Advance Inclusion in your workplace
Lead the way to create inclusive workplaces with expert support, tailored resources, and a vibrant member community. Inclusive Employers membership gives you the tools and insights to advance inclusion and make a lasting impact.
1) Can you tell us how you came to be in your role?
I worked in Learning and Development in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry for nearly a decade. It was a fascinating role in a fast moving, food loving, people focused industry and the learning I designed and delivered focused on a broad range of topics. Sometimes, I was learning about food to help others learn to sell food. Most of the time, I was focused on developing managers and leaders.
After my maternity leave, my focus changed. I was asked to lead the ongoing development of an Inclusive Leadership training programme along with supporting the Employee Resource Group. It felt like finding missing puzzle pieces.
I’ve always been strongly values driven. This was work that clearly aligned with my ethics, challenged me to grow and gave me new language to describe effective leadership. After 18 months, I was looking for roles in inclusion and diversity. It wasn’t long before I found Inclusive Employers.
2) Can you share an ‘inclusion moment’ with us – a time when you have felt included either at work or in your personal life?
We had a summer event at work. There was a picnic and lots of activities to keep us entertained. So many team members had taken time to bring vegan food and one of the activities was a vegan egg and spoon race.
I often have to explain myself – and find myself making the joke ‘how do you know someone is a vegan? They’ll tell you’ before someone else makes it. But I regularly can’t eat what others eat (sometimes at events I don’t eat at all) and sometimes I can’t comfortably take part in activities. Not with this team though. It was a small but perfect example of how it feels when your circumstances are considered. At that event, I was unique, and I belonged.
“Every time I lead training, I learn something new from someone. Helping other people grow, helps me grow too.”
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3) What do you love most about your role?
Learning with other people. Most of my job is delivering training. But I think the best learning professionals recognise that even when they are facilitating a training experience, they are learning too. Every time I lead training, I learn something new from someone. Helping other people grow, helps me grow too.
4) What is a typical day like for you?
It’s an enjoyable mix of delivering training, supporting students on one of our Chartered Management Institute accredited EDI courses and creating new training materials to support our members on their inclusion journey.
5) What’s been your most memorable moment in your inclusion career?
I really value the moments when people realise the difference between their intent and their impact, and the rich conversation that follows.
For myself, a formative moment in this chapter of my career was the first time I wasn’t inclusive. I said the wrong thing and learnt a lot from the colleague who called me in. In particular, it reminded me that inclusion is a skill, and no one is the expert in it. It’s something that we need to regularly practise. I count it amongst my biggest responsibilities: to keep learning.
Do you have more questions for the Inclusive Employers team?
If you would like to know more about working with us and have a question for the team please use the form below to get in touch.
Advance Inclusion in your workplace
Lead the way to create inclusive workplaces with expert support, tailored resources, and a vibrant member community. Inclusive Employers membership gives you the tools and insights to advance inclusion and make a lasting impact.
Get to know more of the Inclusive Employers team
Five minutes with… Kate Adams