Piotr Sordyl has written an excellent summary of the Equity programme launch event. Beyond being a great summary, Piotr has highlighted the key things that we all need to know to thrive as a leader, be it personal or business. We hope you enjoy this read and are inspired by the excellent, diverse role models in our community. From this thought-provoking article, we encourage you to aspire to make your own difference in your own community and field of choice.
The Launch
I spent my Thursday evening (22.10.20) attending an Equity Programme 2020 launch event ‘Owning Your Leadership Journey’. I was led by curiosity, wanting to discover what it was about, and little did I know I would become so inspired to write the blog entry you are reading now.
Equity is a positive action programme run at University of the West of England (UWE) and it provides support to assist in facing and overcoming challenges stemming from disadvantages and obstacles, providing both personal and professional development opportunities for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students.
Dr Joanna Abeyie MBE,Founder of Blue Moon consultancy, opened the event by sharing reflections on her personal journey so far. She emphasized the importance of being proactive and how sizing the initiative enabled her to overcome challenges related to family difficulties, socio-economic background and gaining work experience. In effect, she created many initiatives, such as a mentoring programme ‘Magnet,’ ‘Hyden’ brand, and finally, her current consultancy ‘Blue Moon,’ which overall have helped over 3,000 to find employment.
The Panel
Soon after, Professor Paul Olomolaiye invited the panel of four speakers to the conversation by echoing quintessence of Joanna’s words, which could be considered fundamental qualities of sound leadership: trust yourself, create your own opportunities, acknowledge that you are not meant to be perfect, and, most of all, be kind.
Another speaker, Cllr Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor at Bristol City Council, began the story of her journey reflecting on the necessity to step up to help at home after her mother had died during her childhood. She engaged in community activism early on, and before she became an ‘accidental politician’—as Cllr Asher herself referred to — she partook and gave birth to many projects, a number of which developed into organizations, such as Bristol Black Careers, and was the Head of Black Development Agency for 11 years.
Also present on the panel were Roger Griffith MBE, UWE Associate Lecturer and Diversity & Community Projects, and Xavier Baker, Assistant Support Lecturer at UWE Bristol. The rest of the night was hosted by Precious Onyenekwu Tatah, Former and First Black President at UWE and Former UWE Equity Project Coordinator.
Leadership
When we think about ‘leadership’, our thoughts stray towards leaders in politics, corporations, religious congregations, or communities; we tend to associate it with status, power, and wealth. However, leadership can be also perceived as being proactive in our own life, taking initiative to innovate and implement change to advance our goals and plans and to lead others towards fulfilling their dreams. Therefore, we can be leaders in our families, friendships, or in enterprises and initiatives we create ourselves.
The conversation touched upon what characteristics are important to be a leader and, given a thought, how one could produce a plethora of such, as it seems that there is never a shortage of qualities that a person in a leadership position, whether in a business or personal setting, can benefit from and should strive towards. Authenticity, honesty, confidence, and dedication to a given cause, are a few to name.
To paraphrase the words spoken by Xavier, we are unable to do all nor know it all, just as we are unable to become an expert in everything; however, not all hope is lost. There are specialists and experienced people who we can ask for help. Taking that thought further, we too can offer guidance to others within our own fields of expertise. This is an important observation, something that is easily forgotten when we speak about or think of leaders – again, they are neither omnipresent nor omnipotent, and neither are we on our leadership journey through life. Being a leader does not mean you cannot nor that you should not listen to and learn from others. Acknowledge when you are wrong and remember that we learn throughout our whole life, especially from our mistakes and failures.
Roundup
Near the end of the event, the panellists were asked to share their reflections regarding setbacks they experienced and how they overcame them. Roger spoke of stubbornness in face of challenges, stressing that resilience and perseverance are crucial to progressing and achieving one’s goals. Asher emphasised that one cannot allow failures to hinder one’s undertakings and that everyone’s voice deserves to be heard. Joanna pointed out that many people forget that success is not a straight line.
Indeed, success is quite like the ability to play an instrument, speak another language, paint, or write. It is similar to the process of gaining knowledge or sculpting one’s body. All of those require work and effort, are filled with hardships, elicit elation upon mastering yet another fraction of it, or dispiritedness while facing lack of progress. The path to fulfilling one’s dreams is not always covered with rose petals, but rather than dread the obstacles, try searching for inspirations and focus on solutions.
Being the best leader on your own journey, wherever it may be taking you, becomes easier to achieve through communication, empathy and remembering about the human factor in everything. By realizing that behind every job role and title there is yet another individual, someone just like us, who has his own history and experience, equally valuable to ours, should help us remember to respect and appreciate each other more, especially when we are still strangers only beginning to get to know about one another.
Final Thoughts
To summarise the inspiring essence of the event: in your leadership journey, never take no for an answer, be purposeful and ask questions of people – including those running institutions. Visualize where you are, where you came from, where you are heading to, how to get there and what prevents you from achieving it. Do not hinder your efforts by disqualifying yourself from undertakings and positions, based on the inability to see yourself in such context. Instead of closing doors towards the path that could lead you to becoming fulfilled, remain confident and trust your own worth. When you struggle, remember to talk to other people. You are not alone in what you feel and experience; reach out for support when you need it, offer it whenever you can.
The event has been recorded and is shared through Equity channels. To find out more about Equity, visit their website or twitter. Also connect with the panel members on twitter: Joanna Abeyie, Cllr Asher Craig, Roger Griffith and Xavier Baker.
Written by Piotr Sordyl
Thank you for reading!
Piotr Sordyl is a mature, international student on Foundation Year Biological Sciences course at UWE. Originally from Poland, but Bristol has been his home for over 7 years now. He is interested in neuroscience, zoology, astrobiology, planetary science, (to name a few) and aspires to write books collating all the knowledge he has gained to a wider audience.
Article edited by Jessica Griffith
From the editors: Thank you very much for taking the time to read an article that has been a great inspiration and encouragement to myself. I hope it not only challenges but also pushes you into action as you endeavour to make your own impact as a leader wherever you are.
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Keep well and enjoy this festive season.