Marc Fitchett believes he's got his dream job, thanks to the line managers he's had since he joined the Civil Service five years ago.
He started with a degree in chemical engineering, but soon realised that his heart was not in it and he wanted a different challenge. He applied to the Civil Service and was offered a job in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (formerly Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities). He arrived in Whitehall with the goal to contribute to positive change within the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping (HRS) Programme.
The impact of a great line manager
He was lucky to have a great line manager from his first day as an HEO, then rising to SEO and now Grade 7, heading up their Finance Division for HRS with his own team of seven.
He said: "It was my first line manager that saw that I was ready to move on and encouraged me to look beyond the work that I was doing, to other opportunities to expand my knowledge and skills. He was hugely supportive and that advice gave me the confidence to really develop in roles that I loved."
Marc has recently moved to the Department for Trade and Business. Because he has benefitted so directly from great line management he says he wants to foster great line management within the teams he leads.
Benefits of the Line manager Induction Programme
That's why he made a point of doing the Civil Service Line manager Induction Programme which helps new and developing managers better understand the requirements of their roles.
It also provides a useful refresher for all line managers in how best to support their teams and is a valuable introduction to the new Line Management Standards.
"I found the programme really easy to access on Civil Service Learning," said Marc.
"The bite-sized learning was easy to go through in your own time and come back to where you left. I was able to fit it in around my busy schedule and I'd really recommend for everyone to carve out a bit of their time to complete it. I'm going to recommend the training to all my team and then I'd like to look and compare our own management styles to understand how we can work together better. I think it's important to do this and recognise differences and how you can all learn from each other".
The two-hour course Civil Service Line manager Induction Programme can be completed in 20 minute chunks and participants can log out and return to complete it later.
Marc said: "The best compliment that a line manager can have is a team member that loves what they do, who feels that their work is important, and that they are valued in the team and want to stay in it. Good line managers make all the difference. I want to be the best leader and manager for my team."
Full details of the Line manager Induction Programme can be found here.
