— EDI SKILLS PROGRAMME · PROPOSAL
Find your voice. Share your expertise.
Imagine a workplace where every contribution is valued and every expert is recognised. Authentically You is a powerful toolkit that empowers you to step into the spotlight, showcase your unique specialisms, and amplify your skills within your organisation and across your industry — now with an ILM-accredited Storytelling for Leaders component.
Format
1 × 120-min workshop
+ 2 × 60-min 1:1 sessions
Delivery
Virtual / In person
Audience
Associates, Managers & Senior Leaders
Language
English
Accreditation
ILM Skills Workshop — Storytelling for Leaders
Investment
TBA — based on attendee numbers
Be seen, heard and counted.
Talent that stays hidden stays overlooked. Authentically You gives you the practical tools to be recognised for your expertise — inside your organisation and across your industry.
Through an interactive workshop and personal action-planning sessions, you’ll build a professional brand amongst your peers, open the door to panel discussions and published articles, and grow a support network of cheerleaders and critical friends. You’ll also learn how to navigate uncertain times — organisational transformations and redundancies — with confidence.
New for this edition: an ILM-accredited Storytelling for Leaders workshop, so the story you tell about your expertise is as compelling as the expertise itself.
01
Interactive workshop — 120 minutes
Virtual or in person. Practical tools to showcase your expertise, challenge your current ways of working, and celebrate your wins.
02
Storytelling for Leaders — ILM Skills Workshop
The accredited component: harness the power of stories to inspire, engage and drive action in the workplace.
03
Two 1:1 sessions — 60 minutes each
Build a personal action plan to develop your professional
brand, with coaching tailored to your goals.
04
The Authentically You journal
Continue the journey as an alumnus with checklists, prompts and space to celebrate your wins.
The programme, module by module.
By the end of the course, you’ll know how to showcase your expertise, build awareness of YOU internally and externally, and take practical action on your professional brand.
Showcase your expertise
Learn how to step into the spotlight and be recognised as a subject-matter expert — internally and across your industry.
Build your professional brand
Define your personal brand and unique selling point, write your strapline, and build platforms to communicate it.
Pack your ‘Go Bag’
Bio, professional photo, elevator pitch, speaking topics and your journey story — ready before the opportunity arises.
Preparation + opportunity = success.
Own your LinkedIn presence
Turn your profile into a gateway to
speaking opportunities, industry boards and trusteeships — and make sure your network can find you.
Build your purposeful circle
Find your cheerleaders and critical friends, identify sponsors who will advocate for you, and create a safe space to be your authentic self.
Negotiate & prepare for promotion
Do your gap analysis, evidence your impact with data, secure stakeholder buy-in — and remember: you get what you negotiate.
Storytelling for Leaders.
Inspiring stories are powerful tools. They bring people together, communicate complex change and engage colleagues. This ILM Skills Workshop covers how stories work in an organisational
environment — and how to make best use of them.
Telling a compelling story takes the listener on a journey, emotionally investing them in your vision and engaging people regardless of culture or background.
Why stories work at work
Day-to-day experience and engaging narratives help leaders and managers bring workplace goals to life. Stories make your points more engaging and help others relate to you — and, importantly, to your message emotionally.
You’ll leave able to consciously use storytelling to communicate business and personal messages that inspire commitment and intelligent action.
ilm.
Accredited by ILM, by City & Guilds — a recognised mark of leadership and management skills quality.
Designed for talent at every level.
FOR · ASSOCIATES
Early-career professionals
Build the confidence and toolkit to make
your expertise visible from day one —
and own your wins before someone else
does.
FOR · MANAGERS
Rising leaders
Establish your specialism, grow your network of advocates, and prepare intentionally for your next promotion.
FOR · SENIOR LEADERS
Experienced experts
Amplify your voice across the industry — panels, published articles and thought leadership — and use your story to inspire others.
Benefits for you — and for your organisation.
Release your power; shine your light.
Talent is everywhere — make sure opportunity is too
What participants say
“Refreshing and impactful! It was great in helping identify the importance of owning your space.”
AUTHENTICALLY YOU PARTICIPANT
“Exhilarating and thought provoking with key concepts that can be applied.”
AUTHENTICALLY YOU PARTICIPANT
Frances Trought
Founder, Everything D&I · Author, Brilliant Employability Skills
Frances Trought
Frances Trought is the founder of Everything D&I (EDI) Ltd — Creators of Opportunities for Diverse Talent with a focus on race, gender and social mobility. Talent is everywhere, and EDI aims to ensure opportunity is too.
Frances has worked with industry leaders including Accenture, Microsoft and Rolls-Royce to develop innovative initiatives that create a sense of belonging and awareness of career opportunities. She is the author of Brilliant Employability Skills and provides a blend of coaching and mentoring to support others on their journey to career success.
“Empowering you to find your voice and share your expertise — always remember, you define what Authentically You means to you!”
Jo Blisset
Personal Development & Career Coach · HR Consultant
Jo Blissett is a qualified personal development and career coach with over 15 years of experience in recruitment, HR consultancy, and coaching across the public, private, and third sectors.
They specialize in designing practical, evidence-based programs and workshops for early-career professionals and experienced managers. Jo’s practice focuses on helping individuals navigate organizational change, overcome personal barriers, and build resilience. Their core areas of expertise include identifying personal strengths, exploring values, increasing workplace visibility, addressing imposter syndrome, and managing burnout.
Jo’s coaching approach is explicitly person-centred, collaborative, and strengths-based, guiding clients to uncover custom solutions and translate reflection into lasting behavioral change. Rather than using a one-size-fits-all model, they intentionally adapt their methods to support individuals from diverse backgrounds, including neurodivergent clients.
By blending corporate HR insight with compassionate mentorship, Jo establishes an inclusive, non-judgemental environment.
Ultimately, this empowers clients to build accountability, enhance leadership capabilities, and successfully align their unique personal strengths with workplace realities.
Carol Parillon
Architecture Leader, NatWest · Data & AI Transformation Specialist
Carol Parillon is an accomplished Architecture Leader at NatWest with over 25 years of experience driving large-scale IT and data and AI transformation programs for major global organisations, including Shell.
Currently spearheading Enterprise Architecture for NatWest’s Data and AI Transformation Program, Carol champions the philosophy that technical systems must be “equitable by design.” She masterfully bridges the gap between technical operational rigor and social impact, drawing from her past tenure as a dedicated Data and Operations Officer for EDI (Everything Diversity and Inclusion) to ensure modern data agendas deliver inclusive customer outcomes.
Beyond her technical achievements, Carol is a passionate advocate for dismantling systemic barriers in the tech sector by designing impactful mentoring circles and work experience initiatives for underrepresented talent.
Her commitment to fostering diverse perspectives extends to the wider industry, notably demonstrated through her role as a judge for the Everywoman in Technology Awards.
Ultimately, Carol’s career is defined by a powerful dual legacy: delivering complex, high-performing data solutions while actively cultivating a more diverse and equitable future for the next generation of technology leaders.
Certified — and equipped to keep going.
Certificate of completion
On successful completion, every participant is awarded an Authentically You certificate — including the ILM-accredited Storytelling for Leaders skills workshop.
The Authentically You journal
Alumni continue their journey with the Authentically You journal — designed to help you keep finding your voice and sharing your expertise.
Learn. Grow. Excel.
Talent is everywhere and EDI aims to ensure opportunity is too. Our focus is to create opportunities for diverse talent with a focus on race, gender and social mobility.
We work with industry leaders to develop innovative initiatives that create a sense of belonging and awareness of career options — supporting leading industries to develop their talent pipeline and build an inclusive corporate culture.
Amazon
Microsoft
PwC
Accenture
Rolls-Royce
Deloitte
Adobe
Ford
Promotions
Staff have secured promotions as a direct result of our programmes.
Opportunities
Students have secured roles at Rolls Royce, Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe, Ford, Deloitte and Accenture.
Confidence
Targeted programmes give attendees the confidence and tools to compete.
Belonging
Initiatives designed to create a sense of belonging and awareness of career options.
No talent overlooked. Everyone seen, heard and counted.
We develop and deliver the workshop, provide the practical tools, and support every attendee to build an action plan. You market the programme to attendees and engage your employer brand teams — we do the rest.
