Ami Kaur, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Dudley College of Technology, reflects on the experience of the ETF Inclusive Leadership programme and takeaways from it for implementation.
What an opportunity to gain such insight into inclusive leadership! The programme run by AoC on behalf of ETF covered so many different aspects and for me, it was a great opportunity to be part of. Undertaking such training with my line manager means that our organisation is committed to change. It was a safe space to give honest opinions and think about our organisational gaps, and what we can do to make things better. The use of Lego to illustrate certain scenarios was absolutely brilliant. It showed the simplicity behind the tasks, and how we can sometimes overcomplicate things ourselves. It allowed us to be serious, but have some fun at the same time and be creative.
It was a well thought out programme that covered an array of topics, and it offered something different to a traditional textbook or training course. It was both engaging and thought provoking, and also provided an opportunity to share best practice and hear what work is being undertaken nationally.
Within the training, although all parts were great, I particularly enjoyed the unconscious bias and blind spots piece. I thought it was so important in reflecting on our own behaviours, but also behaviours around us. The activity used was great, as it highlighted possible unconscious bias in the room, and how we may easily notice other people’s biases, but often don’t recognise our own. It also helped highlight how some biases can be learned and how to tackle unconscious bias.
It was interesting to explore Action Learning Sets. This is something I believe both my manager and I took away from the Inclusive Leadership programme and will be using in our training within our organisation. Action Learning Sets are when a group of people within a workplace meet with the specific intention of solving workplace problems. I believe this could be very beneficial within the area of EDI and inclusive leadership as it would help identify problems and come up with the best solution to tackle these problems. I would like to see behaviours changed for the better once these have been implemented. Also, the use of Lego was a brilliant idea. It was a great way to be creative and think about situations as a group. It was interesting to see people’s understanding of certain topics; it helped to give a different perspective on matters which I have definitely taken from the training.
I will certainly take this training and embed it into the work that I do. It will actively contribute to my future aspirations of having a more senior role within my organisation or wherever the opportunity may present itself. It has helped me to think through a different lens on a variety of topics, as well as teach me how to get buy in from others and also consider their perspective so that I know both their thought process and the contributions they can make to drive forward change.
Well done to the organisers and facilitators for putting this programme together and delivering it!
Ami Kaur
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Dudley College of Technology
The Inclusive Leadership Programme is part of a wider offer of support for leadership in the FE and Training sector. For full details, visit the Leadership area of the ETF website. Further blogs from participants in the programme are available to read at the Leadership blogs page of the ETF website.