Tag: Equality and Diversity

Managing #Diversity Means Improving Results

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My latest YouTube video to help you think about how to achieve a Simpler Life

Diverse leadership produces great results. That isn’t a slogan, experience tells me that’s true.

For instance, when I led an initiative to improve engagement with local educational, health and environmental opportunities it was brilliant to draw on the wisdom from project workers who weren’t all the same.

Tapping into the minds of people of different ages, faith backgrounds, sexualities, and social classes made a difference.

Having many voices in the conversation, offering different perspectives, kept the ideas flowing and the creative solutions coming.

The result? A successful set of outcomes, within a tight timeframe, which improved on previous results and achieved greater value for money.

Who could argue against better results?

If you want to start thinking about the advantages of diversity for your team, network or service users you can check out the video.

Feel free to leave a Like, or Comment and check back for more ideas later on.   

#Workplacenightmares (And Some Wellbeing Strategies)

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Workplaces Should Be Nightmare Free – (Image by Pixabay at Pexels.Com)

We can’t always be liked or respected by colleagues. Bad atmospheres can give us sleepless nights. Do you have a workplace nightmare story, that one that still makes you cringe years later?  

Here’s mine.

The 1990s Were Different

Back to the 1990s there was no anti-discrimination legislation in the workplace covering people perceived to be LGBTQ+ (whether we actually belonged to one of those communities, or maybe were an equality ally).

From what I remember, being seen as not one-of-the-lads (or necessarily straight) had consequences:

  • Being subject to discriminatory rumours

(Strategy. If there’s a whispering campaign against you, find out who started it and ask them to stop, because no one wants to be harassed).

  • Facing unwelcome questions – “Hey, mind if I ask you…”?

(Strategy. You have no obligation to share your truth, if you don’t want to. Maybe there is a staff representative group or union you can be supported by).

  • Being excluded from some parts of office-based social life

(Strategy. Realistically it is time to find new friends, since no one wants to socialise with a judgemental set of people).

Some People Are Privileged

It is a privilege to be in the majority. The status of majority-member is a powerful one. You get to chose how well you treat others.

Back in the 1990s privilege meant excluding anyone who couldn’t say they were a zero on the Kinsey scale (a lot of us can’t).

The lads leading that strategy in the 1990s will be in men in their fifties now. These days law and good management practice limit the space for the kind of open discrimination. I hope they have learnt the right lessons over those twenty years.

I also hope the strategies above help improve the atmosphere where you work (you can always reply to this post to suggest your recipe to wake up from your workplace nightmare).

#Business As #Usual ?

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Now We Can Work Together Much More Should We? – Photo From Fauxels From Pexels

Step 4 in the Covid-19 recovery process means fewer restrictions. 

Step 4 doesn’t mean everything is back to business as usual, workwise.

In fact, it could take a while for ‘usual’ to emerge.

Blended Working: Pros and Cons

How does a blended approach of 50:50 working from home and an office sound?

The Pros are obvious:

  • Less hours commuting
  • More creative contact with diverse colleagues

The Cons are less obvious:

  • Quiet pressure to work just a bit more (early morning / in the evening / on the weekend)
  • More exposure to any toxicity in the workplace and the potential to get into disruptive relationships

What We Choose Affects Our Happiness

Our choices will affect our happiness.

A well-thought through choice will help build job satisfaction.

A casual one could cause damage.

So, it is worth taking time to figure out what we want from the work we do.

That reflection will help us form new work goals which help us deliver better results.

Why not have your say. What will you do differently, when you go back to work?

Photo by fauxels from Pexels

How To Create #Memories

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A year ago I was wrapping presents for my Dad’s birthday. He was easy to please. His favourite aftershave (the one with the ship on the bottle) and some other small items would do.

Then the Coronavirus arrived.

Two months later (the first peak) I was wearing PPE and saying goodbye to him.

The one thing I regret not doing was recording his voice.   

There are photographs. There is even that unopened aftershave. What I didn’t get around to doing was recording one of his anecdotes about his life in the Caribbean. Even a familiar story about life in London would do. there was always going to be the chance to do it tomorrow.

Until there was no tomorrow.

World Mental Health Day Means We Can Do More Than #Asktwice

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Guys Laughing

We Can Count On Our Friends To Help Us Feel Better – Picture by Nappy at Pexels dot com

Today is World Mental Health Day.

The goal for #WMHD is raising awareness that 1 in 4 of us will personally experience mental health challenges during our life.

Yes, that is even true for us guys. Although getting us talking about our feelings can be hard work (that’s why it is worth asking us twice ‘how are you’ just to check what is really going on).

Having poor mental health sucks, believe me: It might be back in the early 2000s but I remember that feeling alone; being unable to get out of bed; seeing the world in black and white made no sense at all.

Today is is also time to remember we can overcome the rubbish feelings caused by stress, anxiety and depression with the help of family, friends and maybe professionals.

How do we start to change our situation?

By talking about our feelings with our family, colleagues and mates today.

And keeping the conversation going tomorrow.

And the next day.

And the next.

What Are Your Next Steps?

This isn’t an easy conversation to have. If this post rings bells here are some questions we can ask ourselves to get started. 

  • Who can we talk to about what is really going on inside?
  • What isn’t working in our life?
  • What is the smallest step that might help us feel just a bit better?
  • Do we need professional help?

Thanks for reading this post. How will you use the information to make your life, or someone else’s better? Follow the link to Time For Change if you want to know more https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/asktwice

Finally, remember to Like, Comment and Share so others can learn how to help themselves too.

The Value of Emotionally Inspiring #Goals

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Lincoln Memorial Washington D.C.

Are Your Goals Emotionally Inspiring ? Picture Credit Pexels.Com

I like working on goals with other people as I did at a recent workshop. There is something powerful about taking an opportunity to share information and experiences; help people connect to one another; solve a longstanding problem. This work and the changes it triggers can get emotional.

I know some people prefer standing alone. They believe the status quo is necessary. They have a Me-versus-The-World mentality. Their emotions are negative. Their life is more of a struggle than it need be. Their well being suffers.

That isn’t necessary. When they are emotionally ready even isolated people can choose to change.

With Work Dreams Can Become Reality

Speaking of emotions, this week marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. It is inspiring to realise he helped build lasting change in the United States by saying the civil rights status quo of the 1960s was not acceptable.

He brought change-ready people together, so they could reflect, share experiences and identify solutions to the longstanding problems they and the country faced.

Speaking in front of the Lincoln Memorial on 28 August 1963 Doctor King set out a goal which he would not live to see realised. The goal changed the course of history in the United States. The goal he outlined was simple. He dreamed of a day when diverse American children would:

Not be judged by the colour of their skin…but the content of their character

(President Kennedy was more specific with his emotionally inspiring September 1962 goal – to be delivered before the end of that decade. Choosing to land a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth also changed the course of American history).

What’s the valuable lesson? That adding emotion to a goal makes it a more powerful target to work toward.

How Are Your Goals Progressing?

Most of us are working on smaller, more personal goals then those Doctor King or President Kennedy planned. We still need to pay attention to what we want to achieve at each step; fix the boundaries within which we are working so we don’t go off course; care passionately about the progress we make along the way. How much emotion do your goals contain and how much progress are you making on them?

Thank you for reading to the end. I hope this post has inspired you. Feel free to comment, like, share and see what else the site has to offer. There will be more to say in May. Meanwhile enjoy the rest of April.

Roger

How To Start Building #Rapport After #InternationalMensDay

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Rapport Without Conflict

There’s No Conflict In Meeting Your Goals & Building Rapport – Picture From Pexels.Com

Freshly minted World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua said it best in a recent Tweet

You Can’t Buy Loyalty. It  Comes From The Heart

He knows it takes time to build the kind of rapport which comes from the heart and means people warm towards you. For guys that can be a challenge. We don’t always open up emotional conversations; tell our authentic story;or ask for support when we need it.

It shouldn’t like a fight to achieve a goal if we are being authentic. Barriers like age, class, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender, politics and sexuality fall away.  

When people truly ‘get’ where we are coming from, it feels great. We can help them and draw on their support.

How Can We Start To Build Rapport?

Once we develop the skills and confidence to apply for our next role, or offer our services to the world, the challenge is to let others know we are ready to grow into bigger roles.

First, identify the way you want to introduce yourself to the group of people you would like to join. What parts of your life story chime with theirs? How will sharing your true self help to build rapport and what are the benefits, to them, of your world feeding into theirs?

How will you know they like what they see? 

Once you know who you are engaging with you can regularly use the social media channel they rely on. Show up, Comment, Like and Share too.

Where possible you can also take the plunge and meet your community in real life. Yes, there is the potential for falling flat on your backside. There is also the (greater) possibility that you will meet really interesting people, with whom you can share your wisdom. They become part of your world and you can be a loyal part of theirs.

Remember, when you finally ‘click’ with people it becomes a lot easier to offer support, ask for help and reach your goals. 

What’s Your Next Step?

There are people who need what you have to offer in the year ahead. There are also people who can support you, if and when you need it. Let them get to know you. Once they like and trust you their world and yours will become a much more progressive place.

Why not add your comment here and share your strategy for connecting to people on social media, or in real life. You can always Like and Share too.

Thanks for reading. Have a great week.

Roger

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How To Start Paying Attention To Your Priorities And #Goals

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Moving Toward Your Goals - Picture From CDN At Morguefile.com

Moving Toward Your Goals – Picture From CDN At Morguefile.com

 

I’m at my most consistent…I feel ready physically, psychologically, everything, so I am really excited

 

Tom Daley – Olympian Diver, Speaking Before His 2016 Bronze Medal Win

Lessons From Olympians

So the Olympics are here once again and I’ve been thinking about all the effort that lays behind being ready to achieve peak performance. Team GB have worked hard to be third in the medal tables. Watching a team member achieve a personal best, or an Olympic record in just a few seconds is only part of the story.

Here’s A Thought Experiment

Imagine yourself standing on the edge of the 10 metre Olympic diving board.

You tune out the hundreds of people in the aquatic centre. You don’t think about the millions watching at home. Your team mates and coach have helped you stand ready to perform at your best.

You breathe deeply. Then you spring off the board and tuck into your dive. Your thoughts are focused on your goal. You know you are going to achieve a perfect result. You perform twists and turns like nothing else matters, because nothing else does. You enter the deep water and you come back to the surface. You are buzzing with the feeling of achievement. You did your best.

How easy was it to focus on your outcome? Could you tune out all the background noise?

How To Start Paying Attention To Your Goal

I am not an Olympian, few people are, but I think we can all strive to achieve our main goal, if we are clear what aspect of our performance requires attention.

Sir Dave Brailsford (Principal of British cycling’s Team Sky) and coach has a theory about this. He believes that by concentrating on making a large number of small changes to improve performance, the net gain is significant. Each step is a marginal gain. Those steps correspond to the gradual process of becoming consciously competent at life.

I know background noise and life’s pressures can seem overwhelming. They can crowd out the internal messages which tell me it is time to change. However, once I have decided what I want to achieve (and when I want to achieve it) I can set a goal. That goal will help me move forward. The goal today was to write this post from scratch to share some information with you. I started with a blank page and here I am putting the finishing touches to it.

Getting started was hard. The next few steps were easier. Maybe the same is true for you?

How To Get Started

If you want to work out where you can focus your attention today is a good day to start. Why not start improving your wellbeing, strengthening your team working skills, or begin creating client-pleasing results now. There is plenty of support at hand (so you don’t have to feel isolated).

Your first step is easy. Head over to the Members’ area and download a free tool to help you start to reach your goal. If you want to share your progress you can leave fa reply with your comments below (or Tweet me @RogerD_Said ). Don’t forget to Like this post, or Share it to help others get started on their way.

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for more ideas about doing what you need to so you can move toward your goal.

3 Steps Toward Better Diversity Results And #TVWeWant

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There’s a good chance you haven’t thought about diversity lately.

 

Why would you need to pay attention to diversity after all?

 

Unless one of your goals is to meet the needs of a diverse group of customers (or you have a personal story which connects you to a disadvantaged group) you just get on with providing products and services on an equal basis.

 

However there is a risk associated with not showing  inspired leadership. That risk involves failing to meet the needs of different staff within organisations / industries and not paying attention to different customers / clients.

 

We each have a different life story. Leaders who build on the range of talent available make their team members feel engaged in producing outstanding results since their  unique contribution matters.

 

Diversity Problems In Hollywood Echo Those In UK Television  

 

Follow the link in the Tweet if you want to check out my LinkedIn post on the Diversity Problem within the Hollywood film industry.

 

A similar discussion about the exclusive nature of an industry is taking place within UK public service broadcasting circles. What role will ethnically diverse staff and others at the margins play in that future? You can contribute to the discussion at www.futureoftv.org.uk

 

The Risk Of Staying The Same

 

If the people responsible for bringing new talent into organisations only hire people like themselves they aren’t helping solve the lack of diversity issue.

 

Staying the same within an organisation means it is likely the range of ideas, insight and engagement available to that organisation will remain limited. Customers won’t be served with the widest selection of offers possible.

 

More than that. If the sector stays the same don’t be surprised if in 5 years’ time award winners, Directors, Department Heads and senior staff still do not reflect the widest pool of talent.

 

A Better Way Forward

 

It seems to me there is a better way forward for media, or other business organisations.

 

I think that recruiting, retaining and supporting the progress of a diverse range of creatives (staff) can only widen the rich mix of broadcast output (products and services).

 

A greater mix of outputs makes it easier to achieve customer satisfaction.

 

3 Self Help Steps Toward Greater Diversity

 

So, assuming diversity matters to you here are 3 self-help steps which reflect my experience of supporting the development of women and men from diverse backgrounds since the 1990s:

 

  • Present yourself in a way which highlights your present experience and future potential (don’t get defined by other people’s view of you)

 

  • Record your achievements regularly using testimonials, feedback and a goal setting process (ensure those achievements count towards your next step)

 

  • Support others pursuing their professional development and seek support yourself where necessary (be determined to make the progress appropriate to your ambition)

 

Visit www.experienceyourlife.coachesconsole.com to download a FREE tool to help you tackle your key presentation, achievement or support goals (just fill in your contact info and press the big blue button).

 

Thanks for reading this post (please share it with anyone who would find it useful). Also feel free to join in the discussion on the theme of diversity here in the comment section or on Twitter @RogerD_Said

 

Here Are Some UK Diversity Dates For Your Diary

 

LGBT History Month (February)

International Women’s Day (8 March)

Black History Month (October)

International Men’s Day (19 November)

Disability History Month (22 November – 22 December)

How To Take One Small Step Towards A Happier New Year

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Astronaut Spacewalk Extra Vehicular Activity

What Giant Leap Will You Make By Acting On Your Goal? Image From Pexels.Com

For a while, when I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut.

With hindsight that idea said a lot about escapism (home life wasn’t always ideal to be honest). From what I can remember though I thought being a spaceman would be a pretty cool job. I mean how difficult could it be to live in a spaceship, with nothing holding you down, doing science stuff indoors and outside that helped people?

Turns out the science stuff and helping people isn’t that easy, as people have baggage and getting a good result has an impact on a lot of other people.

Teamwork

I definitely didn’t realise how much people rely on each other to make plans turn into reality. a long list of other people made it possible for the astronaut to do their thing.

For instance I didn’t know how crowded an astronaut’s life is: it took more than Tim Peake and the other 2 people in the Soyuz capsule to get the latest crew onto the International Space Station.

When the computers plotting the capsule’s approach to the ISS got the final stage wrong it was US astronaut Tim Kopra who passed manual docking control to Russian Commander Yuri Malenchenko, while ground controllers at Russia’s Mission Control Centre monitored developments and the ISS crew held their breath.

It took 3 attempts. Working together the team of astronauts got the job done (collaboration helps during spacewalks too). No lone heroics, just great teamwork. Overcoming difficulties usually depends on one person being open enough to say ‘I can’t do this on my own’ and to ask another person for help.

Mission Control We Have A Problem

So here is the thing, people can hold on to their difficulty for quite a while before looking for someone with whom to connect (ask any coach about building trusting relationships which offer others support ). Imagine holding on to a burden for months, years, or decades even. What kind of toll would that take?

Now imagine being able to flow freely, without that burdensome weight getting in the way. How much more could you accomplish for others? How much easier would your own life be? 

The skilful coach understands others’ obvious and subtle needs (they might say they need clarity about their next step during an overwhelming period at work to start with. They might also be open to receiving support at a deeper level, so they can reduce the stress in their personal relationship)

Are you ready to get the support you deserve?

One Small Step

In a month, as part of my mission for the new year, I will support some people to take a small step toward a freer flowing 2016. My workshop in London on 23 January will help those ready to take one small step to turn their career, life, or wellbeing resolutions into reality*.

Use the Comment section to share your big goal for the new year (or get in touch via Twitter @RogerD_Said ). Also keep an eye out for updates, as I will share a few of the strategies I am going to use, ahead of time.

Meanwhile, wherever on Earth (or above it) you happen to spend the day have a very Happy Christmas.   

One Giant Leap

*Hit the link below if you would like to know more about the 23 January event in London. Book a seat and join others helping to turn their goals into reality

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/turn-your-resolution-into-reality-now-tickets-20034420491