Minnie’s design for life

Minnie Moll is the Chief Executive of Design Council, the independent charity which is the UK Government’s advisor on design. Here. the former Chief of Jarrold Retail in Norwich explains how the Council’s new mission is ‘Design for Planet’ – and why she studied to become an transformational coach in-between roles

I have been blessed with natural positivity and enthusiasm that has carried me through life’s adventures. I’ve also been blessed with a fantastic husband and daughters, as well as wonderful family and friends. I have worked with incredible and inspiring people, and I am endlessly motivated by the next challenge or opportunity to learn. Serendipity has played its part, as has following my intuition. I feel like I am right where I am meant to be and I’m full of gratitude for that.

March 23, 2020, is a memorable date for me. I had a hip replacement that day and was due to be off work recovering for the next few weeks. As I lay there in the hospital bed that night, they confirmed the lock down. I was working at Jarrold at the time. Everything had been going brilliantly and we were bucking the trend in retail. It was challenging dealing with the complexities of closing a retail business and all the scenario planning in the coming months. I’m delighted to say that Jarrold has managed to survive the Covid challenges well.

I started my role as Chief Executive of the Design Council a year ago (March 1, 2021). We are the UK’s National Strategic Advisor on Design and work across the whole design sector – for example, architecture, product, industrial, graphic, digital, service. Essentially, we promote and champion the importance and value of design.

Design literally shapes the world. Everything that is not created by nature is designed by someone. When that design is good it can make a huge difference to the society. Design has also be part of the problem that has created the climate crisis, using up the earth’s finite resources and destroying the environmental and biodiversity balance.

Our new mission is Design for Planet. It’s about supporting and galvanising the 1.9 million designers in the UK to design sustainably to help meet net zero and beyond.

I believe that having a coach and/or mentor can be life changing and I have paid for a personal coach for years. I know how much it has helped me to get more clarity on what I want and focus toachieve my goals. Essentially coaching is supporting a person to make positive change in any aspectof their life.I took advantage of my time between roles to gain my coaching qualification, and now I’m lovingcoaching others and it is so rewarding.

I believe leading in such challenging times has required even greater resilience, communication, authenticity, and openness. It has been an emotional roller coaster for everyone and that needs to be acknowledged empathetically. Leadership going forward will have to focus even more on the wellbeing of colleagues, to attract and retain talent and build cultures where people perform at their best.

Business plays such an important part in our lives; the jobs we do, the economy, communities, the products, and services we buy. These days I believe any business should have a social purposebeyond profit. And the biggest issue of our era is the climate crisis.

Businesses have a moral responsibility to put planetary needs at the heart of their decision making, for their colleagues, customers, shareholders and critically the next generation. It is young people that will be suffering the consequences of our inaction.

The weight of anger, grief, and helplessness about the situation in Ukraine makes hope for peace in Europe front of mind right now. Otherwise, my hope is to build back the sense of connectivity and possibility you get from working face to face with people. As I keep saying at work, it’s that energised feeling of being ‘back in the room!’.

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Featured image picture credit: Dave Guttridge