In Conversation with Darren Mott OBE
On March 30th, we had our first Masterclass with Darren Mott OBE, CEO of the Conservative Party, which touched upon party representation, civic leadership and campaign strategy. During the session Mr Mott, talked about his career journey and answered a range of questions brought to him by the panel. It was a truly rewarding experience to hear his thoughts on the future of politics, skills that aided his career success and his perseverance through a range of challenges in his early career development. As someone with a passion for social mobility, education and community development, Mr Mott’s words have struck a chord with me. His Masterclass has highlighted the importance of having a robust plan, a strong and unchangeable message as well as getting the right people doing the right jobs. Leadership is about supporting others and delivering sometimes difficult decisions. This Masterclass has helped me to recognise the power in pushing through hardships and being open to new areas of personal development.
The Masterclass also touched upon how challenging political participation can be for young people during the age of social media, the changing landscape of political ideology and the future position of the UK political system. These all aligned nicely with the unrecognised skills that were mentioned as being a part of the mechanism for a successful political party. These skills included: emotional intelligence, working effectively under pressure and always thinking of the bigger picture. As I reflect on my own career aspirations within the context of this Masterclass, I recognise that discipline and perseverance are virtues that support the maintenance of a successful career in politics.
Our cohort were generally impressed by the many gems Mr Mott shared, one of which was to make a fundamental difference by doing something. This could be anything, but Mr Mott stressed the importance of physically getting involved and trying to find an answer to difficult questions. Many of us work with a variety of different organisations where we often focus on impacting as many people as possible but a key message from the masterclass session was to focus on trying to transform at least one life. This then paves the way for aiding the lives of many. By not seeing politics through the confines of parliament we were probed to continue striving for our goals and having the confidence to just go for it. I have learnt a lot from this Masterclass and look forward to future ones.
Written by Rochelle Wong, 2022 Masterclass Programme Graduate
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