If you’re passionate about inclusion at work and you want to know how to make an impact to create a more inclusive work culture, this episode is packed full of advice to help. And the advice can be put into action whatever the size of the organisation you’re working in – no matter how big or small it is.

Host Fay Wallis is joined by Toby Mildon, the Inclusive Culture Strategist & author of “Inclusion Matters: Future-proof your business by creating a diverse workplace.”

Some of the many helpful concepts Toby shares that can be applied to organisations of all sizes (no matter how big or small) include:

• Moving from an environment of exclusion to inclusion
• The different types of connections leaders have to inclusion – rational, emotional, and personal
• Demonstrating allyship through the use of visual aids
• Overcoming fear of talking about diversity and inclusion
• The ART of Allyship: Awareness, Respect, Trust
• Using the GC Index to understand the impact you (and others) make at work

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching
• Connect with Toby Mildon on LinkedIn
• Toby’s website: Mildon.co.uk

(Disclosure: the book links are affiliate links which means that Fay will receive a small commission from Amazon if you make a purchase through them)

• ‘Inclusion Matters: Future-proof your business by creating a diverse workplace’ by Toby Mildon
• ‘The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World’ by Alan Downs

About Diversity & Inclusion:

• Episode 42: Diversity & Inclusion at work – 7 mistakes to avoid (& what to do instead), with Dr Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey
• Episode 77: How to create an effective DEI strategy, with Metra Rowe

About behavioural and psychometric profiling tools:

• Episode 3: Building relationships with difficult people at work (an overview of the behavioural preferences profiling tool: DISC)
• Episode 75: What psychometrics are, how you can use them & why they’re so helpful, with Sue Colton

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're kind enough to leave a review, let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, take a look at all their services detailed on the Bright Sky Career Coaching website.

When work and life feel busy, it can feel hard to stay on top of everything. But taking a step back and identifying helpful time management techniques can make a big difference. In this episode of HR Coffee Time, career & executive coach, Fay Wallis chats with Louisa van Vessem about a range of time management tips to help you stay on top of your busy day.

Some of the ideas they talk through include:

• Virtual co-working
• Scheduling/calendar tools (e.g. Calendly)
• Time blocking
• Buffer time
• The Pomodoro technique
• Time tracking
• Setting clear goals
• Shiny object syndrome
• The HR Planner
• Mind mapping
• A, B and C priorities
• ‘To don’t’ lists
• Eat that frog
• Rewards
• Understanding your personal blockers
• People pleasing
• Accountability and The Four Tendencies
• Boundaries & perfectionism

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching
• Connect with Louisa on LinkedIn
• Louisa van Vessem’s website
• The Essential HR Planner
• The LinkedIn Live this episode is extracted from

• Episode 7: What to do when you don’t have enough hours in the day
• Episode 45: 6 ways to stop procrastinating & find time for important projects at work
• Episode 89: How to reach your HR career goals by understanding your ‘tendency’

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're kind enough to leave a review, let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

If you feel like you should be more assertive at work, or you've had other people around you recommend that you start being more assertive, it can be hard to know what to do about it. After all, what does 'being assertive' actually mean and how can you be assertive if it isn't something that feels like it comes naturally to you?

This episode of HR Coffee Time is here to help. Professional communication coach Trisha Lewis joins career coach, Fay Wallis, to share her fresh approach to being more assertive.

Trisha talks through a whole range of ideas including:

• The aggressive/assertive continuum
• Self-squashing and unsquashing
• The female 'double-bind'
• The warmth/strength quadrant
• Being assertive in a way that feels authentic for you
• How feedback and role play can help

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching
• Connect with Trisha on LinkedIn
• Trisha Lewis’ website
• Trisha’s TedX talk: The Self-Squashing Prophecy
• The 7 Best TED Talks for Career Success (includes Amy Cuddy’s talk about body language)

(Disclosure: the book links are affiliate links which means that Fay will receive a small commission from Amazon if you make a purchase through them)

• Trisha’s book: ‘The Mystery of the Squashed Self: How to stop self-sabotaging and make your business thrive’ by Trisha Lewis
• Trisha’s book recommendation: ‘Compelling People: the hidden qualities that make us influential’ by John Neffinger & Matthew Kohut

• Episode 78: 5 tips to get useful feedback at work to help your HR/People career
• Episode 57: Using the Johari Window to develop & grow in your HR career (a great feedback tool)

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're kind enough to leave a review, let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, take a look at all their services detailed on the Bright Sky Career Coaching website.

If you have a challenge or obstacle at work that you just can’t seem to solve, your Personal Board may be able to swoop to your rescue.

In this episode of HR Coffee Time, career and executive coach, Fay Wallis, shares how she used Emma Maslen’s ideas for creating a Personal Board to solve a challenge with a podcast. She encourages you to try the idea for yourself, to help you solve one of your challenges at work.

Useful Links

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching
• (Disclosure: the book links are affiliate links which means that Fay will receive a small commission from Amazon if you make a purchase through them)
• Book: ‘Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals’ by Oliver Burkeman
• Book: ‘The Personal Board of You Inc.’ by Emma Maslen

Other Relevant HR Coffee Time Episodes

• Episode 21: The 8 people who will set you up for career success, with Sharon Peake
• Episode 15: How networking can help your career
• Episode 16: How to become more confident about networking

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're kind enough to leave a review, let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, take a look at all their services detailed on the Bright Sky Career Coaching website.

It’s no good just keeping a career goal in your head or written down on a piece of paper. To reach that goal, you need to take action. But it can feel hard to stay on track with what’s needed when you’re so busy at work. That’s where The Four Tendencies framework can come in handy. By understanding your ‘tendency’ you’ll be able to identify and test out different strategies that will be effective in keeping you on track to reach those goals.

In this episode of HR Coffee Time, career & executive coach Fay Wallis explains what The Four Tendencies are and how understanding your tendency can help you to reach your goals.

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching
• The Four Tendencies Free Quiz
• Gretchen Rubin’s website
• Book: ‘The Four Tendencies’, by Gretchen Rubin (Disclosure: this book link is an affiliate link which means that Fay will receive a small commission from Amazon if you make a purchase through it)

• Episode 82: 3 tips to tackle a challenge at work when you aren’t feeling confident
• Episode 63: How to progress your career by measuring your impact at work
• Episode 67: How to get on top of email overwhelm when you’re in a busy HR role
• Episode 39: Lost your direction & motivation at work? This one thing might help
• Episode 07: What to do when there aren’t enough hours in the day

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're kind enough to leave a review, let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, take a look at all their services detailed on the Bright Sky Career Coaching website.

If you’ve ever faced the frustration of having your ideas rejected or struggled to secure buy-in and budget for your projects, this episode of HR Coffee Time is here to help. Writing a business case can feel overwhelming but guest, Jo Taylor, shares valuable insights on how to craft a compelling one that significantly enhances your chances of success. She explains what a business case is and the importance of:

• Simplifying
• Starting with the “why”
• Engaging stakeholders early on
• Progress, not perfection

Jo also gives powerful advice on what to do if your business case is rejected.

(Disclosure: this book link is an affiliate link which means that Fay will receive a small commission from Amazon if you make a purchase through it)

• The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in the Modern Age, by Claudia Hammond

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching
• Jo’s website: Let’s Talk Talent
• Let’s Talk Talent’s free resources, including webinars, whitepapers, podcast, newsletter, mentoring scheme and YouTube channel
• Jo’s email address: [email protected]

• Episode 63: How to progress your career by measuring your impact at work
• Episode 34: Influencing – how to get buy-in for your ideas at work

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're kind enough to leave a review, let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, take a look at all their services detailed on the Bright Sky Career Coaching website

Finding your next HR/People role can feel daunting; especially if you haven't changed jobs in years. This episode of HR Coffee Time is here to help, with job search success tips from career coach Fay Wallis. Learn what to do and how to do it, to hugely increase your chances of landing your perfect role.

• Fay’s online CV and LinkedIn courses
• Fay’s webinar for Presentus: LinkedIn Secrets – How to leverage LinkedIn to get your perfect job

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching

• Episode 4: Finding your next HR job – key tips from an HR Recruiter, with Tansel Omer
• Episode 11: Networking – the three most important networks for your career
• Episode 13: How to get a senior-level HR role, with Craig Elvin
• Episode 15: How networking can help your career
• Episode 16: How to become more confident about networking
• Episode 31: 3 little-known LinkedIn features which will help you get your next job
• Episode 63: How to progress your career by measuring your impact at work
• Episode 81: Recruitment redefined – a better way to find or fill your next role, with Tansel Omer

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're kind enough to leave a review, let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, take a look at all their services detailed on the Bright Sky Career Coaching website.

Have you ever found yourself in a work meeting, excitedly sharing an idea, only to have someone else take the spotlight, adopt the idea as their own and take all the credit? It’s an all-too-familiar scenario. In this episode of HR Coffee Time, “How to stop other people taking credit for your ideas in meetings” host Fay Wallis, shares three different options for tackling this behaviour at work.

• TIME magazine: ‘Mr. Vice President, I’m Speaking.’ What Research Says About Men Interrupting Women – And How to Stop It
• Harvard Business Review: Amplifying Your Colleagues’ Voices Benefits Everyone
• The Independent: What is hepeating?
• Professor Nicole Gugliucci’s tweet introducing the word, ‘hepeated’
• The Academy of Management Journal 64 (4): Amplifying Voice in Organizations, by Kristin Bain, Tamar Admati Kreps, Nathan Meikle and Elizabeth R. Tenney
• UCLA Anderson Review: In a Teamwork Economy, Status among Group Members Is Crucial, by Michael Totty
• Center for Creative Leadership: The SBI™ framework

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching

• Episode 84: Practical EDI tips from a Top 50 Most Inclusive Employer, with Lisa Faulkner
• Episode 83: Destructive team dynamics – how to spot them & get things back on track, with Gabriella Braun
• Episode 65: Practical strategies that empower women to succeed in leadership roles, with Carla Miller

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're kind enough to leave a review, let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, they can help you through:

• 1:1 coaching to overcome your career challenges
• Group coaching – build your confidence, credibility & influence in 6 weeks through Fay’s signature programme, Inspiring HR
• Interview coaching to succeed in your next interview
• Career change coaching to find a new, more fulfilling career
• The ‘Power Up Your LinkedIn Profile’ online course, to create a powerful LinkedIn profile and build your confidence at using LinkedIn to get your next role.
• The free pdf condensed version of Fay’s HR Planner for 2023

It can be hard to be clear on what matters most to you for your HR / People career; especially when you’re busy firefighting at work. In this episode of HR Coffee Time, career coach Fay Wallis shares 6 questions to identify and prioritise what matters for your career, so that you can set realistic steps and goals to achieve what’s most important to you.

• The Essential HR Planner

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching

• Episode 80: How quarterly reviews can help you thrive in your HR career
• Episode 69: Monthly review – the simple secret to making progress in your HR career
• Episode 66: Reflecting on 2022 – looking back to look forward

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please can you rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify? If you're kind enough to leave a review, please do let Fay know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: [email protected].

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

How Fay & Bright Sky Career Coaching Can Help You

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, they can help you through:

• 1:1 coaching to overcome your career challenges
• Group coaching – build your confidence, credibility & influence in 6 weeks through Fay’s signature programme, Inspiring HR
• Interview coaching to succeed in your next interview
• Career change coaching to find a new, more fulfilling career
• The ‘Power Up Your LinkedIn Profile’ online course, to create a powerful LinkedIn profile and build your confidence at using LinkedIn to get your next role.
• The free pdf condensed version of Fay’s HR Planner for 2023

Although the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) is a relatively small organisation, employing around 250 people, the People team’s work in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion space has led to it consistently ranking in the ‘Top 50 Most Inclusive Employers’ list.

In this episode of HR Coffee Time, their Head of People – Lisa Faulkner shares practical tips and advice for any organisation who wants to focus on EDI based on her experience within the FSCS.

Lisa’s advice includes:

1.    Start small and then expand on what you’ve done so far.

2.    Use internal and external data.

3.    Set yourself realistic targets.

4.    Turn to other organisations for advice and support.

5.    Commit to charters.

6.    Ask people throughout your organisation what will help them.

7.    Consider the wider impact you can have on the local community and the world as a whole.

• Business in the Community
• The Race at Work Charter
• Change the Race Ratio
• Adecco’s Creating Brighter Futures program
• CIPD’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion reports
• The Women in Finance Charter
• The Responsible Business Tracker
• Positive East

(Disclosure: this book link is an affiliate link which means that Fay will receive a small commission from Amazon if you make a purchase through it)

• The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World, by Alan Watkins & Nick Dalton
• Coherence: The Science of Exceptional Leadership and Performance, by Alan Watkins

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Fay’s website: Bright Sky Career Coaching

• Episode 58: How to feel more confident using data & analytics in your HR role, with Angela Moyle
• Episode 70: Supporting yourself, or your colleagues at work with Tourette Syndrome, with Devon Lovell
• Episode 68: Real life insights into understanding & supporting autism in the workplace, with Cybill Watkins
• Episode 65: Practical strategies that empower women to succeed in leadership roles, with Carla Miller
• Episode 59: ADHD – a personal story of the strengths, struggles & strategies that help, with Julie White
• Episode 42: Diversity & Inclusion at work – 7 mistakes to avoid (& what to do instead), with Dr Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey
• Episode 24: Understanding & supporting neurodiversity at work, with Melanie Francis
• Episode 14: Understanding & fixing your organisations gender pay gap, with Melissa Blissett
• Episode 12: Supporting women returning to work after a career break, with Sally Dhillon

If you found this episode of HR Coffee Time helpful, please can you rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify? If you’re kind enough to leave a review, please do let Fay know so she can say ‘thank you’. You can always reach her at: [email protected]

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast & would like some support from Fay or her colleagues at Bright Sky, they can help you through:

• 1:1 coaching to overcome your career challenges
• Group coaching – build your confidence, credibility & influence in 6 weeks through Fay’s signature programme, Inspiring HR
• Interview coaching to succeed in your next interview
• Career change coaching to find a new, more fulfilling career
• The ‘Power Up Your LinkedIn Profile’ online course, to create a powerful LinkedIn profile and build your confidence at using LinkedIn to get your next role.
• The free pdf condensed version of Fay’s HR Planner for 2023