Hannah McNamara from HRM Coaching Ltd in London looks at how career coaching and mentoring can benefit specific groups of employees.
It’s an awkward question, but one that should still be answered by every manager in the UK. While most of us would like to think that we do treat everyone fairly with regards to our leadership skills, if we are honest with ourselves we have probably all been a little harsh on some people in the past. Anyone who holds a position of authority however should recognise that they have a unique opportunity to influence people and enhance the workplace in many different ways.
Of course the workplace demands that we treat everyone the same regardless of their beliefs, orientation, age or any other factor, and a pro-active stance such as the one taken by the investment giant Morgan Stanley just goes to show that we are still taking huge strides forward even in the 21st century.
The company has opened up new opportunities for its lesbian, gay and bi-sexual staff to talk with LGB colleagues who have already made good progress in their careers. You can read the full story, reported on the 28th March 2008, at www.cipd.co.uk.
This is a good example of a company which is making sure that a minority group of employees are able to receive leadership and management advice from people who are aware of what it can be like to be lesbian, gay or bi-sexual in the workplace. Hopefully this will be the start of many such initiatives which appeal to various different core groups of people throughout many types of work across the UK.
This kind of positive instance is a good chance for every manager to think about how they treat all their staff – not just in the respect of thinking about whether they treat everyone fairly or not, but also to encourage a feeling of culture change where necessary. Not only does this benefit the employees - who feel as if they are part of a company that really cares about their welfare - it also benefits the business, since the happier the employees are the more likely it is that the results they achieve will be far better when compared against their performance management plan.
It is clear that while we are all individually responsible for our own attitude and outlook on the people we work with it is also the responsibility of the company as a whole to provide a safe and pro-active environment to work in for everyone. Perhaps we should all take a leaf out of Morgan Stanley’s book?
© Copyright Hannah McNamara 2008
HRM Coaching, based in London, provides Career Coaching and Executive Coaching to ambitious individuals. They have a very diverse and international team of professional Career Coaches and Executive Coaches. For a free, confidential discussion of your current situation at work, call 020 7939 9910.
