Category: Diversity and Inclusion

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.

Diversity – how it plays out in the boardroom

A meeting is called. The main executives and HR are invited in. The aim is to solve the diversity problem. The agenda item is scheduled for 20 minutes.

At this meeting it has been put front of the agenda, as it had been scheduled in previous meetings but was put at the end so was never addressed as time ran out each time. With a new deadline approaching, the board need to nail it down now.

How to chair inclusive meetings

We’ve all been there, right? You walk into an hour long meeting, dreading what is to come. Whilst this is meant to be a ‘team’ meeting, 90% of the session is dominated by the chair, with very little input from anyone else.

Sadly, this is a fairly common occurrence in the world of work, which is unfortunate due to its soul sapping and morale-destroying nature.

So how can we avoid making our meetings a one-person-band and instead one that is inclusive to the whole team? Here are some of my top tips.

How to solve your diversity headaches? Get creative!

Let’s face it. Diversity and Inclusion are complex. Cookie-cutter solutions rarely work to ‘fix’ the issues, whether it be representation of diverse groups at senior levels or creating a more inclusive environment.

Whilst there are schemes you may have heard of that might help such as introducing a talent track, reverse mentoring or a sponsorship programme, these are not the silver bullet to create the utopian organisations that our lofty Diversity and Inclusion Strategies envision.

But rather than introducing more schemes or doing another call out for diversity volunteers, find ways for you to solve the problem. In other words, it’s an opportunity for you to get creative

Taking Time for Reflection (’tis the season)

November is often a time of lower energy, but particularly so this year. Usually, it is the last month of ‘serious work’ before the interruptions of December and Christmas. This is also tied in with the change of season and clocks changing which suddenly makes our evenings feel very long.

But November is also a time for reflection. We are approaching the New Year and whatever the future may bring in 2021; we also have more time to spend time alone to think for ourselves.
For me, I have been looking at the changes I have made since Summer. I have started blogging, videos, coaching and now writing a book. I also started a new job with it’s own set of particular challenges.

My November Goal: Write an E-Book!

November has been a pretty interesting month so far. We’ve had lockdowns, elections and new budgets. And we’re only a week in!
The month of November is also an interesting time for challenges – we have numerous charity and abstinence goals that have been going around social media, including my own personal favourite of Movember (which for me started about four months ago!).
I’ve had the idea of writing an e-book on my mind since the beginning of the year, so what better time than now when we’re all locked down?