“Chartered status makes sure I am the best I can be to support the team”

Iain Kirtley CMgr FCMI is the southern director for the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), which supports SMEs in the construction field. He’s quick to point out he’s never plied the trade himself. 

“I’m not smart enough,” he says. “I’ve seen what builders juggle and I have the utmost respect for them. Our members are some of the smartest people I’ve ever met.”

Iain’s own specialism is relationship management: looking after member engagement and representation, reflecting the issues those members face to stakeholders across the region.

For Iain, the work is about the joy of connecting people, collaborating and cementing new opportunities behind the scenes. 

“I've always enjoyed working to join things up,” he says. “I was speaking to a local authority yesterday, and the usual cogs started turning: ‘If they’ve got that and we’re doing this, what else can we do to add value and create something unexpected?’”

Iain’s first steps into management

When looking back at his entry into management in 2008 while working at a local authority, Iain describes himself as “very green”. It wasn’t easy. Prior to starting, he was informed that he’d be in charge of more people than he’d expected – and someone on his new team had applied for the role he’d won. 

Iain describes it as an “interesting time”. But, he reflects, this is precisely the kind of unexpected issue that can crop up and derail any manager. 

“When you have a team who are great at their work and just crack on, managing and leading is the easiest thing in the world,” he says. “I realised early that as soon as there’s a personal or professional challenge, or someone causing a problem with the team, it’s draining for everyone involved. You need a support network around you.”

“It’s easy to write off our skills”

Iain discovered CMI during the pandemic, but his path to Chartered Manager status began with an “inspirational” conversation while working at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). His job there was to encourage individuals and organisations to pursue Chartered status with the organisation. One CIOB member told Iain he should practise what he preached and seek an external benchmark himself. 

“Sometimes you need someone to step back and point out that you’re doing all the right things,” Iain says. “It’s easy to write off our skills and expertise as ‘just what I do’.”

Iain felt CMI was the closest fit for his skills, experience and role. 

“I’d been working in a professional capacity for almost two decades,” he says. “I wanted to make sure I was the best I could be to support the team I was leading.”