This website uses cookies for anonymised analytics and for account authentication. See our privacy and cookies policies for more information.





The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Chief Encounters: Celia Hodson and Ian McLaughlan

This feature is almost 5 years old
 

Celia Hodson, founder of period poverty tackling social enterprise Hey Girls, meets Youth Scotland chief executive Ian McLaughlan

Celia on Ian

What were you expecting?

I have to own up that I’d Googled Ian as it makes things easier when you are meeting someone for the first time – especially if you are meeting in a public space and don’t want to keep on asking every man on his own “are you Ian?”

What was your first impression?

With his wide smile Ian gives off such warm, I can’t actually imagine he would work in anything other than a nurturing sector. A firm handshake and a forthright manner made it obvious we were going to have a conversation with purpose.

What did you talk about?

Oh, everything from first jobs to grandchildren. One of those conversations with no awkward silences just heaps to say and one comment sparking off another thread so time went very quickly and I was aware that we were covering heaps of ground. Kind of wish I’d taken notes as there was so much interesting content to capture. We talked about the lack of confidence in young people across Scotland and what was holding them back from being the best that they can be. Which led onto role models and influence in communities. We talked about our own roles and the joy and sometimes challenges that brought. And about work-life balance. We spoke about our own journeys and areas where our organisations could collaborate in the future.

What did you have in common?

Ian commented on changing his role at the “turn of the century” which made me smile. I’d never heard anyone use that term when describing their career progression before but it did make me realise that from the journeys we openly shared, we had so much in common as leaders and our desire to support our colleagues and build great teams, and that we had both been around the block a few times and still had huge enthusiasm for the sectors we had chosen to work in for over a quarter-century.

What was surprising or different about their experience?

Ian commented on my entrepreneurial approach and said that he wished he had that. But as I listened to his story around how he had very purposely developed his career, studying for added expertise and progression and the ways within each role he had created new projects and schemes – it all sounded very entrepreneurial to me. Just in a different way to a social enterprise start-up geek like me.

What useful thing did you learn?

The importance of taking time to listen to young people, to help build their confidence and self-esteem and then, when they are ready, to purposely open the right doors to opportunities that help them fulfil their potential. Ian shared a great sense of duty with was rather compelling.

Who bought the coffee?

We met at the National Portrait Gallery. I’d been there a little while so I was already halfway down a hot chocolate – free wifi and amazing salads make it a regular pit stop for me but it’s also a wonderful space just to take 15 minutes to gaze at a portrait and whilst taking a breath.

Could your organisations ever work in partnership?

For sure. At Hey Girls we are just about to launch our Menstrual Health Education Programme and I can see that would be a useful addition to offer to Ian’s Youth Worker Events Programme. Ian also spoke of a desire to bring a more socially enterprising approach into his organisation and I’d be most happy to support that in some way if useful.

Did he help spark a new idea?

We spoke at length around the importance of good governance and various models, which reminded me how much I enjoy shaping board structures and the need to refresh start-up boards as an enterprise develops and scales. Maybe time for me to spend a little while reflecting on Hey Girls journey and think about our governance structure to ensure it’s fit for the future.

What will be your lasting memory?

Ian is a people powered change kind of a guy and a great man in a storm.

Ian on Celia

What were you expecting?

I hadn’t met Celia before so I didn’t know what to expect but, looking at our respective careers, I was expecting something quite different in my meeting and I wasn’t disappointed.

What was your first impression?

Inspired! Meeting Celia was like meeting someone who has packed an awful lot into her varied and entrepreneurial career and left wondering how she has manages to pack it all in and yet remain so committed and passionate in her work. She is currently so motivated to make a difference to the lives of girls and women and at the same time offering environmentally friendly sanitary products.

What did you talk about?

We talked a lot. Mostly around Youth Scotland and Hey Girls; the social enterprise and charity sectors; the production, distribution and education programmes associated with sanitary products for girls and women; governance and trustees roles; entrepreneurship and risk taking.

What did you have in common?

More than I thought we would. Grandchildren and varied careers. We also both have a feeling in our hearts that drives us in our respective but very different roles in the sector. Celia’s heart is clearly in the edgier, more risk-taking social enterprise space while mine has been nurtured in more structured membership type organisations that have been around for a long time.

What was surprising or different about their experience?

How Celia won the Social Entrepreneur of the Year accolade in 2018 less than one year after establishing Hey Girls.

What useful thing did you learn?

I learned a lot from Celia in such a short time. The main learning point for me was that even the more structured, some would say, traditional third sector organisations, can be more enterprising in their ambitions and not to be afraid of giving something a try even if it carries some degree of risk – in Celia’s words, “just give it a punt”.

Who bought the coffee?

Sadly, I got off to a bad start by being a little late so we bought our own (as well as cake) in the very pleasant surroundings of the café in the National Portrait Gallery.

Could your organisations ever work in partnership?

Absolutely and we’ve already had some initial discussion on what that could look like. Youth workers are ideally placed to break down the stigma and barriers surrounding menstruation and engage in dialogue to address the issues where young people in particular are affected by period poverty.

Did she help spark a new idea?

She did, especially around Youth Scotland’s potential to engage with the corporate sector and to see what ways we can seek their support without asking for money!

What will be your lasting memory?

I will remember an hour and a bit well spent. Also, meeting someone who is brimming with energy, strategic thinking and vision but somehow manages to retain a strong sense of keeping a handle on the day to day operations of running Hey Girls.

Will you meet again?

We have already agreed to keep the discussion going and see where we can cultivate a closer working relationship between our two organisations. Next time the coffee’s on me!