The Twelve – Q&A Nick x Chiara

At tp bennett, we believe strongly in giving the opportunity for all voices to be heard and actively challenge the status quo.

Tasked with Imagining Better, we have developed Twelve; a mutual-mentoring programme that encourages debate and discourse between our Board and their 12 staff mentors, our disrupters, who have been given the platform to influence our future.

“Twelve is all about diversity of thought and allows for new and alternative ways of thinking; problem solving from a different perspective,” says Head of People & Culture Lisa Delaney, “we have empowered the Twelve to question and influence, be active voices within the practice.”

As a result, Twelve is a mutual-mentoring initiative, where 12 successful applicants from across the business have been matched with 12 Board Members across our six strategic imperatives: brand, client, design, finance, people and sustainability. We’ve matched pairs of people who would not ordinarily work on projects together. The programme runs for 18 months, with interim check-ins and reviews to collect feedback from across the pairs. The result is individuals with different life experiences connecting and learning from each other which paves the way for an exciting future for the practice.

We asked each Twelve pair to conduct a two-way interview to find out what they both hope to achieve from being part of the programme. Our second pair are Associate designer,  Mariachiara Dal Pozzo who sits in the ‘People’ imperative and Principal Director, Nick Hirst.

QUESTIONS FROM NICK TO MARIACHIARA

Q:          What interested you in applying for Twelve?

I started my career at tp bennett nearly 8 years ago and this was a great opportunity for me to be more involved in the practice and give back.

I also want to be part of creating this vision of a united tp bennett. I can see how unifying the teams, both in terms of projects as well as breaking down barriers between junior and senior people, can only be valuable in creating a place where everyone feels welcome and heard. I have seen firsthand the benefits of having a supportive team relationship when working for a client, so I felt that I would be well-placed to help create this cohesion and contribute to our unique company culture.

Q:          Why did you choose the “People” strategic imperative?

I have always found the people to be the force of tp bennett – people enjoy working here and stick around for a long time ! So I want to do something proactive for us. One of the aspects that was so important to me when I first joined was the cohesiveness and collaboration of the company. After Covid, so much of the interaction was lost, new joiners didn’t have the opportunity to interact with others as much. I see joining the People team as an opportunity to reignite this atmosphere and bring back that connection that is so deeply part of our culture.

Q:          How will you bring value to the role?

I am quite extroverted and genuinely care about helping others grow and achieve their goals or confidence. In large companies, it can be difficult and take time to get to know people on a personal level. I feel I have a good sense of how to bring people together, balancing the professional and the personal.

Q:          What do you personally hope to get out of it?

I think there are some great things that can be achieved through mutual mentoring, and this is a really nice way for me personally to view tp bennett through the Principals’ eyes – and how we can bring those different voices together.

I’m also really keen to see how this can help my personal growth, by getting regular advice from Nick who has been in the business much longer. Especially working across different teams (interiors and architecture), we do not usually cross paths – both with Nick, as well as with the whole Twelve team. I am really looking forward to getting to know people that I wouldn’t otherwise be working with and get that outside perspective.

QUESTIONS FROM MARIACHIARA TO NICK

Q:        What do you think is most exciting about our industry at the moment?

I think one of the most exciting aspects of the industry is the speed at which it is changing, and how much that leads us to adjust the way we work. Especially with the disruption of work-life patterns, we’ve seen our approach to work shift tremendously over the last five years. I find this new learning process really stimulating, because it really encourages us to engage more broadly across sectors – and generations – to keep explaining how and why we work the way we do.

Q:      How do you think the Twelve can help tp bennett create more collaboration across the practice?

One of tp bennett’s strengths is the fact that it is so collaborative, where specialists in multiple fields can come together to provide a range of support for a client. It’s rare to see this level of collaboration in such a big practice, and it’s what enables us to see ourselves as more of a partner to our clients. I think we need to capitalise on this collective approach that is already so well-integrated into our company, to keep bringing in competitive projects. The Twelve does exactly that: it helps us see the value between our teams, find the commonalities between our different services and learn different ways to problem-solve.

Q:    In what way will the Twelve influence the overall tp bennett culture and have you seen any impacts from the Twelve so far?

As a practice, tp bennett has a culture of inspiring others to take a greater interest in the way we achieve our goals, and I think it’s really important that we keep these conversations going. Platforms like the Twelve have already helped us revive these discussions, as well as making us realise how much taking a multi-perspective approach enriches the quality of our work.

On a more personal level, I’ve definitely already experienced the benefits of the Twelve, especially in the way it has connected me with people who are not part of my everyday team. For instance, Chiara and I work in different areas, but the Twelve has given us the opportunity to come together over our common interest in sustainability. Her openness to asking questions has made me gain a new outlook on the way we work and appreciate our different strengths.