Meet the Chartered Manager: The high achiever

17 November 2017 -

Young leader Kim Carter has seen a profound change in herself since becoming Chartered – and her colleagues have recognised it too

Matt Scott

Kim Carter knew early on in her career that she wanted to be a manager, after taking on responsibility for a team based in Chennai when she became an offshore process manager at Barclays.

Carter now works as a team leader for one of Barclays’ UK-based teams, and she is using her knowledge and experience to make her way to the top of the ladder.

To help her, Carter has solidified her expertise by becoming a Chartered Manager, something, she says, that has really helped her gain credibility and recognition for her managerial skills.

“While I’m fortunate enough to be at a company where the people I work with appreciate the effort I put in, the Chartered Manager accreditation felt like a way I could be recognised independently and professionally by being assessed on my ability as a manager,” she says.

“It was a really enjoyable experience, but it wasn’t easy. It took a lot of motivation and dedication to complete, but it was very rewarding, and the sense of achievement on completing the process outweighed the work I had to put in.”

Carter says that the process of becoming Chartered was testing, but that it was essential to prepare her for being a Chartered Manager. “Reflecting back on my experiences and pushing my own development, to take myself out of my comfort zone, was really challenging,” she says. “But it helped me to prepare for taking on the responsibility of becoming a Chartered Manager. I find that having that title is a great responsibility, and I wanted to make sure that I was ready for that and deserving of the accreditation.”

When Carter applied to become a Chartered Manager, she knew she was applying to represent a title. “As part of that, you have to keep up with your professional development and display the right behaviours. Becoming Chartered has focused me more on that and reminded me of my responsibilities as a manager.”

To help her in her application to become Chartered, Carter first took 12 months to complete a Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership with CMI. She is now reaping the benefits of her hard work and dedication.

She has just completed a 12-month secondment, covering for her manager while she was on maternity leave, and was presented with a reward for high achievement at Barclays, becoming one of only 27 people to receive the award out of 50,000 eligible staff members.

Carter isn’t resting on her laurels, however. She constantly pushes her team, and herself, to strive for more.

She makes great use of CMI’s webinar and Management Direct resources, and has introduced a number of initiatives to her team, such as improved personal development plans and new processes to reduce the impact of non-value- adding tasks.

All of this hasn’t gone unnoticed. “The team has seen the change in me and noticed that I’ve had that boost in confidence, and that my energy and focus have improved,” she says. “I talk to them about Chartered Manager a lot, and I’ve tried to encourage them to become Chartered as well, because, like me, they maybe lack confidence. Going through the process has definitely helped me gain self-belief.”

Her team is developing and everyone is feeling more motivated, says Carter. “We are getting much more out of the team in terms of productivity as a result.”

#GetChartered

Find out more about Carter’s journey to Chartered here, and find out how you can take your first steps towards becoming a Chartered Manager