Help to Grow - Meet our business leaders

At Huddersfield Business School, we offer a range of programmes that enhance business growth whilst also developing the skills of individuals who work within the organisation. Our Help to Grow Management programme is ideal for businesses who are looking to maximise their growth whilst also enhancing the knowledge and skills of current employees.

Help to Grow Management is a government-backed, practical 12-week programme designed to support senior managers of small and medium-sized businesses to boost their business performance, resilience, and long-term growth.

The course has a range of benefits, all of which support businesses in taking their business to the next level:

• Support with developing a custom growth action plan
• 10 hours of one-to-one support from an experienced mentor
• Access to a business network
• In-depth training developed by business and course experts
• Practical management training that covers: reviewing systems and processes to work smarter, analysing financial information and ratios, communicating the business’s purpose and values, adopting new digital technology, and building good leadership and management practices.

In this blog, you will hear from Shellie O’Connor, Business Development Manager at Actiform, who has recently completed our second cohort of Help to Grow Management. Shellie tells us why joining the Help to Grow Management programme at Huddersfield Business School has taught her how to adopt different leadership styles to get the best out of her team.    

 

Why did you decide to join the Help to Grow Management programme? 

I decided to join the Help to Grow Management programme at Huddersfield Business School because it was the right opportunity for me. Not only was I new to the business world, but I’d also joined a business that was developing rapidly, and I needed the knowledge to play catch up and jump in and support my team. 

Have any topics in particular inspired you? 

The module on the Help to Grow programme that I enjoyed the most was the value proposition module. As a business, Actiform had not looked at this before, so it was really interesting to find out where we were on the growth curve and how we could improve as a company. I found this module really helpful. 

How has the Help to Grow Management programme had an impact on your personal development? 

The fact that the Help to Grow Management programme gave me a crash course into business was great. My background before working at Actiform was completely different. I was a Police Officer for 20 years and had no experience in business at all. Even though the programme was about the growth of the business, it actually taught me the fundamentals of business, too. Because of that, I found that I was able to be more valuable to my team. 

As a senior leader in a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME), is there anything that you have learnt on the programme that you’re looking forward to sharing with your team or colleagues?  

One thing in particular that was highlighted in the Help to Grow Management programme was how to adopt different leadership styles to get the best out of your team. The programme taught me that depending on which colleague you are leading in your team will depend on what leadership style is needed to get the best outcome.

How was being able to network and mix with other business leaders on the programme added to your learning experience?

The Help to Grow Management programme helped me network with other business leaders on the course. One small business, in particular, seemed to be at the same level of growth as we were at Actiform. This made me feel a little more confident that we weren’t the only ones at this stage and that other small businesses had the same struggles as we did. The Help to Grow Management programme was a great network to bounce ideas off other business leaders. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your mentor and how they have had an impact on your experience?

Having access to a mentor on the Help to Grow Management programme was a really valuable experience for me. At the time Actiform didn’t have anyone to mentor from within the company, so having that help from outside was really beneficial.

As a company, we struggled with defining roles and responsibilities and getting the right bums on seats. My mentor provided me with tools to make this easier to manage whilst also pointing me toward a couple of books to read. They were very simple books, but straight to the point. They highlighted a management style that I’d not thought of before. I really enjoyed the sessions with my mentor. 

Would you recommend other business leaders to join the Help to Grow Management programme?

Yes, I would recommend the Help to Grow Management programme.