Kelly Pirotte, Group Head of Learning and Development, Keys Group
I have always been interested in working in the Care Sector but having a disabled child cemented this desire. It gave me a new perspective and a fresh outlook on how I wanted to spend my professional life. I want to ensure that the kind of service that the people we care for is the kind of service that I would want for my own child. That’s what drives me.
I have been working in the Health and Social Care Sector for over ten years now. My work has largely spanned the Learning and Development (L&D) field, and while some of it was focused on Mandatory Training — I found my real passion when my career direction moved towards employee development. It’s all about people. I have always recognised that our people are by far and away our most valuable asset and that high standards of care can only be met by carefully selected, motivated and able individuals.
Many organisations talk the talk but one of the things that attracted me to Keys Group was not only the mission, but the desire to embed this mission throughout the organisation. Taking care of the vulnerable and focusing on social justice are at the heart of the mission and this was even more essential for an organisation operating during the pandemic.
As we all found, leading during the pandemic presented so many challenges. As a sector, we had to be creative and find innovative ways of delivering engaging Learning and Development sessions online. Some of this innovation will remain but we need to ensure that we do not unintentionally create disparity in provision or widen some of the inequalities that already exist.
Through these challenging times, I have tried to lead with empathy and support. Listening to and engaging with diversity of thought has been key to ensure that we are able to continue to be solutions focused in uncertain times. At the heart of all this, my experience as a mother has taught me that Leadership comes in many different forms and the empathetic skills I have learned in my personal caring responsibilities are transferable to my professional work. As a woman and as a mother, we have these skills but also the tenacity to get things done. My experience with my son has meant that sometimes, I have to fight to ensure he receives the support he needs and deserves. All the people we support deserve this same advocacy.
Sometimes, we are tired of hearing the cliche of “women being great multi-taskers” but I come across so many women who astonish me with their ability to juggle busy professional lives alongside caring responsibilities. I think I have developed some of these capabilities myself. As many experts acknowledge, “LeadHERship” for the 21st century recognises that traditional “feminine” qualities are the required skills and competences needed for the modern world to help us navigate through the complexities of a volatile post pandemic environment. I am excited about the various leadership programmes we are developing at Keys Group including our Emerging Leaders programme which identifies individuals with the Leadership seed; a seed that simply needs nurturing to blossom into its full potential. For our aspiring female leaders, glass ceilings are there to be broken through and imposter syndrome needs to be understood but removed as a potential barrier to success.
And this isn’t just the right thing to do as it also makes perfect business sense. We are all acutely aware of the challenges around recruitment and retention in our sector so making the most of the talent of all our people is so important. And although I have focussed here on female leadership, making the most of the talent in other marginalised groups is also critical to the success of our sector.
