Why diversity matters

Ambition Institute is seeking to bring new voices onto its Board of Trustees to diversify the perspectives and experiences it draws upon for making decisions. You can find out more about becoming a trustee here.

Here, some of our current trustees and committee members share why they are involved with Ambition and why seeking greater diversity should always be on the agenda:

I became an Ambition trustee because of my passion for how great leadership skills lift the performance of individuals, organisations and society. I believe that investing in the skills of our teachers is investing in our future.

As a trustee I can bring my expertise to a great cause, supporting Ambition’s mission and impact. It’s also an opportunity for me to work with the diverse and passionate people that make up Ambition. Diversity is a critical part of great leadership.

Great leaders are able to consistently achieve remarkable results with the people around them. As we emerge from this pandemic crisis, we need to connect with diverse views so that we can innovate and adjust to unexpected circumstances.

Ambition’s mission is powerful and vital. Learning is critical for social mobility and teachers are critical for learning. We all benefit when every child thrives.

Ambition needs to continue to learn and change so that we can continue to have positive impact on the wider education system. Trustees bring fresh perspectives, challenge and encouragement to help Ambition achieve its strategic goals.

We need diversity of every sort – in person, thought, background, aspirations and methods – for many reasons. Diversity stimulates and cultivates the openness from which we all grow.

I was fortunate to have a good education that opened up life and career opportunities. I feel strongly that all children should have such opportunities, and Ambition plays an important role in enabling schools and teachers to provide this.

As an external member of the Finance and Risk Committee, I can bring commercial insight from my career in finance roles across various sectors. I can both challenge and support Ambition in delivering the vision in a financially sustainable way.

Diversity in decision-making has been shown to lead to materially better outcomes. Having teams that are truly diverse brings the power of varied experiences, insights and understanding, which means that more things are considered and, ultimately, better decisions are made.

I thrived at strong state school, which gave me the opportunity to go to Cambridge and on to a career in financial markets.

For me, being a trustee is a great opportunity to support teachers, school leaders and therefore disadvantaged children. Giving back to the education sector by contributing financial expertise is a privilege.

Ambition has a committed, skilled and passionate management team working across the education system. As a trustee, I enjoy the range of expertise and views we share at the table in order to keep getting better.

I became an Ambition trustee because after 15 years of advising central and regional government on economic development, adult skills development and welfare-to-work, I am convinced that access to high-quality education is the key driver of opportunity for all.

Being a trustee allows me to share my professional and personal experience with Ambition to ensure sustainability in how we achieve our charitable mission of transforming the lives of children across England.

Making choices in an increasingly uncertain and volatile world is only becoming more challenging. At Ambition, we try to incorporate a diversity of views to increase the robustness and success of our decision-making.