Harnessing the power of One to navigate the Covid minefield

Mentoring and leadership de velopment will play a vital role in supporting businesses as they manage the complex and fastchanging circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic.

The role of the business leader is now at its most challenging.

There are immediate operational, commercial and financial challenges to address alongside ensuring employee health and wellbeing, securing jobs and maintaining momentum towards longterm growth.

Owners and managers need to be agile, adaptable, and innovative in this fast-paced environment where customers, markets and the global economy are in flux.

Mentoring and leadership development are essential parts of the support provided to businesses by Opportunity North East (ONE).

Programmes in the region’s key sectors – including growth, market development and innovation and the One Enterprise Fund – has now assumed even greater significance in the current unprecedented socioeconomic circumstances.

Its mentoring programmes match experienced businesspeople with leaders in growth companies to enable them to share sector-specific experience, insights and provide a trusted sounding board for the mentee to help achieve agreed goals.

L e a d e r s h i p development provided by One includes peer-topeer learning and oneto-one coaching to build knowhow, capability and skills needed to lead organisations in the current environment.

And the organisation is now partnering with leading professional services and accountancy firms to bring a new financial mentoring programme on stream for the next six months to help businesses address specific commercial and financial challenges.

The financial mentoring programme will help business leaders in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire deal with the impact of the pandemic.

It will provide mentoring support to aid their reset, recovery and growth plans in the current market and financial environment.

The combined support available from One to growth businesses in priority sectors will be critical to help business owners look ahead to plan in the short and medium to long term.

Patrick Machray OBE is vice-chair of One and is an active business mentor.

He is the former chair of One Food, Drink &

Agriculture and chairs the new company formed to deliver the SeedPod centre of excellence for the food and drink sector – one of the transformational industry innovation projects funded by the Aberdeen City Region Deal and One.

“The support and tools delivered through One – the business mentoring, leadership development and now financial mentoring – are precious resources for businesses to draw on,” said Mr Machray.

“They provide owners and leaders with the confidence and assurance to identify solutions, make changes, adapt, and look ahead beyond the next six months.

“We want the businesses we work with to use all three resources to help get them through what is an extremely tough period for some and, despite everything, a period of opportunity for others.

“We want all businesses to benefit, to achieve their short-term goals and to maintain momentum towards stability and longer-term growth.”

Mr Machray added: “In One’s business mentoring and leadership development programmes, there are experienced business people who know the region’s key sectors and are there to help – to talk to in confidence, bounce ideas off, share their experience and insights, including the mistakes they have made.

“They aren’t there to always provide answers, or to necessarily agree with the mentee. A good business mentor will provide challenge and provoke thinking to help develop ideas.

“Business mentoring is a journey, with the mentee generally knowing what they want to achieve, and where they want to go.

“The mentor is there to help the mentee develop a route map to get to the various destinations on the journey in the most effective way possible.

“The mentor will help flesh out a route with the mentee, with warnings of potential pitfalls and things to avoid.

“The mentee – having listened, discussed, shared – will drive their business forward in the way they believe is right for them and their circumstances.”

Our support and tools are precious resources to draw on