Many of us have suffered the frustrations of our work proposals getting stuck in the inbox of our bosses. We’ve likely spent hours crafting a work proposal with an extremely tight deadline, only to find this missed by 4 days because our head of unit has not responded in a week. This can quickly kill our productivity, motivation and innovation without much effort.
So we can certainly recognise the negative experience of being stuck by a bottleneck. But what if the bottleneck for your team is actually you without realising it?
Do you have any stories of ‘bottleneck’ leaders you want to share?
Author: tahmidchowdhury
What it’s like to work in Government
I’ve been working in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the UK Civil Service for the last four years. I have been based in Whitehall, at 1 Victoria Street, close to the Houses of Parliament.
It’s been a fascinating journey since I’ve joined BEIS. I’ve had the fortune of moving around a few different positions and gaining a wide range of experience in a relatively short amount of time.
I have particularly enjoyed being in BEIS – as far as government departments go, I find the atmosphere welcoming in particular, and the remit is very broad meaning there are plenty of opportunities to move internally and try something new.
Why Staff Networks are a force for good
Today is the National Day for Staff Networks. We celebrate the hard work that staff networks do in organisation’s across the world.
Since joining the office workforce, I have found staff networks an invaluable and critical function within the business organisation. So much so I chaired the departmental race and faith network for two years, and am currently the Secretariat lead for the cross-government race forum!
Taking in nature to restore your wellbeing and energy
I must admit that I’ve never really paid that much attention to nature previously. I’ve grown up in cities, and tended to relegate visiting ‘green spaces’ to a walk at the city park or when on holiday to see the local exotic scenery.
Perhaps it’s an added effect of the lockdown, but I found the opportunity to find silence in a forest unbelievably nourishing. Having spent most of my life in the space of a small apartment over the last six months, the freedom and release from covid-style living was extremely revitalising.
Why leaders need to actively build inclusive cultures in their teams
I’ve worked in a number of different teams, often led by ‘good’ people who generally work hard, are considerate, and have no explicit ill-meaning malice within them.
So why does it often go so wrong?
Unfortunately, when teams are built up at pace, often little thought is put upon team dynamics and building a wider inclusive culture. And whilst practically nobody sets out to build a non-inclusive culture when setting up a team, this aspect falls through the cracks as lots of new managers grasp to understand their new responsibilities, so instead are focused that they are delivering to their job standards and proving they can do the job.
What good stories do you have around building inclusive team cultures, and conversely, do you have any horror stories?
Understanding ourselves during the rollercoaster of lockdown
The lockdown has been a tough journey. For some of us, it has meant the difficulty of losing loved ones and not being able to grieve as we normally would. For others, it has meant homeschooling and juggling job responsibilities. Some of us are worried about protecting our more vulnerable friends and family, meaning we haven’t been able to visit them in quite some time.
For better or for worse, I’ve learnt a lot more about my own trigger points and warning signs internally. For me, I tend to be a lot more disorganised with my thoughts, often interrupting myself mid-speech when I am overwhelmed.
What have you learnt about yourself during the pandemic?
Why you’re not hearing about Diversity issues in your workplace
Talking about Diversity issues can be pretty tough. In an organisation where it’s not the done thing, saying you are being treated differently can be extremely uncomfortable, particularly if you happen to be the ‘only’ in the room – whether that be the only woman, BAME person, disabled individual or something else entirely.
I had an interesting conversation recently with a group of coaches around clients from underrepresented backgrounds. Many organisations have a culture of raising these issues through a one-to-one with managers. Unfortunately, this usually
doesn’t end particularly well for the underrepresented member of staff wanting to raise their concerns, as they tend to be brushed aside. But why is this the case?
These are my thoughts. Why do you think people don’t speak up about diversity issues in the workplace?
What Small Businesses can do around Diversity and Inclusion
We have seen far more resources going into Diversity and Inclusion than ever before, with a growing understanding that businesses need to tackle this as an issue as a priority.
Much of our focus has been on the large, multinational organisations and what actions they are taking.
But what about the small businesses? After all, in the UK, of the nearly 6 million total business population, 99% are Small and Medium Enterprises.
Are there any actions small businesses have taken that you have been particularly impressed by?
Bringing a Coaching Approach to advocating Diversity and Inclusion
Last week, I wrote about how Diversity and Inclusion would benefit from a more rigorous Project Management approach. This got me thinking: what other areas can we take inspiration from to improve our approach to Diversity and Inclusion
From my experience, coaching and Diversity and Inclusion go hand-in-hand. It is a way for individuals to come up with an understanding of the issue themselves, as well as providing actions they can take from the point of view of their own personal upbringing. It also makes the subject more accessible, and can bring in views from those who do not have an obvious reason to be interested in D&I (e.g. being white, straight, abled etc.)
What do you think about taking a coaching approach around D&I?
Bringing an Agile Approach to Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
We are seeing more businesses taking notice about the importance of Diversity and Inclusion. More senior leaders are genuinely engaging than ever before.
The new stumbling block however, is what to do now. As the scale of the task becomes clear, it can be easy to get quickly overwhelmed with the amount of work needed, and how difficult it can be to make meaningful change.
With a growing professionalization in the space of Diversity and Inclusion, I believe more can be done to use project management principles to improve the approaches (and thus the success) of diversity initiatives.