My name is Gordon Keatings and I am a Sector Estates Manager with NHS Fife.
I completed the Level 8 CMI Diploma with Fife College back in 2012 and enjoyed the course content, and I wanted to get back to completing my ‘college journey’. I spoke to John Phillips, Academic and Quality Manager at Fife College, who advised that the next stage would be the level 11 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership. At the same time I was encouraged to consider applying to be a CMI Chartered Manager. As the Strategic Management course did not start until September 2021 I decided to take the time I had before then to apply for CMI Chartered Manager status through the Fife College Assessment Centre.
It was great to discover that at my age I still had the drive, attitude and mental awareness to complete the course, and also I regained the hunger for carrying on learning with other CMI courses which I have subsequently enrolled for.
My favourite part of the course was completing it. That made me realise exactly what I had achieved, and that was recognition from a national body, the Chartered Management Institute - that my management practices were considered to be in-line with their ethos and way of thinking. And that my management styles were seen as positive behaviours with regards to the relationships with my peers, sub-ordinates and bosses.
A refresher of the CMI leadership style/measures certainly helped me to address aspects of my management style which had ‘swayed off course’.
I have already recommended this course to others. We have a few students currently undertaking the CMI Level 8 Leadership course and I encouraged them, on completion of that, to consider the Chartered Managers course and take advantage of the opportunity when it becomes available to them. The course opens up avenues from potential promotion to continuous learning, with access to an immense and varied selection of literature.
I am looking forward to starting over again with the Level 11, which really will keep the brain active, and keep the onset of dementia at bay for another few years...hopefully!
