Beyond the workplace I love to volunteer within the community
with the hope of making the world a fairer, more inclusive place for all
Champion
Championing that cognitive diversity makes individuals and teams stronger I'm a vocal diversity, inclusion and equality advocate
Mentor
I mentor and reverse mentor people around product management, user experience, technology, authenticity and diversity and inclusion topics
Build
I volunteer branding and web design skills - creating and maintaining pro-bono websites for individuals and companies doing great work in our community
Manage
As a voluntary director on a Right To Manage board I managed a development of 137 leasehold apartments on behalf of fellow leaseholders
Volunteering examples
Champion inclusion
Starting my career in 2008 it was easy to assume everyone was the same and the only way to succeed in your career was to conform. As an out, bisexual man my experiences talking about my personal life in a workplace setting were different to many of my peers. Yet I am not alone and many of us are unwillingly hiding part of ourselves when at work. Research shows those that have to cover and pass in the workplace are 20% less productive, and more likely to be unhappy – leading to development and retention issues. These were all things I could relate to.
Since then, I’ve channelled my different experiences and turned them into strengths. Using story-telling, organising events and partnering with charities and not for profits I raise awareness of the strengths and challenges of being different and the need to create inclusive workplaces. I share different approaches and speak on topics around attracting, developing and retaining the best diverse talent. Over time my knowledge and passions have grown to include gender equality, mental health awareness and harnessing hidden differences.
Key achievement you might ask? At Deutsche Bank I organised LGBT+ events that saw over 5,000 colleagues globally participate to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. I’ve spoken and presented at diversity events and conferences across the UK and USA. Outside work I’ve partnered with OutStanding to design their Emerging Leaders Programme.
Helping each other
Throughout my personal and professional life I’ve drawn on mentors and close associates to provide sounding boards to test ideas and challenge my thinking. In the spirit of paying it forward, I both informally and formally mentor others. I’ve also provided reverse mentoring to senior leaders – particularly around LGBT+ inclusion, generational differences and technology. To raise awareness of mentoring I’ve spoken at networking events and been interviewed for newsletters and internet articles.
I am always open to new mentor and mentee relationships if you are interested in discussing areas we can partner together.
Sharing my skills
I love the sense of achievement when you can volunteer your skills to help individuals and organisation grow and scale their impact on society. It’s also a great way for me to try out new ideas, keep my skills fresh and build a visible portfolio showing what I can do. Over the last few years I’ve built websites, provided coaching around technology, branding and social media marketing and helped not for profit organisations develop their strategies and programmes.
