Testimonials
On undertaking a governance review...
Tesse has recently completed a governance review at London Cycling Campaign, All involved, including myself as Chair, found Tesse to be a careful listener, a thoughtful analyst and she produced insightful recommendations on the schedule originally agreed"
Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert
Andy Cawdell
On facilitation...
Over three months, Tesse Akpeki worked with my charity on a ‘vision day’. This was the first activity of this kind organised by the three-year old charity. The experience involved all the trustees, staff, volunteers and a key funder. Tesse was brilliant in helping us clarify what we wanted to both achieve and come away with. She worked in detail on the before, during and after processes, managing an exceedingly demanding day effectively by keeping everyone on target. The results, a mix of very upbeat and very downbeat, steered the charity into a more critical way of thinking and reflecting. We subsequently introduced a regular schedule of review and development.
Joanie
On Diversity training…
Thanks so much for the expert pitch and tone you brought to the training. I appreciate your time and effort so much and it’s making a real difference to how we take the work forward. My own observation is that the staff team is much more proactive now around Equality and Diversity Initiatives (EDI), which speaks to improved confidence and a new sense of personal accountability. We are beginning to undertake an EDI audit and to develop an EIA toolkit for everyday use. At our recent Board meeting, I gathered some feedback from the team around your training and it has been unequivocally positive. Here are some of the benefits my staff said they had taken from your training:
- awareness raising
- embedding an understanding of the need to continue learning
- sharing ideas and good practice
- very strong teambuilding aspect
- reflection on current practice and on how to improve it
- learning about protected characteristics, duties and potential risks to the organisation
- an improved sense of the skills and experiences we bring as a whole-organisational team
The board had a very positive reaction to hearing about the training and the Trustees who were present at the training also spoke very well of it.
Petra
As a guest lecturer…
Just wanted to say thanks so much for your governance lecture. The content was really helpful and insightful. Just when I began to think, "yes, I know about that" you threw me off course with new ideas and new ways to think. Nicely Generative!! It's impossible to pick one thing that made the biggest impact but if I had to, it was when you talked about the Julia Unwin 5 S’s model and said "make sure the board knows which register they're in". So rare, and yet so helpful to get great relationships between management and boards. The model was new to me and the idea of checking the register was a beautiful expression. Thanks again - brilliant use of 2 hours!
Andy
“Tesse Akpeki organised everything to accommodate my wishes”
Sir Adrian Cadbury
“I want to say thank you so much for the training. I have had really good feedback from the Chairman. Thank you for a job well done”.
Helen Parker, (Excel Foundation)
“Thanks for coming to see us and helping us to work our way through the governance star, you were very easy to work with and I like your positivity. This is something that should help to make our board development session a real success”
Fiona White, CEO, Community Lincs
“A belated thanks for your work to help our first joint meeting go well – which I think it did. It really was very necessary to have someone neutral in the Chair. Many thanks”
Chair of a board planning to merge
“Thank you for your contribution to the collection of essays in honour of Lady Tumim”
Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive, National Council for Voluntary Organisations
“Feedback from Trustees on your session has been extremely positive and enthusiastic”
Dr Richard Dorrance, CEO CACHE
“I don’t know exactly what happened during that session. What I know was that there was a shift in our thinking! Keep doing the magic you do”
Board member of a Trust
“You worked with us to move our thinking by leaps and bounds. Your sensitivity, humour and in-depth knowledge of leadership were invaluable assets”
Member of a senior management team
Contact Tesse Akpeki
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about us please visit our contact section.