Leading with Agility

Leadership comes with privilege and responsibility even if you're Black - with Collin Lyons, Independent Consultant & former Exec Director, Ustwo

Season 2 Episode 12

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What's it like being a senior Black leader in an organisation but not realising you hold privilege in that position? This was Collin's experience and the basis of our conversation, a fascinating exploration of what it means to be a POC in a senior leadership role today. 

Collin reveals the impact of a post BLM era and how expectations on leadership for change has affected him, a revealing conversation which you definitely don't want to miss.

Some of our key talking points:

  • Not appreciating that you hold a position of privilege irrespective of your colour or background. That you are being seen as a role model without you knowing.
  • What's the implication of being a role model? How does it affect your leadership stance? It's important to focus on what's achievable in your sphere of control. Otherwise it can be overwhelming!
  • Are there risks to publishing diversity data? Could it affect people's perceptions of why they've been hired. Transparency is always important and changing the system requires courage.
  • Getting external support with DEI efforts needs to be treated with care but much needed expertise to hold space for all viewpoints within an organisation is equally important. 

Guest bio

Collin spent the last 11 years at ustwo, an award-winning a digital product studio. He has been a member of their Executive leadership team for the last 9. He has recently left ustwo to start his independent consulting practice. His focus is on helping teams and organisations radically improve their capability to create and delivery digital products. During almost 30 years of industry experience, working in London, New York, Tokyo, Bangalore and San Francisco, he’s helped organisations like Three, Sky, JPMorgan, HSBC, and Nissan, as well as start ups, to create cultures where people can thrive in their work. He advises and trains senior leadership teams to support their adoption and use of modern ways of working. He even wrote a book about it called Make Learn Change.

To connect with Collin and learn more about his work visit his website and connect with him on LinkedIn

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