Hi, It’s Harriet here. I hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and well. I’ve loved your inputs and interactions all month long, so a huge thank you. 🙏
May was an exciting month as lockdown restrictions in the UK eased and I could visit friends and family – and most importantly, hug them long & hard. 🤗
Strengthening your emotional fitness and resilience
As we transition through the vortex of change and participate in building back a better normal – we need to build our emotional fitness, and particularly our resilience.
I’ve been reflecting on the exiting stages of lockdowns in some parts of the world, or re-entering them in others, and the added stress that is building up in many of us.
Two recent big learnings for me are:-
• improving still further my relationship with control
• better understanding root causes and linking learning with action
As a deeply researched resource, this Harvard Business Review article has proved v helpful and is worth digesting.
On control – being able to separate out what you can and cannot control is essential. When you’re overwhelmed, it’s easy to assume you can’t change your situation. There are issues that may always be outside of your control. Ask yourself, “How close am I to the root causes or decision-makers in these circumstances? Do I have the skills, information, resources, or relationships that enable me to change or influence this situation?”
For elements that you can’t control – recognise that you do have the ability to choose how to interpret or frame them!
I love this graphic that perfectly illustrates the point, going around in circles or making progress?!
BBC Question Time
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to appear on the BBC’s flagship political audience participation show, Question Time. I shared my key learnings in this post.
If you missed the programme, you can watch it here.
Following the TV appearance, and often as part of my coaching and mentoring sessions, I am asked about the topic of personal branding. I’m planning some new video content on this for you, coming soon!
In the meantime, I recommend viewing the great work by Molly Hitchings and looking at the great set of approaches shared by Harvard Business School.
My top tips are always to be you, authentic and real.
1. Articulate your personal philosophy and be clear about what you want to be known for
2. Be precise on who your audience is, where you’d value followship from and create a strong safe place for folks to share
3. Totally embrace networking and follow the experts that can enrich your learning whilst being bold about sharing your voice and delighting all.
For over 30 years I have been a strong voice and activist for deep diversity and inclusion, pledging and acting as passionately as I can every day of my life.
It is so important we all embrace positive change where we can and be the heros and heroines the world needs right now.
I love this graphic (below) by Gemma Correll that describes my own personal adventures so well! As I enter and optimise a new amazing phase of life, I actively chart my transition and journey of positive change with words and pictures; daily I am privileged to share with you all.
My key milestones and themes include:-
– From working to make a living to working to make a big difference
– From following an explicit direction to charting a new course
– From juggling life & work to harmonising all that I do
– From commuting around the world for work to connecting with missions everywhere from anywhere
– From engineering exercise around a work schedule to delighting in hours a day of fun fitness
– From being kind to all I interact with to being kinder to myself as well
– From valuing amazing perks to recognising & celebrating amazing people to whom I dedicate this post.
As we build back a better normal, organisations, companies, governments, need us all to step up and be the most extraordinary leaders we can be, leaders of the lifted mood for example, for real innovation-led growth and of course for each other.
I totally adore this Ted-Ed Video which looks at so many cultures and examples of what makes a hero successful and real!
Starting with our status quo and where we are now with the call to adventure, this current vortex of change provides, the help & resources we must gather around us as a high performing diverse team so we can start our Mission Beyond.
Then the battle with the demons of recession and the pandemic, brave the eye-of-the-storm-crisis to achieve our goals so we can help return us all to a new and better life…!
Pride Month
🥁🥁🥁 So, 1st June, it’s really important and exciting to mark the start of Pride Month, dedicated to celebrating the LGBTQ+ communities all around the world.
What could start a Pride celebration better than Lego launching its first LGBTQ+ set entitled “Everyone is Awesome”, with 11 Minifigures striding purposefully towards an imagined brighter future.
Read more on this story, here.
Throughout June I plan to share with you some content on key topics around diversity and inclusion, and particularly allyship.
The first resource, from the Fast Company, shows a shocking pay gap for LGBTQ+ workers and the cost of exclusion. This cost in productivity and happiness of individuals “covering” in the workplace, not able to be who they are means discretionary effort will not be brought into the workplace and our goal is that all of us can bring 200% of ourselves to work with real joy cannot be achieved.
Earlier this year, Global LGBT+ Leader Ella Slade (they/them) shared with us her hugely important role as an educator that directly impacts the lives of many, and the importance and intensity of this can present challenges with boundaries. Ella shares with us how they overcame this challenge, along with examples of great allyship.
The next inspirational video I’ll be sharing with you (next Monday) is with the wonderful, and aptly named, Joy Detorre – Global Leader, Diversity & Inclusion, IBM.
The full series of videos with extraordinary everyday women can be found here: https://bit.ly/HarrietGreen_IWD2021
And I have more interviews coming up for you in June – all hosted live on LinkedIn – two focused on Pride Month topics, and one for our book club.
On 18th June at 1pm (UK), I will be speaking with IBM’s Cindy Anderson and Anthony Marshall, as they share a new report on the key topics and discussion summaries from their Global LGBT+ Innovation Jam hosted in April.
I’m also delighted to be hosting a discussion with my former IBM Communications & Marketing lead plus a brilliant Chief of Staff, Miroslav (Mirek) Hazer on 28th June, 1pm (UK) – we’ll be talking about allyship and LGBTQ+ role models.
One of my greatest loves, books, books and more books – and again your insights on my book reviews have inspired me in May.
I hope you are enjoying our current book club selection – The Lost Café Schindler, by Meriel Schindler.
Fair, firm, fast and quite brilliant, Meriel turned her talents from employment law to writer, while taking a 3-month sabbatical in 2019.
The fabulous reviews from Waterstones I’m sure will whet your appetite to read it too… “Through the prism of the famous Innsbruck Café Schindler, this immersive slice of family history unspools a compelling panorama of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century and the oft-neglected fate of Austria-Hungary’s Jewish population.”
I will be speaking live on LinkedIn with Meriel on 10th June, at 1pm.
As we dial up supporting ourselves and other human beings and being purposeful, I am very excited about the progress we are making with Mission Beyond creating “Open Doors” our platform that links young adults who have such potential to rise with jobs whilst giving corporations and partners access to the most diverse talent. I hosted a LinkedIn Live panel discussion with two of my Mission Beyond colleagues @Cain Ullah and @Manny Amadi last week – if you missed it, you can watch it again here.
☀️ Have a fantastic flaming June, staying happy, well and in touch. ☀️ Harriet
A reminder of those dates for LinkedIn Live:
10th June, 1pm (UK) – Discussion with Meriel Schindler, Author of The Lost Café Schindler
18th June, 1pm (UK) – Panel discussion with Cindy Anderson and Anthony Marshall, IBM
28th June, 1pm (UK) – Discussion with Miroslav (Mirek) Hazer