2018 has been a turbulent year from various angles. But turbulence also stirs up new possibilities.

One positive aspect of 2018 has been the greater focus on diversity as the lifeblood of awell-functioning society. From women joining voices in the #MeToo campaign to greater recognition of transgender rights and disabled people getting their views heard on topics from accessible rail stations to how changes to the benefits system could disproportionately affect them, groups which have previously been side-lined are getting their views across more and more effectively.

In 2018 we at Result CIC have noticed a greater focus on equality and inclusion. Some of our larger clients are really looking at e.g. how not just ‘diverse’ staff in minority groups, but also managers need to be supported together to increase equality and enable everyone to be able to give of their best.

A new year offers a chance to pause and reflect. If you (and your organisation maybe) are thinking about approaching things differently in 2019, try these coaching-style questions to support your thinking:

• What new approaches did we try in 2018 which worked?
• How can we learn from this and build on it to be more effective?
• If we didn’t try anything new, could we have done so? What held us back?
• Which groups in the community might we have missed in our work and communication? How could we reach them in 2019?
• How confident do we feel going into our work in the New Year? What do we need to boost that confidence?
• Which aspects of our experience do we feel we cannot mention at work and why? What would it take to create a more open working environment?

The programmes of coaching and workshops we ran in the final months of 2018 (for the University of Manchester’s BAME staff and for Liverpool John Moores University’s disabled staff) produced clear results. They showed that to be effective at work, people need to feel sure that their experiences will be recognised and valued. From this starting point they will feel more confident about contributing all of who they are at work.

One of the things we plan to do a bit differently in 2019 is to add some work with so-called ‘intersectional’ groups. That means bringing together people with different minority characteristics and experience, or combined experience. We have noticed that there are definite common themes between the groups we work with so feel that this approach could be really productive.

If your answers to the questions aboveleave you feeling that you may need some similar support, why not arrange a chat with us?

We hope that 2019 is a rewarding year for you all and hope to meet some (more!) of you in it!