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.
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?
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.
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?
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?
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?
Imposter Syndrome is the feeling of being a fraud. Rather than getting to your current position, you feel like you have lucked your way through. You now fear being found out for this fact.
Imposter Syndrome sadly is a fairly common trait in the modern world; probably due to the prevalence of social media leading us to compare our lives with one another, mixed in with impossibly high requirements for entry-level jobs.
in my own experience through coaching, it is a topic that has come up alarmingly frequently and is seemingly more prevalent in women and ethnic minorities (probably due to a sense of being an outsider).
So what can you do to overcome Imposter Syndrome? Here are some ideas to support you:
What do you want to be remembered for?
As we follow the treadmill of life through our various stages of adolescence through to adulthood, the question that usually is on our minds is often ‘what’s next?’ How do we get that dream job, new house etc.
Let’s take a step back.
The modern world is competitive, and the importance of being ‘the best’ is drilled into us from an early age.
Unfortunately, what we do not realise is the negative effect this whole experiences causes. Constant striving for greater achievements is actually harmful: both for ourselves in our wellbeing and in our professional career.
we owe it to explain these realities to those coming through the education system expecting big and bright things society has promised them, only to find an impossible job market.
Remember the excitement of our first day at work, or taking up a new hobby – When was the last time you experienced that? If it hasn’t been for a while, perhaps you might want to think about finding something new to do to rekindle that creative energy.
If you feel like you’ve got some room for some inspiration, why not learn a new hobby or skill?