Letter to my younger self: Kevin Gartside

In the latest in our series of letters from Barclays colleagues, Kevin Gartside, Head of Military and Veterans Outreach (MVO), reflects on overcoming his shyness as a child, pushing himself outside of his comfort zone – and his proudest moments at the bank so far.

Dear Kevin,

As a child living in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the 1980s, you’ll grow up in the shadow of the Troubles. It is an uncertain time, but your mum and dad will do a great job of shielding you and your sister from it – giving you a sense of normality and opportunity, despite such abnormal circumstances.

When you’re a young boy, you’ll do your best to avoid social situations. You’ll develop an extroverted front to hide your introverted personality, becoming the life and soul of the party and throwing yourself into sports teams and outdoor pursuits. This will seem like a way to combat your natural shyness.

You feel that everything needs to be in its place – a compulsion you will later discover is a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). While you might want everything to be ‘just so’, you’ll eventually realise that the world doesn’t work like that. Life is unpredictable, and you won’t always have a plan. It will take you some time to come to terms with this, but eventually, you’ll learn to embrace it.

At 25, you’ll join the army and attend the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), before being deployed on multiple operational tours to Iraq. You’ll be pushed outside of your comfort zone, gain a sense of purpose, develop leadership skills and learn to put the needs of others first – all of which will serve you well later in life.

You’ll love your time in the army, but unfortunately, 10 years into your military career, you’ll suffer a serious injury. No longer ‘soldier fit’, you’ll be medically discharged and feel unsure of what you should do next. Embracing this unpredictability, you'll take a chance on a work placement at Barclays and end up securing a full-time role in the Citizenship team, working with youth employment charities.

You always said you didn’t want to work in the city, join a bank or wear a suit – but by 2023, you’ll have been doing this for the last decade (minus the suit and tie!). There is a breadth of opportunities that come with being part of an organisation like Barclays. As Head of Military and Veterans Outreach (MVO), you’ll be responsible for leading the initiatives Barclays runs with veterans, their families and the broader armed forces community. Be proud of everything you do to support them – particularly your work helping hundreds of veterans to join Barclays and go on to develop successful careers after service.

No two days will be the same at the bank, and you’ll get to build a strong and dynamic team of colleagues who are in it for the right reasons. Recognise how important it is to get to know them as individuals and help them develop – there is no substitute for human interaction. Most importantly, take your job seriously – but never yourself.

Good luck!

Kevin