Black History Month Reverse Mentoring

Today also marks the beginning of Black History Month – a time to celebrate the richness and diversity of Black heritage.

Over the past year, we’ve introduced a reverse mentoring scheme where directors and senior managers are paired with someone outside of the senior leadership team to share the knowledge, experiences and understanding on all sorts of topics.

Meet Nkechi Allen Dawson, Commercial Analyst and Nicola Williams, Legal and Compliance Director, who have been meeting bi-monthly over the past six months.

Nkechi

Reverse mentoring Nicola has been a truly excellent opportunity to share my thoughts, observations, and recommendations on how we can help level the playing field for employees from ethnic minority backgrounds and really drive culture change.

It is really refreshing when you have transformative leaders who are ready to listen to a diverse view and act on it. Diversity isn’t simply about assembling the right ratio of people with different characteristics or identities. It’s about understanding why those differences are valuable.

During the sessions, I used my experience as an Ambassador and Co-Chair of the BAME+ Network to suggest strategies that we could introduce to help DCC fulfil its commitment to improve inclusion across the company and increasing the diversity of the workforce at all levels.

From being a bit nervous during our first meeting and pondering whether the ‘right’ thing to do was to give Nicola ‘homework’, to having candid discussions about topics outside diversity, it has been a great learning experience.

After meeting monthly for the past six months, I feel more confident, empowered, and pleased that I have been given such an invaluable opportunity to make a difference.

Following our sessions, I’ve had an opportunity to sit alongside Nicola and other senior DCE executives at the RE:Think Group Presentation session and contribute to Welsh Water’s goal of increasing diversity and becoming a more inclusive organisation.

I’ve also provided support with initiatives for career progression for under-represented groups, however the main benefit was being able to “speak truth to power” in a safe space, discussing tangible solutions that could make a difference.

Nicola

I have been both a mentor and a mentee previously and have benefitted from both experiences. However I was a bit uncertain what to expect from reverse mentoring.

As a lawyer, I have a particular interest in equality and human rights legislation. I understand the theory of equality, but I increasingly have become more conscious of the importance of lived experience. I will never experience some of the issues that Nkechi has had to face, but our reverse mentoring sessions gave me a safe space to ask about how these had shaped her.

The wider social context within which an individual is placed is hugely important to understanding how their workplace experiences impact them and how as an organisation we can better support people to achieve their potential.

I’m really grateful to Nkechi for providing a truly safe space for me to ask about the context and impact of recent current events. She was also able to suggest how to be an ally for equality and inclusivity in the workplace and how the executive team can better support and promote this.

Sometimes these opinions were gently corrected and that is fine!

The sessions were always thought provoking and I was happy to do my homework reading - articles that I might not have come across without Nkechi’s help.

Over the last two years Welsh Water has begun to discuss the need for change and identify ways to address some of the issues that will sustain an inclusive workplace and provide the foundations for greater diversity across our organisation.

Initiatives such as the grassroots networks for LGBTQ+, BAME+ and Disability have challenged entrenched ideas, promoted a vision for the future and has set a context for change. We need to continue to work to create a culture of ongoing change which everyone has a responsibility to foster, and where everyone recognises the benefit of having an organisation which is truly accountable.

Reverse mentoring has provided the constructive challenge I needed to play my part in that change and I’m enormously grateful to Nkechi for her time, patience, and honesty.