After recently being asked to be captain of the Guernsey Senior A Netball Squad for the upcoming inter-insular against Jersey, I reflected on how teamwork has shaped both my professional and personal life.

While the parallels between netball and private client service may not be immediately obvious, both would quickly fall to the wayside without effective teamwork.

The objective in netball is, of course, to score goals, but the only way to do this is for the ball to be passed successfully between players across their defined areas on the court. As goal shooter, I am the one scoring points, but it would be impossible to do this on my own. Any success I achieve is entirely dependent on the strength of the team around me. While goal shooters may receive front-line glory, they also have a great deal of responsibility for ensuring the efforts of other players aren’t wasted.

This is also true of my Business Development role at Saffery, where I am pitching instead of shooting. I may be the one out and about meeting intermediaries and clients, but the strength of the wider team at Saffery enables me to be in the best possible position to promote the firm.

A lifelong netball player, I have had the honour of representing my island home for over two decades and have been coaching for 15 years, most recently the Under 14 Island Netball Team. Netball has become second nature to me, and I can easily relate the different positions to roles within Saffery, each being as important as the next. 

Defence (Goal Keeper, Goal Defence, Wing Defence): Defence players need to know how to protect their goal circle ultimately looking for that block, while following the rules of the game. The compliance team can be easily identified in this role. Our highly experience compliance team are adept in protecting the firm – and all our clients – from attack by ensuring all regulations are adhered to as well as the successful implementation of all internal policies and procedures.

Wing Attack: Largely responsible for getting the ball up and down the court through the game – wing attacks are the unsung heroes of netball. Although they never have direct opportunities to score, they are responsible for affording other players opportunities to succeed. At Saffery, this is a hugely varied role from IT support to operations and administration and beyond. In some businesses, ‘back office’ staff are rarely recognised for their contributions, but at Saffery we have opportunities to nominate any team member for a client service award, ensuring that everyone’s efforts are celebrated.

Goal Attack: This role is incredibly varied with it being necessary to being about to shoot as well as run up and down the court throughout the game, turning defence into attack. With trustees being all round generalists rather than specialists, many people at Saffery could fall into this category. In my view, this position most closely aligns with Directors, who have progressed through their careers on merit. Our Directors are all multi-skilled professionals, who have enough experience in a multitude of positions to be well-rounded team players.

Centre: Centres take a somewhat high-level view of everything on both sides of the court and look for windows of opportunity. The Saffery marketing team are proficient at keeping a finger on the pulse of what is happening within the business and looking for opportunities to promote the work of others.

Coach: The role of a coach is to use their experience to mentor and nurture upcoming players. Managers within Saffery take this role and are highly motivated to support the next generation and give them opportunities to progress. Our managers are positive role models for less experienced staff and are always willing to make time to support their teams and ensure they are given the tools to deliver a tier one service.

Captain: Some of the key responsibilities for a captain is to make sure the right skills are in the right place within the team. They are a sounding board for any issues players may be having and promote harmony for the effective running of the team. These are also the responsibilities of our People and Culture team, who put a considerable amount of time and effort in ensuring everyone is happy and given opportunities to progress in whatever direction they choose.

Umpire: At 17, I became Guernsey’s youngest player to attain the All England Grade B Umpiring qualification and am incredibly familiar with the demands of this position within netball. While the role of umpire comes with the power of being the ultimate decision maker, this goes hand-in-hand with ultimate responsibility (no small burden in the trust world). This role is filled by the Managing Director, who must continually balance what is fair and right for all parties.

It is with thanks to the strength and experience of all the Saffery team players that I can be confident in “shooting my shot” with intermediaries and clients, safe in the knowledge that client service excellence is not only promised but delivered.

Steve Jobs perhaps said it best: “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people”. I am fortunate that the Saffery team reflects the best of all of us and I am proud to be a player.