How ‘Elevate’ helped me with my present & future career goals

Brigid Ryan

Mentee on the 2021 Elevate Programme 

Development Planner, Cannon Kirk

I was pleased to participate in the Leadership, Development & Mentoring For Women In Surveying programme which ran from April to December 2021. The programme focused on three areas:

Mentoring

My Mentor was Claire Solon, Managing Director at Greystar. Claire made me feel at ease from the moment we had our first Zoom call. We spoke 5 times during the programme with additional emails as required. We would set short term goals during our meetings which would be reviewed at our next meeting. I felt I really worked hard on the areas we had identified. I benefited from an excellent Mentor and it was fantastic to gain insight from such an experienced surveyor. With Claire’s encouragement and the ongoing support of my employer, I have a renewed focus on my present and future career goals.

Networking

I moved to Ireland from JLL UK and wanted to expand my network of industry contacts within this market. The programme has allowed me to interact with like-minded female surveyors at similar stages of their careers. Learning from other women’s experiences and knowledge is very important to me. I’m looking forward to in person meet ups with the other mentees during 2022 and nurturing these relationships for years to come.

Leadership Development

This aspect of the programme was facilitated by Valerie O’ Keeffe and Dermot Nolan. The Leadership Development modules covered practical matters such as, managing stakeholders, communication, self-awareness and goal setting. We even discussed the importance of gratitude in the context of planning, careers and taking next steps. I feel that this is extremely relevant now, more than ever, in the post Covid era.

Overall, the programme has really boosted my confidence. It was a valuable experience and I’d recommend ‘Elevate’, the mentoring and leadership development programme to anybody.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I would like to thank the women who have been supportive to me in my personal and professional life. I would also like to thank the men who make the industry great for women to work in.