Article: “The fire service reignited my passion for developing female leaders” Written by Caroline Roberts Thursday 31 July 2025 Share Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email A move from fashion retail to the Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service meant a radical change for Yvonne Devereux CMgr MCMI, our Chartered Manager of the Week. But it’s allowing her to put her wealth of experience in developing female leaders to good use… After more than a decade with a high-street fashion brand, Yvonne Devereux CMgr MCMI joined Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service in 2018, where she is now an organisational development partner and employee network lead. “It’s been an interesting journey,” she says. “The fire service can be viewed by some as a male-dominated world, but it isn’t. I adore it and I love working on their leadership agenda.” Historically, in the fire service, there’s been more of an emphasis on command-and-control style leadership, rather than the empathetic and supportive style. Yvonne believes there is a time and a place for command and control – in particular in safety-critical fireground situations – “but there’s also room for emotional intelligence to support the positive and inclusive culture the sector is working to evolve”. Launching a coaching, mentoring and training business Yvonne’s role involves running workshops and forums to educate and empower women to work towards leadership, and to break down barriers and stereotypes. Progress is being made, and women now make up around 9% of firefighters nationally. “We need to do the work for future results, but also be patient. We’ll get there in time.” Alongside her work with the fire service, Yvonne runs her own coaching, mentoring and training business, Yvonne’s Leadership Development, which she launched in early 2024. Her individual clients are mainly, but not exclusively, female, and she also works with organisations to deliver Finding Your Voice, a female leadership programme she runs with a coaching partner. Yvonne first became involved in CMI via its collaboration with the National Fire Chiefs Council to create a bespoke supervisory leadership development programme for the service. She decided to try out the programme herself, and after building some credits, she embarked on the Full Assessment route, gaining Chartered Manager status in January 2025. There’s always learning to do, so always make time for it and work towards your potential with a growth mindset “I have training and coaching qualifications, but I also felt I needed something to show that I could mentor senior leaders and bring that manager energy. I’d not been in a direct management role for around five years by then, so I wanted that badge.” Keep reading: why it’s important to pay it forward Login or register below for Free Instant Access Login If you are already registered as a CMI Friend, Subscriber or Member, just login to view this article. Confirm your registration Login below to confirm your details and access this article. Sign in with email Email remember me remember Forget? Please confirm that you want to switch off the "Sign in with email" remember me feature. Yes No Register for Free Access Not yet a Member, Subscriber or Friend? Register as a CMI Friend for free, and get access to this and many other exclusive resources, as well as weekly updates straight to your inbox. You have successfully registered As a CMI Friend, you now have access to whole range of CMI Friendship benefits. Please login to the left to confirm your registration and access the article. Article Our extensive range of articles are designed to keep you in the loop with all the latest management and leadership best practice, research and news. Members See More CMI Members have access to thousands of online learning and CPD resources. Learn more about our membership benefits Join The Community CMI offers a variety of flexible membership solutions, tailored to your needs. Find out more and get involved in the CMI community today.