Since leaving my corporate role, I have had lots of people come and ask me how I got into inclusion and diversity, and did I have any advice on how they could do the same. It got me thinking that if I was going to be applying for roles now, what would I be doing to choose where to do my work. I am not sure my experience is necessarily the same as other practitioners, but hopefully it will be helpful all the same.
The path to working in inclusion and diversity
I have been working in organisational development for around 20 years, and so have always been involved in making better workplaces. About 5 years ago I took on a cultural transformation role which put employee involvement at its core and inclusion was a key driver to its success. In addition to that, I was lucky to work with a leader that always let me do cool stuff. We worked together for 8 years before I left Wood and I will be forever thankful for her as a manager. Whenever I wanted to try something, she always said yes. We used to joke that maybe the best time I knew when to leave the company was when she said no to me. That is the practical answer, but I was recently talking with someone who asked me what was ‘my calling’ to do this work and that made me pause and think.
Find your why
Photo taken by my big brother Trevor Ironside.
I was born in the northeast of Scotland and until I was seven years old I lived in Fraserburgh, a fishing town. I was affectionately known in my family as ‘Trawler Jean’, on account of my broad Doric tongue. My Dad was a policeman and often got moved stations, and in 1982 we made the big move south to another town. It was 24 miles, but it could have been like moving countries. I started at the new school and found myself not being understood. In addition to this, I had bright red hair, shocking national health issue glasses and my dad was the new police chief. It was my first feeling of not belonging. I didn’t like it and I think it’s a feeling that has stuck with me into my adulthood.
However, with age comes perspective and that feeling of fitting in is what drives me in my role in inclusion and diversity. I am comfortable enough in my own skin that I embrace the potential to be an outlier because I am resilient and actually, I think it’s my purpose in life to continue to advocate and speak up, because I know that there are others who are not able to. Ultimately creating an inclusive workplace means seeking that for everyone.
I think the first thing you have to do when seeking a career in I&D is to understand your why. For me, when that person asked me what my calling was, my answer was, “ I want everyone to do be kind and do better.” That is my motivation.
Do your research
The reality is that what you see on the outside is rarely the same on the inside, so before you make a leap to join a company spend some time doing your homework. Some of the things that I would do now are as follows:
· Where has the role been advertised?
· Has the process been inclusive, have accommodations been offered or considered?
· What are people saying about the company ? Check Glassdoor, checked Linked In.
· Reach out to your network to ask for honest feedback about the progress being made in I&D
· Find out what the budget has been for the role/department?
· Who does the role report to, is it in HR, L&D, COO, CEO?
· How are employee networks supported in terms of resource and budget?
· Are diversity goals a key element of the strategy, is inclusion more important? Is it equal?
· What is the employee engagement score or inclusion score?
What skills do you need to be successful?
There will be lots of people who say that you need lived experience in order to be a decent practitioner. I’m certain that all I&D champions have lived experience worthy of influencing their role, however I definitely don’t think that it’s necessary to be successful at the role, indeed perhaps it can produce the unintended consequence of living inside an echo chamber of said lived experience, or add to a huge emotional burden. I’ve always seen DEI firstly as culture change and believe the core skills of an OD practitioner provide a solid foundation. What I do think are prerequisites to being a great I&D leader are, courage, compassion, active listening, neutrality and facilitation skills. You need the ability to build great relationships and an insatiable appetite for knowledge, so that you always be informed and be the best advocate.
· Empathy is absolutely critical, you have to be able to say I feel with you and be prepared to listen and advocate.
· Learning agility is paramount, the world is complex and every changing so you have to be curious and want to know more, always.
· Finally I would say vulnerability. You must be able to show yourself for who you are, admit your own biases and learning opportunities, because that’s what makes you authentic. A healthy dose of passion, courage and resilience goes a long way too!
Making a start
Not all organisations will have the luxury of dedicated I&D roles in their business, and in reality, inclusion is an everyone job. If you are a business that is looking to kickstart your strategy, please get in touch. If you are thinking about starting a career in I&D ( or want a lesson in Doric) and would like to be part of my network, I am happy to learn from you.
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