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Building a career in the Group after a challenging educational experience

 

After a difficult time in school due to lack of support with his dyslexia, Michael has built a rewarding career in the Group. Now whether he’s analysing data or advocating for change, he loves sharing his passion with others and inspiring them to act.

Michael heading out of the office with his backpack

After 18 years with the Group, Michael is now a Sustainability Manager in the Operational Sustainability team. 

My journey into Lloyds Banking Group was not planned. The reality is, I had a really challenging time in education. I have dyslexia, and 20 years ago, there weren’t provisions in place for students that had these kinds of challenges. You were kind of put into the corner, left behind. Over time, your confidence drops and then you stop putting your hand up, you stop asking questions, and eventually, you just withdraw completely.

I carried that feeling with me. It impacted my expectations of having a career because when I left school, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I had a really low sense of self-belief. 

Making connections

One of my friends joined Lloyds Banking Group, and that was how I ended up joining too. I had no expectations whatsoever – I was honestly just thankful I was going to get a full-time job. 

I started working on the phones, processing home insurance claims, and the transition from my educational experience into the Group’s environment couldn’t have been better. I quickly realised that people in the team were willing to invest in you, that it was about your willingness to work hard and be conscientious that would get you recognised. 

I progressed from there, got involved in many different projects, and I’ve never looked back.

Michael chatting with a group of colleagues in the office

“I quickly realised that people in the team were willing to invest in you, that it was about your willingness to work hard and be conscientious that would get you recognised.”

Building something real

It took me a long time to build my confidence up, but I found people were genuinely invested in me. I learned quite quickly that if you ask for help it's very rare that somebody will say no. I just kept asking for help when I needed it, which I'd not felt comfortable doing in school, but here, I felt empowered to put myself out there. 

I think one of my strengths is my emotional intelligence. I've been able to read people and situations and get the best out of people all my life, so I progressed my career into leading teams. And I got a lot out of the constant challenge of pushing myself to achieve more.

Switching gears

After 18 years, I got to a point where I was reflecting on a lot of things in life. I lost both my parents very quickly, which makes you stop and reassess. I wanted to feel more purpose in what I was doing at work, I wanted to feel confident I was spending my time on something I care deeply about and would enable me to keep growing. 

Sustainability was something that really interested me. And in a conversation with my mentor one day, it kind of clicked that the Group had a powerful position on this too. It’s already doing such great work in terms of sustainability with ambitions to do even more and be a real force for good in society. I immediately committed myself to moving in this direction. 

“I’m now in a role that gives me exactly what I was looking for – where I feel that I’m playing my part and making a meaningful difference. Although, I was never going to settle for anything less.”

It wasn’t a quick and easy transition. I applied to and lost out on a lot of roles. But I learned from the feedback and eventually landed a series of positions that got me closer to where I wanted to be. Thanks to that persistence, and the support and belief of people around me here, I’m now in a role that gives me exactly what I was looking for – where I feel that I’m playing my part and making a meaningful difference. Although, I was never going to settle for anything less.  

A cleaner future

I now work in the Operational Sustainability team, where we’re working towards clear goals for Lloyds Banking Group, like becoming a zero waste organisation or bringing nature closer to colleagues. I work alongside incredible people, that inspire me every day, pushing the bar to create spaces for our colleagues that embody sustainability. 

The way I try and position sustainability for the Group is: this is our own house and we've got to get it in order. To talk to customers and even other colleagues with conviction about sustainability, we all have to be committed and take our efforts personally. 

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