Meet the consultant… Sarah Towers

1. What does a consulting director do?

A little bit of everything, which keeps the role interesting! There are three core parts to the role. The first centres around delivery and supporting our clients on their change and transformation programmes providing leadership and strategic direction to ensure, together, we deliver changes that stand the test of time.

The second role is leading in the day-to-day operations of the Entec Si business. This ranges from ensuring our commissions are all progressing to plan and to the high quality we expect through to managing the team of consultants and ensuring everyone is fit and well and working on rewarding assignments. The third is collaborating with existing and potential customers, understanding their strategic goals and challenges, and agreeing how Entec Si could support them on their journey.

2. What traits make a consulting director?

Leadership is the number one skill, guiding both the client and our team of consultants, keeping commissions on track and ensuring all stakeholders are engaged and motivated. The ability to organise, multi-task and be versatile along with great communication skills and enthusiasm for the role are also vital. We all have passion and enthusiasm for helping clients find their way through business change challenges, and at the end of the day, that’s why we’re here.

3. What’s one of your career highlights?

I’m going back a few years, but I led a programme to implement a system to produce and store invoices electronically. This was revolutionary at the time and delivered significant improvements and benefit for the client. The use snowballed through the organisation and for me was the start of a career focussed on driving continual tangible improvement through process and organisational change.

More recently I had the privilege of leading a 12 month, multi-million pound, transition and transformation programme. This was all encompassing, driving change in the operating model and associated processes and in programme and project delivery, all underpinned by a people and cultural change workstream. It required collaboration, commitment and energy, blood, sweat and tears, but resulted in a hugely successful business transformation which I’ll always be proud to have been a part of.

4. How would you describe Entec Si in a few words?

We’re ‘Agents of change.’ Not only is it accurate, but it sounds great too!

5. What skills would you like to develop during 2022?

I’m turning 50 this year, and as part of the celebrations I have written myself a list of very different challenges I want to complete over the course of the year. I’m looking to complete a 50 mile ultra-marathon but also want to learn how to dry stone a wall! One unusual activity I’ve already completed is an archaeological dig. It was fascinating and I ended up taking part in a second because I enjoyed the first one so much.

6. What song would we find at the top of your ‘work motivation’ playlist?

I’m a big fan of Friends (who isn’t?), so it would be the theme tune, ‘I’ll Be There for You’, by The Rembrandts. Not sure its motivational but it’s how I’d like myself and Entec Si to be perceived.

7. If you could meet any celebrity, who would it be and why?

I love being in the outdoors and have trekked to Everest Base Camp so I’d love to meet Nirmal Purja, also known as Nimsdai. He had a dream to be the fastest man to climb the 14 highest mountains in the world, and he didn’t let anything stop him from doing so. The film and book of his journey are fantastic, highlighting not only his personal achievements but the number of people whose lives he saved on the mountains along the way! Being Nepalese, he also wanted to highlight the unsung role the Nepalese people play in helping others climbing. Nims is a real inspiration to me, embodying the spirit of true resilience.