Kako je Rachel Madan našla svoje mesto v hitrem svetovanju

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Ker je Rachel Madan, direktorica trajnostnega razvoja in vpliva pri Luminousu, eksperimentirala z najrazličnejšimi vlogami v različnih sektorjih, obožuje svoje trenutno svetovanje s svojimi ciljno usmerjenimi strankami.

Pred tem je razvijala in vodila globalne strategije trajnosti podjetij pri Mednarodni finančni korporaciji, ustanovila lastno socialno podjetje, imenovano Greener Museums, svetovala o trajnosti muzejem znanosti in industrije, kot sta Tate in Manchester, ter svetovala za organizacije, kot je skupina Svetovne banke in Univerza v Rochestru.

Ta raznolikost izkušenj oblikuje Madanovo edinstveno prodajno ponudbo, za katero meni, da je pomembna za vsako podjetje in iskalca zaposlitve, ki deluje na področju korporativne trajnosti. Nedavno sem se povezal z Madan, da bi izvedel več o njeni dosedanji poklicni poti.

Shannon Houde: Povejte nam nekaj o tem, kaj počnete vsak dan.

Rachel Madan: Čeprav je Luminous agencija za strateško komuniciranje s sedežem v Londonu, sodelujemo tudi s podjetji v ZDA in Evropi. Podjetjem pomagamo navdihniti druge s tem, kdo so, kaj počnejo in zakaj je to pomembno. In imamo različne svetovalne ponudbe, ki pri tem pomagajo, in tista, ki jo vodim, je trajnost in učinek. Naše poslanstvo je pomagati dobrim podjetjem, da postanejo odlična na področju trajnosti.

I was recruited to create the function and lead the team so it’s like I manage a startup in a way. When I first started, the team was just me, but now I have three people reporting to me and I’m about to hire a fourth. And so, I do a bit of everything: business development and marketing, mentoring and managing my team, working directly with clients, researching and developing new offerings. And because we do sustainability, communications and strategy, I do all of that, too. So, everything from materiality assessments to helping a company develop their first sustainability strategy or update one, or create engaging communications that then tell their sustainability story.

Houde: I think that’s sometimes what lures people into consulting, the fact that it’s quite diverse and multifaceted and that keeps us challenged and motivated. So, tell us what you love the most about your work?

Madan: I love that it’s different every day, and fast paced. I think it’s important to try lots of different roles in lots of different sectors in your career. I’ve been in a lot of different ones. And I think that, for me, consulting compared to being in a large company as an internal individual contributor, here I don’t have to wait for things to happen. I remember working at an institution where things moved so slowly. I also love building up and mentoring my team and working with people across the business. And I think, while it’s not for everybody, I really like the size of the company that I’m at, which is about 65 people. There are enough people that you have some support, but it’s not so many that you get lost. I also really love working with clients that are up for change and are interested in what sustainability is.

Houde: And tell us a little bit about what it’s like working in the sustainability consulting sector where the big four firms are trying to hire these huge teams and be “in the game.” What do you think about this kind of surge that we’re seeing?

Madan: I’m really happy to see the demand. I think the demand for talent is a response to demand for help from companies, which I think is only a good thing. In terms of how we position ourselves differently from the Big Four, I think they’re doing something different to what we’re doing. We’re small and bespoke, and that is something that we can offer to our clients. I’m the director of my team, and I work with most of my clients. If they go and work with a KPMG, a PWC or Deloitte, that’s not happening. With us, it’s not just the same presentation but with a different client name on the deck. That’s something that in a competitive marketplace also applies for positioning yourself in terms of careers, i.e., it’s really important to be able to clearly articulate your own added value and what differentiates you from everyone else.

Ena od stvari, ki jih morate znati narediti v svetovalnem okolju, je, da se pogovarjate z veliko različnimi zainteresiranimi stranmi o številnih različnih vprašanjih.

Houde: Katera vprašanja ESG skrbijo večino podjetij?

Madan: For companies that I’m working with, climate change is top of mind. We’re working with a lot of companies that are trying to meet their regulatory requirements, particularly around financial reporting, so we’re seeing a lot of companies who are trying to come to grips with their Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting requirements.

Imeti zakonsko zahtevane okvire poročanja je pravzaprav zelo pomembno. V Združenem kraljestvu je na primer nova zahteva glede poročanja o raznolikosti v upravnem odboru in višjih ravneh. Podjetja so vam lahko dolgo časa dajala ta lahek odgovor, kako ni dovolj ljudi v načrtu. In zdaj morajo dejansko poročati o teh številkah in nato razložiti, zakaj njihove številke morda niso tako dobre, kot bi mislili, da so, da bi morale biti.

Houde: As well as climate too, what are you seeing in terms of that “S” in ESG?

Madan: I’m not sure that there’s a consistency in approach there. I think that the challenge comes in measurement. For environmental issues, we have objective data that tells us what is material and what isn’t. The challenge with social impact is that we have some things that are easy to measure — for example, diversity metrics — but it doesn’t necessarily tell us what the impact of that is. Or, for example, how do we measure an inclusive business? It’s an area ripe for research and advancement.

Houde: Za druge, ki se želijo vključiti v svetovanje ali ESG na splošno, ali obstajajo kakršni koli certifikati, ki se vam zdijo bistveni za novinca?

gospa: The challenge and the opportunity of sustainability is that it’s such a broad field. I think that the question around certification depends on in which direction you might want to take your career.

I’m not sure that the skills we seek as professionals are necessarily on a college syllabus, so I’ll tell you what I’m looking for right now in the roles that I’m hiring for. I’m looking for people who have GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) experience. You can do a certification on this; there are a number of organizations including GRI itself that run them. There’s also the Responsible Investing credential that’s run through the CFA in the U.K. So, I feel like those are helpful. I think if you were wanting to focus more on GHG emissions accounting, I would look for certifications and courses to help you get those skills.

Houde: Končno, kakšen nasvet za preskok iz posameznika, ki prispeva v večjem podjetju, v svetovalno podjetje?

Madan: One of the things you need to be able to do in a consulting environment is talk to a lot of different stakeholders about a lot of different issues. You need to be able to research quickly, understand your audience and think ahead of them. And, of course, you have to be able to give advice. You have to really know your stuff as a subject matter expert and get to grips very quickly with the different challenges that different sectors might be facing. That’s one of the things that I like about it because I get to learn a ton about different companies. I’m almost always surprised about how similar the challenges are across different sectors. And then every once in a while, you come across something and you’re like, “Wow, I’ve never heard of that before. Let’s dive in and figure this out.”

Shannon Houde je karierna in vodstvena trenerka s certifikatom ICF, ki je ustanovila Walk of Life Coaching leta 2009. Njen življenjski namen je omogočiti voditeljem sprememb, da svojo strast spremenijo v dejanja in zaživijo svoj potencial – ustvarjanje razširljivega družbenega in okoljskega vpliva na svetovni ravni. Če želite spremljati več podobnih zgodb, se pridružite Shannon za Kava in povezava kjer vsak mesec intervjuva izvajalce trajnostnega razvoja, da bi izvedela več o tem, kaj vključuje njihov »dan v življenju«.