My first experience of large-scale Black History Month celebrations was in BEIS, where I saw the power of bringing inspirational black leaders together along with allies together to better understand the history that brings us to our modern day
Author: tahmidchowdhury
Building More Gratitude in our Daily Lives
In my previous team, we spent every morning listing three things we were grateful for. We would go around in a circle (which turned virtual as the Pandemic hit) listing one thing each, patiently waiting until someone had something to say.
Whether it was having a nice coffee break, relaxing in the evening to a nice meal, catching up with a long-lost friend, spending time with the kids or simply the sun coming out in the morning, we started verbalising these positive moments far more than we ever would have done otherwise.
Why Authenticity is key for our success
I really believe in the importance of helping others and supporting individuals on their own journey. This led me first into working in Government, then into Diversity and Inclusion work, and most recently into coaching.
One of my initial blockers was whether I would come across cheesy, or insincere.
The answer for me was bringing a higher level of authenticity into what I say. I post things that I think will be genuinely helpful for people, and that I actually believe. After all, how can I give advice to anyone if I don’t believe it myself?
Do you know what your personal strengths are?
Think of someone you know well and have seen a lot of over a long period of time. Take a few moments to think about what their relative qualities are. What skills do they have, and what are their personal qualities that are their greatest strengths?
But what if we’re not talking about someone else – what if we are talking about you? Do you know what your own strengths are?
Why we need Black History Month
Black History Month takes place annually during the month of October in the UK. The month is an opportunity for us to understand more about our collective history from the perspective of black people.
It is also an opportunity to commemorate the struggles as well as the achievements of black people across the UK, past and present.
Creating a holistic Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
This week in the UK is National Inclusion Week, an opportunity to champion everyday inclusion and a chance to bring a spotlight to Diversity and Inclusion.
The tricky part of Diversity and Inclusion is figuring out how to start. After all, the subject is quite a thorny one, and everyone will have their own opinions on what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
This leads many organisations to develop their own Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. Naturally this is a difficult topic to avoid criticisms for tokenism, so how can organisations look at this in a holistic manner?
Why Diversity and Inclusion Matters
For anyone who hasn’t entered the office workplace, ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ or D&I sounds like some garbled office speak; indeed that was certainly my impression when I first started my career. Some also stick in Equity or Equality in the title. But why does this matter?
Diversity and Inclusion is looking at how we embrace difference and use it to our advantage in our workspace. It is about valuing people for who they are and being open to different opinions and backgrounds.
Why we need to learn to be bored
We are unable to be bored. If we need to sit still, we often can’t.
Instead, we constantly check our phones, looking at the latest stream of depressing news, or comparing ourselves to others from social media.
We know this has a negative effect on us, but we do it anyway.
What can we do to change things?
Why people aren’t listening to your advice
Do you find it frustrating when people don’t listen to you when you give them advise?
It can be exasperating when you do your best to help someone else only for them to either blindly ignore it, or worse, get upset with you.
Why is this happening?
Are you in control of how happy you feel?
Have a job that makes us miserable? We look to change it. Unhelpful comments from your manager? We look to confront them. By doing this, we expect that by solving the things that are making us unhappy, this will stop the problem and lead us to a land of bliss.
But has this really worked for you – are you now happy?