Outside of the Group, I’m really inspired by the people that I mentor in the community: young talented individuals with strong ambitions who are willing to make brave choices.
One thing that has stuck with me is the attention my mentees pay to how inclusive organisations are.
They look for depth in the evidence, going beyond what is said to other key signs, such as, who is selected to represent the organisation and their level of seniority. They’re making conscious choices on where to spend their money and where to work.
Levelling the playing field
All of this is about creating true equality of opportunity and a level playing field.
Addressing race more fully at Lloyds aligns with the great work already underway to understand how to better support women, disabled people, the LGBT+ community and working parents.
It also aligns with the progress being made in terms of meeting that human desire for more autonomy through initiatives like flexible working.
What we’re seeing is a shift towards a working world that more readily welcomes the humanity of its workforce. Imagine what people could achieve in the psychological safety of that. How empowering that would be!
Sometimes we will need to rewrite the rules where we find them to be counter to our aspirations as an organisation. Doing that is how we will keep our people engaged and stay relevant to our customers for the next 300+ years.