HUMANITY , INCLUSION AND LEARNING : WE MUST BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE
JIM CARRICK-BIRTWELL CEO , FUTURE TALENT
hrough our eighth Future Talent Conference ,
T reimagined from a physical summit to take place entirely virtually , we wanted to provide a special headspace to watch , to listen , to reflect , and to imagine – allowing our delegates to concentrate on their own development for a few special hours .
This year , we ’ ve all had to think and behave differently . We ’ ve had to focus on the fragility of our humanity – so our theme , Purpose , Meaning & Culture , feels more relevant now than ever .
The COVID-19 pandemic has , in some ways , prompted a premium on kindness , empathy , listening , and on helping people in our families and in our workplaces to feel safe and included in ways that we hadn ’ t imagined before .
A deeper appreciation of our own humanity
Having a palpable sense of our humanity is inescapable in these times . Our incredible speakers discussed vulnerability , empathy , listening and self-reflection . They spoke about the illusion of certainty that most of us seek , in our personal and professional lives – and outlined why self-awareness is the foundation of our ability to develop and learn .
Imagination and creativity was also a recurring theme . Margaret Heffernan urged us to not lose confidence in our own imagination , and said that “ in an age of uncertainty , efficiency stops you being agile ”.
Kwame Kwei-Armah talked about creativity , describing how artistic leaders look deeply at the trends of our time in an attempt to create stories and narratives that ‘ ride the zeitgeist ’ and create a sense of meaning .
Future Talent aims to be the change that we all want to see
Commitment to supporting inclusion
As well as the COVID-19 pandemic , the other seismic event of 2020 is the tragic death of George Floyd in the US . At Future Talent we felt moved to actively reflect on the issues raised by this in our agenda .
Inclusion has always been at the core of our content and events – and formed an overarching theme across the whole two-day event , with some incredibly honest , inspiring and humbling conversations .
But I don ’ t want the Future Talent platform to be just a talking shop . We need to see change that provides the Black community with the workplace representation their talents deserve . If we don ’ t all work together on this , with a common , inclusive aim , we won ’ t see material change .
As a commitment to support and promote diversity , equity and inclusion , we will be launching a platform for people leaders next year . In the spirit of openness , sustainability and measurability , it will allow you to share insights , experiments and learnings that you ’ ve pursued . It will also enable you to connect with other leaders from around the world to support and mentor one another as you implement cultural change initiatives in your organisations .
Above and beyond everything else , Future Talent aims to be the change that we all want to see . I ’ m encouraged that if we all work together , with a common , inclusive aim , we can together be a catalyst for that change .
A purposeful mission to embed learning
Throughout the event there was a real focus on learning and upskilling our human operating system . From the mental gymnastics of our ‘ philosophy slam ’, to the mindblowing perspectives from the incredible astronaut Tim Peake . To quote the latter : “ Life is a journey of exploration and learning .”
Learning is at the core of Future Talent ’ s reason for being as an organisation – and the launch of Future Talent Learning earlier this year feels like incredibly purposeful work for us . Over the last 15 years , the golden thread for our business has been to help people to future-proof themselves in the changing world of work , so that they can develop the skills , mindset and behaviours to thrive and prosper .
Our Transformational Leadership Programme focuses on upskilling existing employees with better and more highly developed interpersonal skills . It ’ s 100 % virtual , it ’ s packed with virtual events and simulations , and it ’ s funded through the apprenticeship levy in England .
Jim Carrick-Birtwell Co-founder and CEO | jim @ changeboard . com