Lisa Bell has worked at Cumbria-based legal firm Progression Solicitors for ten years. Initially she worked on a part-time basis as a solicitor who specialised in family law, but the scope of the role quickly evolved as she became Head of Family Law before being made Director.

It isn’t just Lisa’s role that has changed, the structure of the business has as well. When the founders of Progression Solicitors decided to step down after 25 years running the business, they wanted to ensure its continuity and protect its values. With this in mind, the company of 28 staff decided to become an Employee Ownership Trust in 2024.

“Employee ownership was discussed and seemed like a logical route for us to go down. It fits with our values and our culture and having an open-door policy where staff can come to us and have an opinion on what we do and how we do it.”

Now that the employees owned the business, Lisa’s role as director had more far-reaching decisions. She had a larger voice in the future of the company as a senior member of the team, but she wanted training to make sure that she was successful.

What’s more, she was also offered a promotion which would see her taking on the role of Managing Director upon the stepping down of her existing MD. This would require plenty of added responsibility.  

“I was given the opportunity to become Managing Director, and I was worried about going from a solicitor to a business focused role, because I know it doesn’t always work. Although the position had been offered to me, it was a very daunting prospect.”

While on the fence about the role the opportunity to upskill emerged, “Our Managing Director put me in touch with the Help to Grow: Management team at Lancaster Business School to see if it could help with strategic thinking and business planning. A lot of the course was alien to me when it was first mentioned, but I am so glad I decided to join.”

Improving Operations

Although some of the modules were unknown topics for Lisa, she quickly found them applicable to Progression Solicitors. “Operations stood out for me, because I didn't really understand what it meant. I thought that it was more to do with manufacturing.

“When the session went through systems and processes, I took a step back to think about how what we do regularly could be done differently. I explored what might be more time effective and more cost effective.

Building Confidence

Prior to the course Lisa hadn’t felt comfortable making changes to the business, and this was why she had hesitation about taking the helm.

“There was a session in the course where we discussed the power of ‘yet’, and how the fact that you don’t know doesn’t mean you can’t learn.”

“It helped me understand the importance of having an open mindset and that parts of the company I don’t understand don’t have to be terrifying.

“For example, I’ve never felt comfortable with finances, but working through it with my peer group who had experience in this field allowed me to ask questions I felt were silly in a supportive environment.”

Taking on the learning, speaking to her peers on the course, and taking part in the 10 hours of 1-2-1 mentoring that was provided as part of the course had a profound impact on Lisa.

“Through the course I became comfortable with finances and with not knowing everything. It grew me as a person. I feel like I can now ask for guidance without embarrassment.”

A Mission for the Future

With the confidence to try fresh ideas, Lisa is looking at evolving the company’s mission, vision, and values.

“I wanted to address how we engage employees now that we are employee owned. We’re actually getting one of the course leaders, David Ritchie, to come into the office and help the team of directors define our values and give a summary of other learnings we can apply.”

Becoming a Managing Director

After finishing the course, Lisa has decided to accept the role of future Managing Director.

“The course has grown me as a person, I'm not saying I'm going to start drastically changing the way the business runs or anything like that. It's an exceptionally run business and it's been very successful, but Help to Grow: Management has given me the tools to understand why it's successful.

 “I feel the course has given me the skills to succeed in the new position; before I was honestly unsure that I would be a good fit. I’m now in a position that if something comes up within the business, I’ll likely have the skills to deal with it because of Help to Grow: Management."

With this positive outcome in mind, Lisa says she wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the course because of its impact on her own leadership. In fact, another member of the company has just enrolled.

Find out how the Help to Grow: Management Course can help you here.

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