Government-backed Programme supports technology transformation company to develop their leaders
Leeds University Business School delivers the Help to Grow Management Course, a national initiative to help SMEs to grow and it is accredited by the Small Business Charter..
At the end of 2023, Anisa Mamaniyat, a Director at Chrome Angel Solutions, completed Help to Grow and is already well on the way to delivering growth within the business.
What made you decide to do the Help to grow programme?
I joined Chrome Angel Solutions when the company was founded in 2006. Our mission is to deliver transformational technology to the transportation industry whilst creating a working environment that helps to build a better quality of life for all the people that work for us. We’re currently working with some very exciting and emerging technologies, and we have a great customer portfolio. We’re trying to grow as a business and developing our people to support that growth. I’d never previously had any formal Business Management training, and so the opportunity to do this course sounded great as I’m trying to develop my leadership skills.
Would you recommend to your network to come and do help to grow at the University of Leeds?
I would recommend both the course and the university. I believe The University of Leeds offers more face-to-face sessions than most other universities offering this course, and I found these to be very valuable both from a networking perspective and learning about the challenges that other organisations are going through during their growth phase. I met people from different industries, and companies at different stages of growth, which was useful to learn from.
Who was your mentor for the programme?
I had two mentors. I'd already signed up with a Mentor at Enterprise nation, and I also had a mentor assigned by the University. Steve Baker was my mentor from the university, and his technical background and experience of working with tech companies was very helpful. Duncan Battishill was my mentor from Enterprise Nation and his experience from other industries and coaching expertise was very helpful for my personal development. Having the independent support from experienced professionals is invaluable and often difficult to achieve within your own organisation, and more so within a small business.
What were the expertise that you feel like you benefitted from Steve?
Steve had a similar background to me -a technical background with experience in the Transport sector. I think he was able to empathise with some of the growth challenges we have. His advice was very much borne out of his personal experience, having grown and sold his own business. I think the University matched the Mentors well, and this was also evident in my mentoring group as we all had similar business challenges in similar sectors, so we could learn from each other with the support of an experienced Mentor.
Do you feel like the programme widened your network and did it help you to gain any new business?
I did widen my network through the in-person sessions. This hasn’t generated any new business, but I can see there are lots of opportunities to engage with the wider network through alumni events.
Would you recommend to other businesses to do the help to grow programme?
For someone who is trying to develop their leadership and management skills, the course is very useful in embedding and re-enforcing theoretical learning which can be applied practically within the business. The course is intense, and it can be difficult to apply the learning whilst you are doing the course, especially if you are studying alongside working. But the knowledge stays with you, and it creates an opportunity to take that learning back into the business and implement some of the theory and learning in a practical way that works for your business. The Alumni events continue to offer opportunities for learning and skills development.
What goals are you aiming to achieve?
After I finished the course, one of my primary goals was to grow our team. The Course and the mentoring encouraged me to proactively have these conversations internally to help make this happen. Longer term, like many businesses in the growth phase, I would like to see us grow our revenue, increase profitability, make sure we have the resources to support the growth and most importantly stay true to our mission of making a difference in our industry whilst creating a healthy working culture for our staff.
I'm glad I chose to study the Help to Grow course at the University of Leeds because I liked the way the course was structured and delivered. The Lecturers were engaging and knowledgeable, and the location was very easy to get to both by public transport and driving in by car.
I believe many of the other Universities who offer this course have modelled their course on what the University of Leeds offers, which is a testament to the Business School.
Leeds University Business School is committed to supporting local SMEs through the Help to Grow programme. If you are interested in growing your business today, don't hesitate to get in touch with HelpToGrow@leeds.ac.uk for more information.
