Guest blog from Evelyn Asante-Mensah - being your authentic self

Evelyn Asante-Mensah OBE

Our chair, Evelyn Asante-Mensah OBE, has written a blog this week.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to listen to the lived experience of a staff colleague which had a real impact on me, and I want to thank and affirm them for sharing their story with me. 

Sometimes we will hear a person’s story which is challenging and inspiring at the same time.  I'm sure we've all had the experience of the kind of story that you can’t stop thinking about for weeks afterwards.

As you know, we’ve been doing a lot of work on the development of our values and have agreed our new values of kindness, fairness, ingenuity and determination. 

We've also been working hard on our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).   A few months ago we had an EDI workshop and I was asked to open the event with a few words.   I was able to share my experience of EDI and also my expectations of us as an organisation and, as Chair, how I wanted us to drive forward this agenda and ensure that everyone is able to help shape our strategy on EDI. 

It was really good to see so many people from right across Pennine Care come to share their experiences and say what they think we should be doing.  It was a great afternoon.  I really enjoyed being part of it.

So, it was a couple of weeks after this EDI event that the member of our staff came to see me to share her story and lived experience of EDI.  I felt both humbled and privileged that she felt safe enough to open up to me, but also so sad to hear about her experience and how it made her feel; especially in work, because she can't  come to work and be her authentic self for fear of how others would respond or behave around her.  Sometimes the way colleagues spoke and the language they used made her feel uncomfortable and silenced.

Being truly inclusive is not just about being aware of those characteristics and differences you can see, it’s also about those you can't. 

We therefore need to be mindful of our language and the words we use, because we might unwittingly be making those around us feel excluded.  Sometimes we say things in passing, or as part of 'banter' and we don't realise the impact it might have on those around us: I'm sure we’ve all done this. 

People can see I’m a black woman, but when I recently went to use the disabled toilet at a local council building I was told “This is a disabled toilet”, clearly implying I shouldn’t be using it. I had to explain that I struggled with stairs and that not all disabilities are visible.

Sometimes it's difficult for people to raise their voice and speak out. As Chair, I have the privilege of being able to be an Ambassador and use my voice to help others raise their voices. 

When our colleagues don’t feel heard, don’t feel valued, don’t feel safe , its often because they can’t bring their whole and authentic selves to work and have to hold part of themselves back and then worry  about being 'found out'.

We want a supportive culture where everyone is treated with fairness, kindness and respect; irrespective of their race, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, faith, accent, class or disability. Differences we see and those we don't.  This includes our equality and diversity work and developing workplace networks for disability, LGBT+ and BAME.

It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. The evidence shows that a team’s performance can improve by 50% when everyone is included.

Our differences add infinite spice and dimension to our lives. Our stories illustrate how our uniqueness makes each of us special and beautiful in our own way. 

Most of the outer labels of our identity place us in boxes or categories. We might identify ourselves by race, gender, religion, political views, occupation, and so on. Many of those labels were given to us by birth or circumstance and all of them inform our point of view. But none of them is the totality of who we are.

Most of us have a work persona. Especially minorities who feel they need to leave a big part of themselves at the door to be accepted at work. We often resort to wearing our masks, as a means of self-protection and gaining acceptance.

Often, to get on and get ahead, we feel like we have to conform—and thus we ‘perform’.

We then spend and waste too much time trying to fit in, and do or say the “right” thing and aren’t able to do our best, most innovative work.  We suffer and our well-being is diminished. 

Everyone loses from this. It’s difficult for an organisation to thrive and perform at its highest level if people feel they have to hold back some of who they really are.

Diversity is strength and we need a wide swath of voices, experiences, and perspectives – for our workplace and for the communities we serve, which are truly diverse.

Bringing our whole selves to work means showing up authentically and remembering that we’re all vulnerable, imperfect human beings doing the best we can. That strengthens us all.

We want to get to a place where people feel able to call things out, speak up, ask for help, connect with others in a genuine way, and allow ourselves and others to be truly seen. I know it’s not always easy, especially at work. It takes leadership, commitment, intention and guts, but I go back to our values of kindness and fairness.

It’s also about thinking about what we say and the impact that might have. Words really matter. When someone claims they’re tired of being “politically correct”, why does it seem wielded in protest at being asked to be respectful and mindful to people who aren’t like them?

I feel that I have to stress, at this point, that I’m all for humour and light-heartedness. It can be so positive, bring joy, get us through difficult times and provide a great sense of togetherness. I’m simply saying we need to be careful that the office ‘banter’ doesn’t isolate others.

Wouldn’t it just be amazing if everyone could bring their whole and authentic selves to their job every day?

How great if we could create an environment where people feel totally safe to say they are struggling with depression or be comfortable putting a picture of their same-sex partner on their desk.

My grandchildren go to a UNICEF Rights Respecting school, where they teach that every child has the right to be the best that they can be, regardless of who they are. 

It’s no different for us. EDI is not a project, for me, it's personal and professional. It’s about a way of being as an organisation – part of everything.

So, let’s create a place that allows everyone to show up as their authentic self.

Inclusion elevates us all.

Best wishes
Evelyn