'Tumie' Akintewe: Preparing for technical leadership with the Herschel Programme

According to Kelly Vere MBE, University Director of Technical Strategy and Director of UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy, one of the main challenges in the sector is a lack of diversity among technical management and leadership roles. The Herschel Programme for Women in Technical Leadership was created to help change this. Named after Caroline Herschel, an early technician at the turn of the 19^th century who was also a pioneer in the discovery of comets, the programme seeks to provide a space for colleagues to expand their networks while learning new skills to aid them in current leadership roles or roles they aspire to in the future.

Each year, 200 technical staff from UK universities are selected to join the competitive six-month programme. Broken up into cohorts of around 30 delegates, each cohort undertakes modules such as ‘You as leader’, ‘Culture and Context’, ‘Influencing and Negotiating’ and ‘Confidence and Empowerment’. On top of this, participants are placed into small groups to reflect on module learnings, discuss workplace challenges and generate ideas into action. They also collaborate to create a poster that reflects each member’s growth and development over the previous six months which is then presented at the final celebration event.

Oluwatunmise Akintewe –known as ‘Tumie’ for short – is a core team technician within the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences and one of 13 King’s colleagues selected to take part in the 2024 programme. When we caught up with Tumie, she had recently connected with her team members and completed the ‘Confidence and Empowerment’ module, which explored the meaning of confidence, what impacts on our confidence, why confidence is important as a leader and how to enhance it.

The module also explored the concept of ‘imposter syndrome’, a conditional which is common among high achievers and something Tumie has personally experienced.

One of the models used to illustrate strategies that can be used to improve confidence was Rohnke’s Comfort, Stretch and Panic model, which highlights the importance of making the best of situations that stimulate learning and development. This is achieved through stepping outside our comfort zone, undertaking unfamiliar responsibilities or activities creating opportunities to learn.

Tumie has already been able to apply this strategy, having had to take on additional responsibility when her line manager was on annual leave – something that would in the past have caused her to be nervous. How would she cope if something urgent happened? What if she didn’t know how to deal with a situation? However, with this strategy in mind, Tumie was able to ease herself into activities that would previously have caused her anxiety, and before long, she felt much more comfortable doing them.

Courses such as the Herschel Programme are great for developing skills and experience, but there are wider challenges facing women in technical roles and more generally in the workplace that can be harder to overcome. Tumie recently returned from maternity leave and luckily the support she has received has been “remarkable” she says. “From my colleagues, line manager, the core technical team – it’s just been impressive. I’ve been able to make a smooth transition back to work.”

Tumie feels that the perception of motherhood has the potential to impact a woman’s career trajectory, and she is passionate that women should not feel held back from pursuing a career in technical management and leadership roles because of their decision to become a parent. She has a few words of advice: “Firstly, it’s important to build a supportive network of like-minded, skilled, and experienced people - people whose strengths complement your weaknesses as this will help you learn and become better.

Secondly, take every opportunity to empower yourself with the relevant knowledge, skills and resources needed to prime you for a leadership or management role. For example, the Herschel Programme has been an insightful course that I can recommend. 

Finally, seek professional registration when the time is right. Doing this has increased my visibility as a technician and brought me further career opportunities.”

If you want to dive deeper into the conversation surrounding women in STEMM, watch the recent panel discussion, Women in STEMM: Mind the gap – a leap towards equality.