Podcast

Episode 77: Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Coaching

To make real progress in equitable employee development, coaching needs to become a more inclusive space. This episode is an in-depth conversation about real-life examples and techniques for supporting minority-background clients with issues ranging from prejudice, identity crises and belonging in a majority-dominated workplace.

Salma Shah is the CEO of coaching and leadership development platform Mastering Your Power and the author of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Coaching: A Practical Guide. Salma has worked with the UK's largest FTSE100 companies, and she has been published in The Guardian, Independent, The Telegraph, and Psychologies Magazine.

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Episode Highlights

3:36

Why lack of coach diversity is a problem

5:18

Common coaching needs of minorities who work in majority spaces

7:45

Differences in behavior change expectations: HR and coaching client

10:18

"You're not like me, so how could you possibly coach me?"

11:40

Helping clients feel safe opening up

15:43

Why it's essential to take coaching clients' systems into account.

19:42

Minority women caught between work and family systems conflict

21:17

The RISEN model

24:34

Pitfalls in coaching minorities on the topic of belonging

26:08

The journey of cultivating a greater sense of belonging

29:04

The difference between healthy and dysfunctional resilience

31:00

Making teams more inclusive for minorities

32:59

The case for more diversity in coaching

Salma’s view on the greatest unmet wellbeing need at work today

"People are tired and wired, burnt out. We've just had a pandemic. And people are just so emotionally and physically tired and wired. And I feel we need to create a culture of [being able to] switch technology off [and] push people toward having conversations face to face, [adopt] rules such as no work after 5pm on a Friday."

What “working with humans” means to Salma

“Connection. It's all about connection. Connecting with each other at a human level. There's always always a place of connection. And it's looking for that and coming from that place.”

Resources

Follow: Salma on LinkedIn
Visit: Mastering Your Power
Read: Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Coaching: A Practical Guide

Michael Glazer is the creator and host of Humans At Work. His purpose in life is to make well-being at work a globally-accepted, basic human right. Learn more about Michael here.