Member Article

Teesside manager uses lockdown time to achieve top qualification

Rachel McCulloch, executive support manager at Active Chartered Financial Planners, is celebrating after successfully completing her Chartered Management Institution (CMI) qualification while working from home during the current lockdown. She joins many other chartered individuals within the firm, including six chartered financial planners, and managing director Karl Pemberton as a chartered director. After training for a level 5 diploma in management and leadership with the CMI in 2018, Rachel has spent the majority of the last 18 months putting her learning in to practice. Earlier this year, she made the decision to embark on further development and become a chartered manager. Due to working from home since mid-March, she has been able to dedicate some time each week providing the required details about her experience to achieve the coveted status. In addition to her studies, Rachel has been remotely managing a small team, and using what she has learned on the course to help her during difficult circumstances. Rachel said: “One thing the CMI has really taught me is that you can’t just be one type of manager and expect your team to fit into that, you have to be adaptable to get the best out of your individuals. This is even more prevalent when people are working from home. You can’t see if they’re struggling or having a bad day, so you really have to be on top of your communication. “When we went into lockdown, I was determined to make the best out of a potentially negative situation and use the time I had at home to get chartered status. I was absolutely delighted when I heard that I’d been accredited. “Active is incredibly supportive of any team members who want to develop. Chartered status is important to us all, and anyone, regardless of job, can work towards it. I’m incredibly proud to now be one of the members of the team who is chartered.” Paul Gibson, a director at Active Chartered Financial Planners, said: “Rachel is a shining example of someone who has used a bad situation to do incredible things. Rather than take the option to postpone Rachel has thrown herself into studying and working to become chartered, demonstrating what fantastic attitude she has to succeed”. “Everyone at Active is proud of what Rachel has achieved and I know others have been inspired to use their time out of the office to engage in some personal development work. All of the directors are delighted with the team’s work ethic and we’re looking forward to getting back and being able to put the new skills into practice.”

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