Steps in Solidarity – Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter.  We stand in solidarity with that message and the understanding that words need to become actions.  The murder of George Floyd, the countless acts of violence and injustice that have gone before his tragic death and the global movement that has risen as a result has led us to really ‘See It’ with fresh eyes.  As a Senior Leadership Team, we have work to do.  Our mission has always been to create awareness and change around organisational culture and behaviours – but we now need to raise the bar and go beyond what we are already doing.  Though we may not yet know the exact steps – standing still right now feels uncomfortable.  So we won’t and we aren’t.

The work we do everyday in helping clients build better workplaces, better cultures and a place where everyone can be their true selves gives us a responsibility and a platform from which to enable and support this change.  But we also need to hold up a mirror to ourselves – as individuals and as an organisation – to challenge our own bias, reflect on where we are and to take action.

As a first step we have established an internal task force, reporting at Board level to ensure that we are hearing those voices that we need to listen to.  In the coming days and weeks we will be bringing together Black colleagues, associates, clients, and partners to listen, to understand their individual reality, hear their stories, and to ensure that their insight and experience informs where we go from here.  We want to take the time to properly reflect on where we are now, what we have achieved and where there is still progress to be made for inclusion, equity and allyship.

We stand in solidarity with those wanting to see systemic change and an end to injustice. This is a time for us all to reflect, grow and plan active steps to live the change we want to see.