did you, how did youeven get into this?
How did you even know thatbecause this is a big hq isn't
in Chester and you have globaloperations as well as not just
national operations there, don'tyou?
(02:09):
How did you know that youwanted to be a Bank of America
vice president?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
So that's the difference we speak about,
wasn't it?
So?
Since I've well, I've got 10year anniversary today and with
Bank of America, and when I wasat university in Chester, I
actually didn't know Bank ofAmerica were on the Chester
business park, we didn't haveconnections, we just didn't know
they were there.
Um, but I knew I wanted to stayin the north.
Um, I had a child in my firstyear in uni and I just needed
(02:34):
that family stability from thenorth.
I just knew moving down southwasn't for me.
Um, but actually then, knowingthe opportunities were here and
not just down in the south wasactually fantastic.
Once I got the job with Bank ofAmerica, the opportunities
there are absolutely fantastic.
It's not a career of one baseand then you have to move and
(02:54):
look at different locations.
Your career can be done inChester with so many job
opportunities and the 10 yearsI've been there, the growth that
they've made in Chester, theteams that have been built out
in Chester, is absolutelyfantastic opportunities.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And I think that's always exciting, isn't it?
There's no people think of oneorganisation and there's one
like linear path.
Have you had a linear path,richard?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
No, my path could not be less linear, have you been?
Speaker 1 (03:17):
wigglier than a wiggly thing.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, the interesting thing is the last interview I
had for a job position was in1999, so it's actually in the
last century, which does date merather.
But I've changed my job roleevery 12 to 18 months because
opportunities arise and ifyou've got the right type of
talent and you've got the righttype of mobility mindset, then
you can basically adapt and moveon.
(03:41):
So that's what makes it soexciting.
I'm 25 years with Bank ofAmerica and when I joined I
thought I wouldn't last a year.
So, yeah, it's everyopportunity to grow and succeed.
And again, I did actually move.
I moved to Portsmouth.
I went to work for IBM inPortsmouth for a couple of years
(04:02):
and then missed the north andwanted to get back.
So then I actually consciouslybrought the family back to the
north and wanted to be just backin there, based in the
northwest.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And there is that whole eco culture over on the
business part.
We've been over quite a numberof times over to Bank of America
HQ and I think one of thethings that is very it always
feels very visible about whatthe Bank of America are doing to
support, specifically, genderequality.
I know when we're over there westand there watching the
revolving signs, waiting forsomething to come up about
Northern Power Women or asession that you're running.
(04:32):
I always think it's veryvisible and very there.
You must have seen change overthe years to get to this point,
like you say you've been theredecades really.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Thank you for reminding me of that.
Yeah, I mean 25 ago it was.
It was very overt.
Now.
My management team, um, rightfrom the get-go was, was
predominantly female.
Um, now, it wasn't a consciousthing where I was saying, hey, I
need more female on the team,it was just, um, the women were
the strongest um candidates, sothey're the ones that got the,
(05:03):
got the jobs.
But that was really unusual,especially in cyber security at
the time.
Um, and we had to be reallyovert about trying to identify
female talent and trying tobring female talent in.
I even had to almost convincepeople that they could do the
job because there was this whole.
You know why do you want me incyber secure, cyber security?
(05:24):
I'm not.
I'm not a cyber securityprofessional.
I do.
I do change management or I do,and I'm like you've got exact
skill set that I need.
Right, I need attention todetail, need people are driven,
energetic.
I can teach you the rest of it,right.
So, um, I think that fear ofbeing able to step into the
unknown has changed a lot, and Ithink the organization has done
a lot in.
Being able to step into theunknown has changed a lot and I
(05:44):
think the organisation has donea lot in being able to break
down those barriers, to makethings more accessible.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That's your 10th anniversary, congratulations.
What have you seen again inyour 10 years, in your decade of
change and approach?
I think you've got, because I'msort of Richard here being an
advocate, because that's whatyou've been, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (06:04):
You know, being that advocacy, but to ensure that
there are equal opportunitiesfor leadership roles, yeah, I
think there are just more peoplewanting to advocate, like
Richard, and the opportunitiesthere, with the networks that
they've built out, are fantastic.
So we have multiple networksthat you can join and sign up to
.
One of them, being the main one, is Lead and Winner, which is
(06:32):
focused on women, but it's moreabout leadership education.
But the opportunity and theadvice given now is just so wide
and there's always somethingcoming to your inbox that you
can join and be a part of.
Like you said, on the walls, onthe advertising, there's always
something that makes you wantto get involved, because you see
so many people doing just goodthings with it that you want to
be part of that.
You don't see it as anadditional or it's just they
want me to do it, so I'm goingto do it.
(06:52):
You, there's always something upthere that you actually want to
, and actually you probably runout of time to be involved in
more than you want than less andthey're just always plugging
that.
There's just always somethingyou can join learning courses,
job sharing, um, just even likea half an hour meet and greet
side by side.
You can always have theopportunity.
No one ever says no, um, and Ithink once you start doing it
(07:15):
once it just makes you thrive towant to get more involved in in
anything that anyone offers.
You just want to learn and seeand do and then them
transferable skills that youlearn, you can see that you
could be a part of any of themjob roles if you've got the
right skill set and mindset todo it and I think I want to come
back to advocacy, because Ithink it's when I set Northern
Power up 10 years ago my tenureas well, actually, for for
(07:37):
setting the organization up, itwas always right from day one.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
It was always all genders it was.
It was always really key for methat this was for um, and I
always wanted to collect thegood guys.
Um, how do we get, you know,grow more good guys, because
sometimes it's a bit like well,it's not about a guy coming in
with a superhero cape on andgoing like I'm gonna save and be
the advocate, but there's somesimple, simple steps around
(08:01):
advocacy.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I think um I think some of the the key um metrics
and we touched a little bit on.
You know how how much um thebank invests in this right.
We've got nine differentnetworks right of over 25
countries.
There's 62 000 membersassociated to those groups and
three are dedicated to advocacyfor women, whether that's in
(08:25):
tech and ops or lead.
So there's actually a hugeadvocacy network out there
already.
It's just being able to bringthose people together to be able
to make sure that theyunderstand.
So a lot of advocacy, a lot ofcoaching in relation to how to
develop female talent to be ableto take on those roles, to be
(08:46):
more fearless in pushingthemselves forward.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Absolutely.
I think it is having you know.
You come up with some of those.
When you talked earlier aboutworking in cybersecurity, well,
I can't do that.
That's not my job kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
We had a girl from Imperial College who's a quantum
physicist and she came on awork placement with us um last
year and first day was I don'tthink I can do this.
I said you're quantum physicist, you can do anything.
He said I don't know.
I don't know anything aboutcyber security.
So after her four weeks withher, she went you know what?
I can do this job right, and soit was just how to break down
(09:22):
those barriers and demystify it.
But even someone who's the bestof the best came in with a I
can't do this.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I know social mobility is a massive driver and
something that the bank arereally passionate about as well.
What are the specific campaignsor programs that Bank of
America are driving that arehelping people from
underrepresented communities?
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah, so the main one that we both were involved in,
weren't we last year is thefuture prospects um, which is a
six-week base course and tobring people in, anyone can
apply that a student um and theyjust have that six weeks
full-on course of experiences,skills, sit side by side, they
work together on a project, butthey get to see actually what
the job involves.
They sit with a team for sixweeks whilst doing the
(10:04):
side-by-side see if it's forthem.
But anyone can apply.
It's not just the accountancyor the one who's involved in
investment banking, any career.
We had someone on an art onelast year who absolutely just
loved what we were doing andmore of the problem-based how to
solve um, and they've all gotthe opportunity to apply for any
open roles at the end of it.
So the opportunity's there, butit's just giving them people
(10:27):
the opportunity to come inwhilst they're doing their uni
and their studies.
That I didn't see when I was atthat stage.
And Bank of America, based inChester, are locally trying to
do that for all as well, withapprentice schemes going into
schools, going into colleges,continuously trying to advertise
what is here, but just theopportunities and the breadth of
the job role.
So you just think of bankamerican.
(10:48):
You might just think tradingstraight away.
I need accountancy degree, Ineed to be good at maths, that's
it.
There's just so many rolesthere that, so many career paths
that can lead into other careerpaths.
Once you've got into the doorand see what's there, I just
think it's given an opportunityfrom day one when you're in
school, and that's been lackingin the past and it definitely
can be built on.
Even more is by showing themwhat jobs are available and not
(11:11):
just necessarily where you thinkthey might be in the country.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
You can apply, you can see what's available and I
think that's key is it'screating the opportunity.
I think it's hard, isn't it to,to show on a leaflet or a
careers fair what theopportunities are.
You've got to be in it, haven'tyou, to see it.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
And that's what works so well about both the insight
days that we do with themilitary and also things like
the future prospects, where theyget to actually experience it.
So the things that they believeand perceive and have seen on
television around what the jobis and what they think the job
is actually gets broken downbecause they get to experience
it and because they thenexperience it, they can apply
(11:50):
themselves in it and they cansee them switching on and
switching off to certainsituations going.
You know what I really like?
This legal side of things.
I like the lawyer in me side ofthings rather than the hacker
type of mindset or the laws,rules and regulations.
Right, and how to negotiate thecomplexities of operating in
different global markets right,because that is a complex space.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
It's lifting the lid off, it isn't it that?
You know, this isn't a job infinance.
It's whatever you change roleevery year or so.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Every 12 to 18 months yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Is that because they find you out?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I like to think I stay ahead and stay contemporary
.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Oh, I like that.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
That needs to be on a t-shirt that does yeah, or I
come in and out of fashion ormaybe like a pair of denim jeans
or a pair of baggy trousers orsomething we'll not get into
fashion, shall we not know?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
but I think there is.
That is that, was it appeal toyou as well, having the, the
flexibility to be able to notone to stay.
You want to be in the north.
The passion to be able to notone to stay.
You want to be in the North.
The passion to be North-based,but also to zigzag sometimes, I
think squiggle.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Yeah, and it was just more learning.
So I have been in the same area.
I'm different where I've movedwithin the same area but still
staying under the samemanagement, and that's more
because I'm constantly learning.
I don't think there's been asame week or same month what I'm
doing, and then, when I havebuilt it out, we'll embed it
into a different side of the job, but it just is never the same
(13:14):
where I am, and that's what Ireally thrive and love is.
Every day is different.
There's an opportunity toimprove time efficiencies,
process improvements, technologyimprovements.
You're involved with otherteams.
There's always and I thinkthat's what people need to find
is you find what you're good at,the skill set you're good at,
and you can keep applying thatto a different role or in the
(13:34):
same role, you just thrive offwhat you're doing well.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
The other good thing about that sort of more
contemporary approach is thatyou create an environment of
curiosity where anything ispossible, and you don't have
this sort of environment of deadman's shoes, where the only way
I can progress is if, becauseWoodward's been there for 25
years, it's like, yeah, but hehasn't actually been there for
25 years.
He's been around, he's done allthis mobility, he's developed
(13:59):
his career, he's done all sortsof different things, and that, I
think, inspires people then tobe slightly more fearless in the
way that they go about thingsand to take on more risk.
Are there jobs you've taken onthe way that you've gone?
Speaker 1 (14:40):
oh, what you learn, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
it's what you learn from this situation.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
I definitely came out more resilient what has been
your sort of biggest learnwithin your roles, both within
10 years and, you know, 200years over here?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Mine is teamwork.
I think a lot of people havealways assumed that you need to
know it yourself.
It's your own learning path andactually definitely the team
I'm in, but it's across the bank.
It's teamwork, it'scollaboration, it's
communication.
It's discussing ideas together.
I might have it's across thebank is.
It's a teamwork, it's acollaboration, it's
communication, it's discussingideas together.
I might have a vision at theend of it, but by speaking to
(15:19):
the three or four people thatalso cover the same area, what
else can you add?
What else can we improve?
So I think the biggest learningis it's not a weakness to ask
for help or ask for an opinion.
Um, it's actually going toproduce a better outcome is by
involving your team alwaysculture, yeah, for me, just
absolutely 100.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Culture, um, whether it was, you know, coaching a
rugby team, being chairman ofsomething or running a around a
rehabilitation of youngdefenders program, um, once, um,
and it's all about the culture.
Right, you win through culture.
You can't sustain winning.
If you haven't got the rightbuilding blocks, the right
people, the right attitude, itjust falls apart.
(16:00):
It's built on false codes.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
And you can't fake culture either, can you?
You can't just get it out of abox and go right.
We're going to assemble this inhere on this business park in
Chester, and everything's goingto be grand.
It's going to be grand it's.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
It's got to be intentional, hasn't it?
It's got to be intentional,otherwise you get too much um
churn.
Right, because people call youout and actually things that you
want to build and sustain right.
Look at the partnerships thatwe have through all of our
employee networks.
Whether that's diwali orwhether that's chinese New Year,
etc.
They come back to us becausethey know that we're resilient,
we're reliable, we'retrustworthy and we're there to
(16:37):
help them.
It's not self-serving, it's notabout us.
It's about us helping andputting back, and that's really
important to us.
We're trying to represent thecommunities which we're all part
of.
They're the ones that bank withus.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
And everyone has got a part to play in it.
It's not just from a leadershipperspective.
Everyone's got to be part ofthat culture.
So, whether that's through thegroups that you have, the many
groups that you have, whetherit's, you know, some of the
communities that you'reassociated, everyone's got a
part to play.
Because I think sometimespeople think, oh, I can't say
that, I've got to put my fingeron my lips because I'm not at a
(17:12):
position that I can have a say.
But you can, can't you?
You can.
It's important to have thatvoice.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Yeah, I think their core values come down from the
top.
They've stayed the same.
They come down and trust theteam realizing the power of the
people.
And that can just be slogans,right, but then giving us the
opportunities to build it outand they really do support any
suggestions people want.
But by having it follow a path,then people join.
(17:37):
You can actually reflect backand see that it's not just a
slogan written on, it's not justnames and words they're using.
You're actually a part of thatand they actually do believe in
that because in what they offer,the opportunities they have
we've even got a lunch offeredfor people just to go in network
next Wednesday and it's comingto the inbox today saying thank
you, very much engagement andit's just always them
opportunities of just offeringup, keep offering, keep offering
(17:59):
, and people are then alwaysgoing to get involved and once
you took part in one, you wantto, you want to meet new people.
You, you just get thatenjoyment of not just the nine
to five job.
You're working with thesepeople, you can breath out, you
can build relationships andyou're making a difference it
was taking your whole self towork.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
I know that's a feels like an overused phrase at
times, but I feel that'simportant if you, if the culture
is there for you to go and dothat and to go and drop in at
this session or or come to this,you know, a learning session or
a volunteering session, it'simportant that you know I think
it's actually an underused term,right, because I think it's
it's used so um widely thatpeople don't really understand
(18:39):
what it is right.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
I had a mentoring session with somebody once and
he said that his next step onthe management ladder was to was
to manage people right, andhe'd been an individual
contributor for a while and Isaid, well, what is it that's
driving that desire to manage?
And he said I want to give back.
I said, well, why is thatvertical management hierarchy
(19:00):
the way to give back?
We're about employee networks.
Why don't you use your power inother ways?
Why don't you go and think morebroadly about how you can
influence?
And you could see him almostconsciously go.
Can I do that?
And I'm like you're empoweredto go make a difference.
And he literally took on one ofthe lead roles in one of the
(19:24):
networks and is now driving allof that and he's getting that
experience of seeing the worldthrough other's eyes and
elevating other people aroundhim from that.
So there's different ways tolook at that.
And if you've got advocacy andpeople that actually genuinely
believe in developing the person, then they won't just look
vertically at that opportunity.
They'll look more broadlyaround how to grow the
individual.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Absolutely, and it's chances of trying new skills,
isn't it as well?
And I think you talk aboutmentoring.
I think you can never haveenough mentors.
In my view, whether it's in thebusiness, outside the business,
across departments, I feelthere's always a learn.
It's always been a two-way aswell, that you can gain as much
from your mentee as you can fromyour mentors.
Have you benefited throughoutwith the organisation by
(20:06):
mentoring or mentoring?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Yeah, so there's always opportunities to get a
mentor or mentee.
They build out in Chester.
So last year we had 42partnerships um which they're
looking to build on again andthe aim now this year is to make
it more sustainable so it notjust fizzle out.
You can build in exactly onwhat your criteria was, that you
wanted and partner people uptogether.
That will get the best fromeach side.
(20:28):
Um, but I look at every day evenif I haven't just got the
scheme that's on for the year um, who around me can help me.
Who have I seen come back onemails that I've?
They've given a fantasticanswer or give me support.
What else do they know that Imight now go and sit with them?
Um, we've got leadership umwomen everywhere that I've just
you see them from a distanceworking and you just see how
(20:50):
well that works, even if ifthey're doing a stand-up meeting
.
You watch, you learn, youlisten how they're presenting
themselves.
Even the one-to-ones we have.
I'm very fortunate to havefantastic women leaders in my
team and just the way they feedback in the one-to-ones is just
fantastic with just the feedbackI get.
(21:10):
Just having that continuouslyoffered to me is a support you
don't really think about untilyou get to the end of the year
and go.
They were continuouslyimproving me and supporting me
at the same time, and it's kindof a silent expectation, but
it's actually really grateful tohave.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
It strikes me that you will have some interesting
mentoring stories.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Richard, the recent mentoring stories are much, much
more value added than the earlyones.
In the early early days of mycareer, um people would give me
a mentor if they thought, um,they couldn't manage me anymore.
So, it'd be a case of we don'tknow what to do with this guy.
Um, get yourself a mentor andhopefully that mentor will will
(21:54):
will create some kind of newwisdom.
Um, that's definitely changednow, and the mentors that I tend
to get now are not necessarilyagain vertically aligned to the
job that I tend to get now arenot necessarily again vertically
aligned to the job that I'mdoing.
It's how to broaden myperspective and my um my views
of life.
So I I tend to seek out um moretemporary mentorships right,
(22:16):
which are, um almost pointingtime, serving to help me clarify
a position or help me seesomething differently In respect
of, obviously, developingtalent.
You can sometimes get a goodfeel for where somebody's at
right just by asking thequestions around what it is
they're looking, just simplywhat it is they're looking to
(22:37):
accomplish, and sometimes youcan see that there isn't
necessarily a full groundingaround what it is that they
think they're here to do rightan organization like yours has
got a part to play in that,because I think if the culture
is set, you can try, and it's abit like the person who came
into your business as a quantumphysicist I can't do it it's,
it's all.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Is that fear of failing?
If have you ever had that fearof failing or?
Speaker 3 (23:00):
and I think sometimes , actually, if you've failed and
you've had an issue, you'vebeen involved in one then you
live with the fear forever thatit happened.
But sometimes fear can be usedwell.
It's knowing the risk In ourjob.
Risk is high and you've got tomitigate that risk.
You've got to be self-aware,you've got to be aware of the
team.
But sometimes it takessomething to fail.
(23:20):
First no one's going to comeshouting at you, no one's going
to blame you, but until you'vedone it and been through that,
you don't realize it's safe todo so and we just need to be
risk aware to improve it goingforward.
But the new people coming inbecause you're protecting them
from having that horriblefeeling of something go wrong,
then they live exactly like that, an anxious feeling.
(23:42):
So it's kind of what we do well.
On our teams we've got twoapprentices who are absolutely
fantastic and outside of workthey're having to do their
studies as well, which is on topof everything else.
So um, absolutely commendable.
But it's bringing them intoworking groups, I think, really
does work.
So if you're working on aprocess improvement, let them
come along.
So they haven't got the maybethey haven't got the confidence
to speak up yet they don't thinktheir opinion's worthwhile, but
(24:03):
it 100% is.
They'll bring fresh eyes tosomething, absolutely what
they're going to value add.
But they might not want to doit on their own.
So we kind of encourage thatway and that can be seen as a
little bit mentor mentee.
When someone joins our team wegive them a buddy and it's just
a friendly check-in weekly how,how are you getting on?
Is there anything thatstruggles?
It's just more personablebecause you can blink and I've
(24:28):
spent eight hours at my desk andit's not very approachable.
But you have to just make aculture there.
That is just approach.
Just call me, just shout meacross and I will come as soon
as we can.
But it's a teamwork effort.
Don't be afraid to fail becauseit's not held on one person, um
, but be involved.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Don't be scared to give suggestions and make
improvements absolutely, becauseit is about your voice counts,
isn't it that's so important?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
and we've also taken another step with um, with our
work with the pledge right,where we go into schools to
actually start coaching at anearlier age as to what this is
all about and to say look,failure is part of the process
because we're in ahigh-pressured environment and
that's okay.
And one of the key things thatwe did in almost changing the
narrative in the way that wedeal with certainly school
(25:15):
children and students is to sendour junior talent in, and
especially our female juniortalent, because actually what
they say resonates much morewith those people that are
coming through than anythingthat I could possibly say.
It's relatability isn't it, itis.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
I'm a big fan of that .
Way back in the day I was inthe Royal Navy and I had, within
a couple of years,unfortunately, I lost my father
and they sent me to the careersoffice in Liverpool to work and
during that time I got to go andvisit the schools, still able
to be in the mindset of beingthis young military person.
But I never considered myself.
(25:50):
I was only two years ahead ofpeople, so I was that
relatability.
So I think there's always yourapprentices, you, everyone is a
role model to someone.
Everyone is someone to go,Because sometimes you know you
could be so far off, I can't.
I don't know how I could everbe a Richard, you know, um,
don't know whether it's a badthing, but you know it's like I
know, travel is one of your bigdrivers, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (26:12):
that's your side hustle, yeah um always on
Skyscanner instead of being saton TikTok.
I think is where.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
I go with that.
That's not bad.
I I would definitely be thereon.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Skyskiller with you favorite?
Places.
I loved Milan last year.
Um, I have a a love forStockholm because my best friend
lives there.
Um, so we're going there againthis year for her wedding.
Um, I just love seeing newplaces and I think the one thing
I give my daughter is justseeing new places, seeing her
(26:43):
face like just that memory timetogether, off devices.
I just don't think you can beatit, just seeing new places
you've also passed on to yourdaughter.
Bolt wanders right yeah now,that is just character building,
that just comes with the bloodand that's resilience.
Right there, I'm an Evertonian.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
I could probably go straight in with you there,
right there, you know, we couldhave our chat about that.
How old is your?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
daughter and what's her name?
She's turning 13 this year,annabelle, and she's absolutely
fantastic and is a White fan.
Yes, but there is no choice onthat.
There is non-negotiables inlife and that is one of them.
But we just go as a family.
Everyone's got a season ticket.
A lot of my family are fromBolton and above, so it's just a
meeting place and we just lovegoing.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So travel and football, that's your side
hustle.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Authoring and I like sport.
Obviously, I've got three kids,so they're 22, 24 and 28.
So they occupy a lot of time.
Like Formula One, that's aninterest.
And travel I do like to travel.
I did 30 days on the roadactually with the bank.
(27:47):
We went across Europe fromlocation to location to location
.
That's one of the things.
My most visited city on theplanet is Charlotte, and then
after that it's New York, and Ithink I've been to New York 18
times.
So again, join the bank, seethe world.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
What is?
We talked about relatable rolemodels.
What is the one piece of advicethat you would give to your
maybe 13-year-old self?
Actually, what's the one bit ofadvice you'd give to your
younger self?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Curiosity is the thing that you've got to sustain
, right?
Don't think that you've got tothe end.
There's always something new tolearn every single day and to
give back.
I have three things that I wishI'd known when I was younger,
that I know now, or I think Iknow now I won't be too arrogant
(28:37):
.
One of them was that lineage isimportant.
How you're going to be, howyou're perceived and how you act
today is how you're going to beremembered tomorrow, right?
So just think about thingsbefore you actually go diving in
and start to think about theimpact that you're having on
other people.
I think consistency of being isimportant.
Advocacy and elevation You'vegot to elevate others, right?
(28:59):
That's the whole point of this,right.
If you've got an opportunity tolift somebody else up, do it
why wouldn't you?
Speaker 1 (29:05):
what about yourself, amy?
Speaker 3 (29:07):
I think it's just being open to opportunities.
Um, I think I've not.
Don't have the can't do, I havethe can do attitude.
So I went into bank around nothaven't really.
I was doing a short um stint Iwasn't permanent role and I just
thought, well, let's go for it.
I've just come straight out ofuni, I need to go straight into
a job.
(29:27):
I have to go for something thatis a graduate scheme linked to
my career, my degree.
I just wanted to get on theground running.
That's what I felt like I hadto do.
Um, and since joining there, Ijust thought this is fantastic.
Like, don't go for it, don't beafraid fail, try something new
and find something you'repassionate in.
So it doesn't mean that youhave to.
(29:47):
They always say that thing isn'tit?
Do a job you love and youhaven't got to work a day.
So people say that with Bank ofAmerica you might not be able
to.
You think, nah, I can't findthat.
It's a massive corporatecompany, but it's actually the
people you work with, theopportunities they allow you to
(30:08):
get involved with outside ofwork.
So I do a lot of volunteering inthe local community.
Um, for the cupboard, which isbased in Southport and Ellesmere
Port, which is um to reducefood waste while supporting
people in need for it.
Um and Bank of Americacompletely support me and
allowing me to do that.
But I don't think I'd have gonefor that without having the
confidence behind me of where Iwork and what I do and what I
love doing, and then having thetime opportunities outside of
work to keep going.
Well, I do something nine tofive that I actually really
(30:29):
enjoy.
How else can I help people?
How can I give back, becauseI'm actually very fortunate in
the lifestyle I have.
So how can I encourage and helpothers in the local community
and everyone can do something.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Everyone can always do something.
We talk about paying it forward.
We talk about those onemillimeters of difference that
you you read about in sport,don't you in teams?
But actually it is.
You sometimes think, oh, it'snot enough, I can't do that, I
haven't got the skills, theexpertise.
But we've all got something wecan pass on, haven't we for sure
?
Speaker 2 (30:55):
yeah, absolutely, I think.
Um regards volunteerism, thechester campus itself is is
highly representative of thepeople, that over 50 of the
people of volunteer right andand for about 1200 people,
that's a lot 10 are activelyinvolved in a mentorship um
scheme, which is up from 45 fromlast year um, and the only
(31:17):
reason it isn't higher is thatsome of the people that had
established relationships lastyear have sustained and have
carried them forward and that'sthe thing with mentoring, isn't
it?
Speaker 1 (31:25):
it can, you can renegotiate and go.
I'm not done with you yet andthere's still work to be done
and, as you said, right,actually it's not.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
it does then start to flip right, so that the mentor
becomes the mentee, the menteebecomes the mentor right, so I
can take somebody to a certainpoint, but then actually they
start to give me back right,they start to share with me what
it is that they're experiencingand I'm like, wow, right,
because I had not consideredthat.
So, yeah, it flips.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Thank you so much for joining me today on the couch.
Keep doing the amazing stuffthat you do over there at
Chester and beyond.
Amy Richard, thank you so muchand thank you for joining us,
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Thank you so much and thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Thank you, Thank you.
Subscribe on YouTube, Apple,Amazon Music, Spotify or
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Power on YouTube.
Hello, hello and welcome to the we Are Power
podcast.
If this is your first time here, the we Are Power podcast is
the podcast for you, your careerand your life.
We release an episode everysingle Monday with listeners in
over 60 countries worldwide,where you'll hear personal life
stories, top-notch industryadvice and key leadership
insight from amazing role models.
(00:21):
As we Are Power is the umbrellabrand to Northern Power Women
Awards, which celebrateshundreds of female role models
and advocates every year.
This is where you can hearstories from all of our awards
alumni and stay up to date witheverything.
Mpw Awards and we Are Power.
Hello and welcome to the we ArePower podcast.
(00:48):
Today I am joined in the studioby the Bank of America massive
over from Chester onto the couch.
Welcome Richard, welcome Amy.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Tell us about your roles because I think sometimes
you think Bank of America,you'll assume, right there you
go.
You're a teller, you'll sort ofmortgages out, because they
only hear the word bank.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
I'm in cyber security and we run part of the CTOC for
Bank of America globally, so werun a 24 by 7, 365 cyber
security capability from Chester.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Wow, powered by the.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
North Amy.
Yeah, I think we have the sameperception.
When people ask what we'redoing, it's either the
commercial side of it, but we'rein the investment banking side.
So I work in a trade controlsupport team which is in line
with the front office in TradingDesk in London, but we work
from Chester to support them,reconciling trades, thinking of
(01:42):
efficiencies where we can makeimprovements and working as a
team across global teams it'salways exciting.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
I love getting you know.
Bank of america are co-headlinepartners for the northern power
women awards.
We have a great partnership.
We love working for you guysand it's it's always fascinating
to hear about other roles.
But how did you, how did youeven get into this?
How did you even know thatbecause this is a big hq isn't
in Chester and you have globaloperations as well as not just
national operations there, don'tyou?
(02:09):
How did you know that youwanted to be a Bank of America
vice president?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
So that's the difference we speak about,
wasn't it?
So?
Since I've well, I've got 10year anniversary today and with
Bank of America, and when I wasat university in Chester, I
actually didn't know Bank ofAmerica were on the Chester
business park, we didn't haveconnections, we just didn't know
they were there.
Um, but I knew I wanted to stayin the north.
Um, I had a child in my firstyear in uni and I just needed
(02:34):
that family stability from thenorth.
I just knew moving down southwasn't for me.
Um, but actually then, knowingthe opportunities were here and
not just down in the south wasactually fantastic.
Once I got the job with Bank ofAmerica, the opportunities
there are absolutely fantastic.
It's not a career of one baseand then you have to move and
(02:54):
look at different locations.
Your career can be done inChester with so many job
opportunities and the 10 yearsI've been there, the growth that
they've made in Chester, theteams that have been built out
in Chester, is absolutelyfantastic opportunities.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And I think that's always exciting, isn't it?
There's no people think of oneorganisation and there's one
like linear path.
Have you had a linear path,richard?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
No, my path could not be less linear, have you been?
Speaker 1 (03:17):
wigglier than a wiggly thing.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, the interesting thing is the last interview I
had for a job position was in1999, so it's actually in the
last century, which does date merather.
But I've changed my job roleevery 12 to 18 months because
opportunities arise and ifyou've got the right type of
talent and you've got the righttype of mobility mindset, then
you can basically adapt and moveon.
(03:41):
So that's what makes it soexciting.
I'm 25 years with Bank ofAmerica and when I joined I
thought I wouldn't last a year.
So, yeah, it's everyopportunity to grow and succeed.
And again, I did actually move.
I moved to Portsmouth.
I went to work for IBM inPortsmouth for a couple of years
(04:02):
and then missed the north andwanted to get back.
So then I actually consciouslybrought the family back to the
north and wanted to be just backin there, based in the
northwest.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And there is that whole eco culture over on the
business part.
We've been over quite a numberof times over to Bank of America
HQ and I think one of thethings that is very it always
feels very visible about whatthe Bank of America are doing to
support, specifically, genderequality.
I know when we're over there westand there watching the
revolving signs, waiting forsomething to come up about
Northern Power Women or asession that you're running.
(04:32):
I always think it's veryvisible and very there.
You must have seen change overthe years to get to this point,
like you say you've been theredecades really.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Thank you for reminding me of that.
Yeah, I mean 25 ago it was.
It was very overt.
Now.
My management team, um, rightfrom the get-go was, was
predominantly female.
Um, now, it wasn't a consciousthing where I was saying, hey, I
need more female on the team,it was just, um, the women were
the strongest um candidates, sothey're the ones that got the,
(05:03):
got the jobs.
But that was really unusual,especially in cyber security at
the time.
Um, and we had to be reallyovert about trying to identify
female talent and trying tobring female talent in.
I even had to almost convincepeople that they could do the
job because there was this whole.
You know why do you want me incyber secure, cyber security?
(05:24):
I'm not.
I'm not a cyber securityprofessional.
I do.
I do change management or I do,and I'm like you've got exact
skill set that I need.
Right, I need attention todetail, need people are driven,
energetic.
I can teach you the rest of it,right.
So, um, I think that fear ofbeing able to step into the
unknown has changed a lot, and Ithink the organization has done
a lot in.
Being able to step into theunknown has changed a lot and I
(05:44):
think the organisation has donea lot in being able to break
down those barriers, to makethings more accessible.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That's your 10th anniversary, congratulations.
What have you seen again inyour 10 years, in your decade of
change and approach?
I think you've got, because I'msort of Richard here being an
advocate, because that's whatyou've been, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (06:04):
You know, being that advocacy, but to ensure that
there are equal opportunitiesfor leadership roles, yeah, I
think there are just more peoplewanting to advocate, like
Richard, and the opportunitiesthere, with the networks that
they've built out, are fantastic.
So we have multiple networksthat you can join and sign up to
.
One of them, being the main one, is Lead and Winner, which is
(06:32):
focused on women, but it's moreabout leadership education.
But the opportunity and theadvice given now is just so wide
and there's always somethingcoming to your inbox that you
can join and be a part of.
Like you said, on the walls, onthe advertising, there's always
something that makes you wantto get involved, because you see
so many people doing just goodthings with it that you want to
be part of that.
You don't see it as anadditional or it's just they
want me to do it, so I'm goingto do it.
(06:52):
You, there's always something upthere that you actually want to
, and actually you probably runout of time to be involved in
more than you want than less andthey're just always plugging
that.
There's just always somethingyou can join learning courses,
job sharing, um, just even likea half an hour meet and greet
side by side.
You can always have theopportunity.
No one ever says no, um, and Ithink once you start doing it
(07:15):
once it just makes you thrive towant to get more involved in in
anything that anyone offers.
You just want to learn and seeand do and then them
transferable skills that youlearn, you can see that you
could be a part of any of themjob roles if you've got the
right skill set and mindset todo it and I think I want to come
back to advocacy, because Ithink it's when I set Northern
Power up 10 years ago my tenureas well, actually, for for
(07:37):
setting the organization up, itwas always right from day one.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
It was always all genders it was.
It was always really key for methat this was for um, and I
always wanted to collect thegood guys.
Um, how do we get, you know,grow more good guys, because
sometimes it's a bit like well,it's not about a guy coming in
with a superhero cape on andgoing like I'm gonna save and be
the advocate, but there's somesimple, simple steps around
(08:01):
advocacy.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I think um I think some of the the key um metrics
and we touched a little bit on.
You know how how much um thebank invests in this right.
We've got nine differentnetworks right of over 25
countries.
There's 62 000 membersassociated to those groups and
three are dedicated to advocacyfor women, whether that's in
(08:25):
tech and ops or lead.
So there's actually a hugeadvocacy network out there
already.
It's just being able to bringthose people together to be able
to make sure that theyunderstand.
So a lot of advocacy, a lot ofcoaching in relation to how to
develop female talent to be ableto take on those roles, to be
(08:46):
more fearless in pushingthemselves forward.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Absolutely.
I think it is having you know.
You come up with some of those.
When you talked earlier aboutworking in cybersecurity, well,
I can't do that.
That's not my job kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
We had a girl from Imperial College who's a quantum
physicist and she came on awork placement with us um last
year and first day was I don'tthink I can do this.
I said you're quantum physicist, you can do anything.
He said I don't know.
I don't know anything aboutcyber security.
So after her four weeks withher, she went you know what?
I can do this job right, and soit was just how to break down
(09:22):
those barriers and demystify it.
But even someone who's the bestof the best came in with a I
can't do this.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I know social mobility is a massive driver and
something that the bank arereally passionate about as well.
What are the specific campaignsor programs that Bank of
America are driving that arehelping people from
underrepresented communities?
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah, so the main one that we both were involved in,
weren't we last year is thefuture prospects um, which is a
six-week base course and tobring people in, anyone can
apply that a student um and theyjust have that six weeks
full-on course of experiences,skills, sit side by side, they
work together on a project, butthey get to see actually what
the job involves.
They sit with a team for sixweeks whilst doing the
(10:04):
side-by-side see if it's forthem.
But anyone can apply.
It's not just the accountancyor the one who's involved in
investment banking, any career.
We had someone on an art onelast year who absolutely just
loved what we were doing andmore of the problem-based how to
solve um, and they've all gotthe opportunity to apply for any
open roles at the end of it.
So the opportunity's there, butit's just giving them people
(10:27):
the opportunity to come inwhilst they're doing their uni
and their studies.
That I didn't see when I was atthat stage.
And Bank of America, based inChester, are locally trying to
do that for all as well, withapprentice schemes going into
schools, going into colleges,continuously trying to advertise
what is here, but just theopportunities and the breadth of
the job role.
So you just think of bankamerican.
(10:48):
You might just think tradingstraight away.
I need accountancy degree, Ineed to be good at maths, that's
it.
There's just so many rolesthere that, so many career paths
that can lead into other careerpaths.
Once you've got into the doorand see what's there, I just
think it's given an opportunityfrom day one when you're in
school, and that's been lackingin the past and it definitely
can be built on.
Even more is by showing themwhat jobs are available and not
(11:11):
just necessarily where you thinkthey might be in the country.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
You can apply, you can see what's available and I
think that's key is it'screating the opportunity.
I think it's hard, isn't it to,to show on a leaflet or a
careers fair what theopportunities are.
You've got to be in it, haven'tyou, to see it.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
And that's what works so well about both the insight
days that we do with themilitary and also things like
the future prospects, where theyget to actually experience it.
So the things that they believeand perceive and have seen on
television around what the jobis and what they think the job
is actually gets broken downbecause they get to experience
it and because they thenexperience it, they can apply
(11:50):
themselves in it and they cansee them switching on and
switching off to certainsituations going.
You know what I really like?
This legal side of things.
I like the lawyer in me side ofthings rather than the hacker
type of mindset or the laws,rules and regulations.
Right, and how to negotiate thecomplexities of operating in
different global markets right,because that is a complex space.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
It's lifting the lid off, it isn't it that?
You know, this isn't a job infinance.
It's whatever you change roleevery year or so.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Every 12 to 18 months yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Is that because they find you out?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I like to think I stay ahead and stay contemporary
.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Oh, I like that.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
That needs to be on a t-shirt that does yeah, or I
come in and out of fashion ormaybe like a pair of denim jeans
or a pair of baggy trousers orsomething we'll not get into
fashion, shall we not know?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
but I think there is.
That is that, was it appeal toyou as well, having the, the
flexibility to be able to notone to stay.
You want to be in the north.
The passion to be able to notone to stay.
You want to be in the North.
The passion to be North-based,but also to zigzag sometimes, I
think squiggle.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Yeah, and it was just more learning.
So I have been in the same area.
I'm different where I've movedwithin the same area but still
staying under the samemanagement, and that's more
because I'm constantly learning.
I don't think there's been asame week or same month what I'm
doing, and then, when I havebuilt it out, we'll embed it
into a different side of the job, but it just is never the same
(13:14):
where I am, and that's what Ireally thrive and love is.
Every day is different.
There's an opportunity toimprove time efficiencies,
process improvements, technologyimprovements.
You're involved with otherteams.
There's always and I thinkthat's what people need to find
is you find what you're good at,the skill set you're good at,
and you can keep applying thatto a different role or in the
(13:34):
same role, you just thrive offwhat you're doing well.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
The other good thing about that sort of more
contemporary approach is thatyou create an environment of
curiosity where anything ispossible, and you don't have
this sort of environment of deadman's shoes, where the only way
I can progress is if, becauseWoodward's been there for 25
years, it's like, yeah, but hehasn't actually been there for
25 years.
He's been around, he's done allthis mobility, he's developed
(13:59):
his career, he's done all sortsof different things, and that, I
think, inspires people then tobe slightly more fearless in the
way that they go about thingsand to take on more risk.
Are there jobs you've taken onthe way that you've gone?
Speaker 1 (14:40):
oh, what you learn, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
it's what you learn from this situation.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
I definitely came out more resilient what has been
your sort of biggest learnwithin your roles, both within
10 years and, you know, 200years over here?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Mine is teamwork.
I think a lot of people havealways assumed that you need to
know it yourself.
It's your own learning path andactually definitely the team
I'm in, but it's across the bank.
It's teamwork, it'scollaboration, it's
communication.
It's discussing ideas together.
I might have it's across thebank is.
It's a teamwork, it's acollaboration, it's
communication, it's discussingideas together.
I might have a vision at theend of it, but by speaking to
(15:19):
the three or four people thatalso cover the same area, what
else can you add?
What else can we improve?
So I think the biggest learningis it's not a weakness to ask
for help or ask for an opinion.
Um, it's actually going toproduce a better outcome is by
involving your team alwaysculture, yeah, for me, just
absolutely 100.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Culture, um, whether it was, you know, coaching a
rugby team, being chairman ofsomething or running a around a
rehabilitation of youngdefenders program, um, once, um,
and it's all about the culture.
Right, you win through culture.
You can't sustain winning.
If you haven't got the rightbuilding blocks, the right
people, the right attitude, itjust falls apart.
(16:00):
It's built on false codes.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
And you can't fake culture either, can you?
You can't just get it out of abox and go right.
We're going to assemble this inhere on this business park in
Chester, and everything's goingto be grand.
It's going to be grand it's.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
It's got to be intentional, hasn't it?
It's got to be intentional,otherwise you get too much um
churn.
Right, because people call youout and actually things that you
want to build and sustain right.
Look at the partnerships thatwe have through all of our
employee networks.
Whether that's diwali orwhether that's chinese New Year,
etc.
They come back to us becausethey know that we're resilient,
we're reliable, we'retrustworthy and we're there to
(16:37):
help them.
It's not self-serving, it's notabout us.
It's about us helping andputting back, and that's really
important to us.
We're trying to represent thecommunities which we're all part
of.
They're the ones that bank withus.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
And everyone has got a part to play in it.
It's not just from a leadershipperspective.
Everyone's got to be part ofthat culture.
So, whether that's through thegroups that you have, the many
groups that you have, whetherit's, you know, some of the
communities that you'reassociated, everyone's got a
part to play.
Because I think sometimespeople think, oh, I can't say
that, I've got to put my fingeron my lips because I'm not at a
(17:12):
position that I can have a say.
But you can, can't you?
You can.
It's important to have thatvoice.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Yeah, I think their core values come down from the
top.
They've stayed the same.
They come down and trust theteam realizing the power of the
people.
And that can just be slogans,right, but then giving us the
opportunities to build it outand they really do support any
suggestions people want.
But by having it follow a path,then people join.
(17:37):
You can actually reflect backand see that it's not just a
slogan written on, it's not justnames and words they're using.
You're actually a part of thatand they actually do believe in
that because in what they offer,the opportunities they have
we've even got a lunch offeredfor people just to go in network
next Wednesday and it's comingto the inbox today saying thank
you, very much engagement andit's just always them
opportunities of just offeringup, keep offering, keep offering
(17:59):
, and people are then alwaysgoing to get involved and once
you took part in one, you wantto, you want to meet new people.
You, you just get thatenjoyment of not just the nine
to five job.
You're working with thesepeople, you can breath out, you
can build relationships andyou're making a difference it
was taking your whole self towork.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
I know that's a feels like an overused phrase at
times, but I feel that'simportant if you, if the culture
is there for you to go and dothat and to go and drop in at
this session or or come to this,you know, a learning session or
a volunteering session, it'simportant that you know I think
it's actually an underused term,right, because I think it's
it's used so um widely thatpeople don't really understand
(18:39):
what it is right.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
I had a mentoring session with somebody once and
he said that his next step onthe management ladder was to was
to manage people right, andhe'd been an individual
contributor for a while and Isaid, well, what is it that's
driving that desire to manage?
And he said I want to give back.
I said, well, why is thatvertical management hierarchy
(19:00):
the way to give back?
We're about employee networks.
Why don't you use your power inother ways?
Why don't you go and think morebroadly about how you can
influence?
And you could see him almostconsciously go.
Can I do that?
And I'm like you're empoweredto go make a difference.
And he literally took on one ofthe lead roles in one of the
(19:24):
networks and is now driving allof that and he's getting that
experience of seeing the worldthrough other's eyes and
elevating other people aroundhim from that.
So there's different ways tolook at that.
And if you've got advocacy andpeople that actually genuinely
believe in developing the person, then they won't just look
vertically at that opportunity.
They'll look more broadlyaround how to grow the
individual.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Absolutely, and it's chances of trying new skills,
isn't it as well?
And I think you talk aboutmentoring.
I think you can never haveenough mentors.
In my view, whether it's in thebusiness, outside the business,
across departments, I feelthere's always a learn.
It's always been a two-way aswell, that you can gain as much
from your mentee as you can fromyour mentors.
Have you benefited throughoutwith the organisation by
(20:06):
mentoring or mentoring?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Yeah, so there's always opportunities to get a
mentor or mentee.
They build out in Chester.
So last year we had 42partnerships um which they're
looking to build on again andthe aim now this year is to make
it more sustainable so it notjust fizzle out.
You can build in exactly onwhat your criteria was, that you
wanted and partner people uptogether.
That will get the best fromeach side.
(20:28):
Um, but I look at every day evenif I haven't just got the
scheme that's on for the year um, who around me can help me.
Who have I seen come back onemails that I've?
They've given a fantasticanswer or give me support.
What else do they know that Imight now go and sit with them?
Um, we've got leadership umwomen everywhere that I've just
you see them from a distanceworking and you just see how
(20:50):
well that works, even if ifthey're doing a stand-up meeting
.
You watch, you learn, youlisten how they're presenting
themselves.
Even the one-to-ones we have.
I'm very fortunate to havefantastic women leaders in my
team and just the way they feedback in the one-to-ones is just
fantastic with just the feedbackI get.
(21:10):
Just having that continuouslyoffered to me is a support you
don't really think about untilyou get to the end of the year
and go.
They were continuouslyimproving me and supporting me
at the same time, and it's kindof a silent expectation, but
it's actually really grateful tohave.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
It strikes me that you will have some interesting
mentoring stories.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Richard, the recent mentoring stories are much, much
more value added than the earlyones.
In the early early days of mycareer, um people would give me
a mentor if they thought, um,they couldn't manage me anymore.
So, it'd be a case of we don'tknow what to do with this guy.
Um, get yourself a mentor andhopefully that mentor will will
(21:54):
will create some kind of newwisdom.
Um, that's definitely changednow, and the mentors that I tend
to get now are not necessarilyagain vertically aligned to the
job that I tend to get now arenot necessarily again vertically
aligned to the job that I'mdoing.
It's how to broaden myperspective and my um my views
of life.
So I I tend to seek out um moretemporary mentorships right,
(22:16):
which are, um almost pointingtime, serving to help me clarify
a position or help me seesomething differently In respect
of, obviously, developingtalent.
You can sometimes get a goodfeel for where somebody's at
right just by asking thequestions around what it is
they're looking, just simplywhat it is they're looking to
(22:37):
accomplish, and sometimes youcan see that there isn't
necessarily a full groundingaround what it is that they
think they're here to do rightan organization like yours has
got a part to play in that,because I think if the culture
is set, you can try, and it's abit like the person who came
into your business as a quantumphysicist I can't do it it's,
it's all.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Is that fear of failing?
If have you ever had that fearof failing or?
Speaker 3 (23:00):
and I think sometimes , actually, if you've failed and
you've had an issue, you'vebeen involved in one then you
live with the fear forever thatit happened.
But sometimes fear can be usedwell.
It's knowing the risk In ourjob.
Risk is high and you've got tomitigate that risk.
You've got to be self-aware,you've got to be aware of the
team.
But sometimes it takessomething to fail.
(23:20):
First no one's going to comeshouting at you, no one's going
to blame you, but until you'vedone it and been through that,
you don't realize it's safe todo so and we just need to be
risk aware to improve it goingforward.
But the new people coming inbecause you're protecting them
from having that horriblefeeling of something go wrong,
then they live exactly like that, an anxious feeling.
(23:42):
So it's kind of what we do well.
On our teams we've got twoapprentices who are absolutely
fantastic and outside of workthey're having to do their
studies as well, which is on topof everything else.
So um, absolutely commendable.
But it's bringing them intoworking groups, I think, really
does work.
So if you're working on aprocess improvement, let them
come along.
So they haven't got the maybethey haven't got the confidence
to speak up yet they don't thinktheir opinion's worthwhile, but
(24:03):
it 100% is.
They'll bring fresh eyes tosomething, absolutely what
they're going to value add.
But they might not want to doit on their own.
So we kind of encourage thatway and that can be seen as a
little bit mentor mentee.
When someone joins our team wegive them a buddy and it's just
a friendly check-in weekly how,how are you getting on?
Is there anything thatstruggles?
It's just more personablebecause you can blink and I've
(24:28):
spent eight hours at my desk andit's not very approachable.
But you have to just make aculture there.
That is just approach.
Just call me, just shout meacross and I will come as soon
as we can.
But it's a teamwork effort.
Don't be afraid to fail becauseit's not held on one person, um
, but be involved.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Don't be scared to give suggestions and make
improvements absolutely, becauseit is about your voice counts,
isn't it that's so important?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
and we've also taken another step with um, with our
work with the pledge right,where we go into schools to
actually start coaching at anearlier age as to what this is
all about and to say look,failure is part of the process
because we're in ahigh-pressured environment and
that's okay.
And one of the key things thatwe did in almost changing the
narrative in the way that wedeal with certainly school
(25:15):
children and students is to sendour junior talent in, and
especially our female juniortalent, because actually what
they say resonates much morewith those people that are
coming through than anythingthat I could possibly say.
It's relatability isn't it, itis.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
I'm a big fan of that .
Way back in the day I was inthe Royal Navy and I had, within
a couple of years,unfortunately, I lost my father
and they sent me to the careersoffice in Liverpool to work and
during that time I got to go andvisit the schools, still able
to be in the mindset of beingthis young military person.
But I never considered myself.
(25:50):
I was only two years ahead ofpeople, so I was that
relatability.
So I think there's always yourapprentices, you, everyone is a
role model to someone.
Everyone is someone to go,Because sometimes you know you
could be so far off, I can't.
I don't know how I could everbe a Richard, you know, um,
don't know whether it's a badthing, but you know it's like I
know, travel is one of your bigdrivers, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (26:12):
that's your side hustle, yeah um always on
Skyscanner instead of being saton TikTok.
I think is where.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
I go with that.
That's not bad.
I I would definitely be thereon.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Skyskiller with you favorite?
Places.
I loved Milan last year.
Um, I have a a love forStockholm because my best friend
lives there.
Um, so we're going there againthis year for her wedding.
Um, I just love seeing newplaces and I think the one thing
I give my daughter is justseeing new places, seeing her
(26:43):
face like just that memory timetogether, off devices.
I just don't think you can beatit, just seeing new places
you've also passed on to yourdaughter.
Bolt wanders right yeah now,that is just character building,
that just comes with the bloodand that's resilience.
Right there, I'm an Evertonian.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
I could probably go straight in with you there,
right there, you know, we couldhave our chat about that.
How old is your?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
daughter and what's her name?
She's turning 13 this year,annabelle, and she's absolutely
fantastic and is a White fan.
Yes, but there is no choice onthat.
There is non-negotiables inlife and that is one of them.
But we just go as a family.
Everyone's got a season ticket.
A lot of my family are fromBolton and above, so it's just a
meeting place and we just lovegoing.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So travel and football, that's your side
hustle.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Authoring and I like sport.
Obviously, I've got three kids,so they're 22, 24 and 28.
So they occupy a lot of time.
Like Formula One, that's aninterest.
And travel I do like to travel.
I did 30 days on the roadactually with the bank.
(27:47):
We went across Europe fromlocation to location to location
.
That's one of the things.
My most visited city on theplanet is Charlotte, and then
after that it's New York, and Ithink I've been to New York 18
times.
So again, join the bank, seethe world.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
What is?
We talked about relatable rolemodels.
What is the one piece of advicethat you would give to your
maybe 13-year-old self?
Actually, what's the one bit ofadvice you'd give to your
younger self?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Curiosity is the thing that you've got to sustain
, right?
Don't think that you've got tothe end.
There's always something new tolearn every single day and to
give back.
I have three things that I wishI'd known when I was younger,
that I know now, or I think Iknow now I won't be too arrogant
(28:37):
.
One of them was that lineage isimportant.
How you're going to be, howyou're perceived and how you act
today is how you're going to beremembered tomorrow, right?
So just think about thingsbefore you actually go diving in
and start to think about theimpact that you're having on
other people.
I think consistency of being isimportant.
Advocacy and elevation You'vegot to elevate others, right?
(28:59):
That's the whole point of this,right.
If you've got an opportunity tolift somebody else up, do it
why wouldn't you?
Speaker 1 (29:05):
what about yourself, amy?
Speaker 3 (29:07):
I think it's just being open to opportunities.
Um, I think I've not.
Don't have the can't do, I havethe can do attitude.
So I went into bank around nothaven't really.
I was doing a short um stint Iwasn't permanent role and I just
thought, well, let's go for it.
I've just come straight out ofuni, I need to go straight into
a job.
(29:27):
I have to go for something thatis a graduate scheme linked to
my career, my degree.
I just wanted to get on theground running.
That's what I felt like I hadto do.
Um, and since joining there, Ijust thought this is fantastic.
Like, don't go for it, don't beafraid fail, try something new
and find something you'repassionate in.
So it doesn't mean that youhave to.
(29:47):
They always say that thing isn'tit?
Do a job you love and youhaven't got to work a day.
So people say that with Bank ofAmerica you might not be able
to.
You think, nah, I can't findthat.
It's a massive corporatecompany, but it's actually the
people you work with, theopportunities they allow you to
(30:08):
get involved with outside ofwork.
So I do a lot of volunteering inthe local community.
Um, for the cupboard, which isbased in Southport and Ellesmere
Port, which is um to reducefood waste while supporting
people in need for it.
Um and Bank of Americacompletely support me and
allowing me to do that.
But I don't think I'd have gonefor that without having the
confidence behind me of where Iwork and what I do and what I
love doing, and then having thetime opportunities outside of
work to keep going.
Well, I do something nine tofive that I actually really
(30:29):
enjoy.
How else can I help people?
How can I give back, becauseI'm actually very fortunate in
the lifestyle I have.
So how can I encourage and helpothers in the local community
and everyone can do something.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Everyone can always do something.
We talk about paying it forward.
We talk about those onemillimeters of difference that
you you read about in sport,don't you in teams?
But actually it is.
You sometimes think, oh, it'snot enough, I can't do that, I
haven't got the skills, theexpertise.
But we've all got something wecan pass on, haven't we for sure
?
Speaker 2 (30:55):
yeah, absolutely, I think.
Um regards volunteerism, thechester campus itself is is
highly representative of thepeople, that over 50 of the
people of volunteer right andand for about 1200 people,
that's a lot 10 are activelyinvolved in a mentorship um
scheme, which is up from 45 fromlast year um, and the only
(31:17):
reason it isn't higher is thatsome of the people that had
established relationships lastyear have sustained and have
carried them forward and that'sthe thing with mentoring, isn't
it?
Speaker 1 (31:25):
it can, you can renegotiate and go.
I'm not done with you yet andthere's still work to be done
and, as you said, right,actually it's not.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
it does then start to flip right, so that the mentor
becomes the mentee, the menteebecomes the mentor right, so I
can take somebody to a certainpoint, but then actually they
start to give me back right,they start to share with me what
it is that they're experiencingand I'm like, wow, right,
because I had not consideredthat.
So, yeah, it flips.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Thank you so much for joining me today on the couch.
Keep doing the amazing stuffthat you do over there at
Chester and beyond.
Amy Richard, thank you so muchand thank you for joining us,
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Thank you so much and thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Thank you, Thank you.
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