Lisa Maynard-Atem wears a number of hats.
She is marketing and inclusion director for award-winning training provider Acacia Training in Manchester and a board member of The Black United Representation Network (BURN), an organisation focused on the social and economic empowerment of the black community in the North of England.
She also sits on the board of the Blair Project, a trailblazing social enterprise that is diversifying the STEM workforce and working to accelerate the world’s transition to net zero through sustainable motorsport. She’s also a non-executive director of MBH Corporation Plc, an organisation that connects capital with talented businesses.
Lisa shared what a busy week in her life looked like…
Monday
My day starts at 5am. I wake up, get ready for work, have some breakfast and quiet time before opening up my laptop. Whilst it’s hard to wake up early, it makes a huge difference as I can get so much done before 9am which is when the world of work usually starts for many people.
Mondays are usually catch-up meetings with board members and directors and preparing for the week ahead. I also use Mondays to prioritise dealing with anything challenging or business critical. I am a big believer in tackling the tough stuff first – putting the things you dread doing the most to the top of your to do list.
For me, it makes work even more gratifying as I can then focus on the really enjoyable elements of what I do – being creative, coming up with ideas, brainstorming. Mondays can be fun too. I recently went on a site visit of what will be the new Soho House Manchester, which was followed later in the day by a get together and meal at The Black Friar for all committee members. Great company, good food and fine wine – a perfect end to what many consider to be the least popular day of the week.
Tuesday
This is the day that I usually find myself going into the office. Whilst I enjoy working from home, it’s great to get out and see people, and have those all important in-person interactions. I also use them as opportunities to discuss any pressing matters with colleagues and check in on them from a wellbeing perspective. Tuesdays are also usually the days that I feature on BBC Radio Manchester as one of Becky Want’s trends, talking about the topics of the day, whether it’s your favourite old school sweets or the latest government shenanigans.
Once the radio show is out of the way, it’s back to more meetings. Strategising for the marketing of an award-winning training provider is tough but someone’s gotta do it. I spend some time revisiting the strategy and reviewing it in terms of what changes need to be made, especially around the area of relevance. Agility is so important in business nowadays, so you need to ensure that everything you are doing is current but flexible.
