17 BDO | GENDER BALANCE LISTENING EVENTS
PERSONAL STYLE
In her introduction, Wendy spoke candidly of certain moments in her career, which had been pivotal in building confidence and encouraging her to have a voice in the room. Many delegates picked up on this and shared their own experiences, particularly around imposter syndrome.
ACTION
FOR BDO X Review the curriculum and identify what we already have in place that supports personal brand, style and confidence X Consider introducing a recommended amount of learning each year X Access to coaching and/or mentoring as well as honest conversations with role models. FOR COLLEAGUES X Invest time in understanding your personal style and reflect on your relative strengths and areas where you might need coaching. Gather feedback. Also understand the styles of those around you X Review internal training options open to you.
We also had discussions with women who said they’d been labelled as aggressive, problematic and emotional when trying to be more forthright (not necessarily at BDO). We had great discussions about introverted and extroverted personalities, for men and women. Paul was particularly interested in what we can do as an organisation to ensure that those of us who are introverted in style are not drowned out by the extroverts. We discussed how working remotely more has really helped here, and has levelled the playing field, but that as we adopt more of an agile approach to work, we don’t lose out on the voices of those who may prefer to work remotely more frequently uncover what makes you unique, so that you can build on that brand.
There was a perception that learning around soft skills slows down at Manager/Senior Manager level. Could we introduce a learning quota? E.g. three days each year could be allocated to soft skill training The role of a great coach was flagged here, in terms of encouraging that self-exploration to uncover what makes you unique, so that you can build on that brand.
more like a man to progress? - Advisory, Delegate “
Do I really still need to behave
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