Diversity Awareness Seminars

A few years ago I sat through a "neurodiversity awareness" session. Good slides. Clear definitions. Everyone nodded. Nobody left with anything they could do differently on Monday. At PegSquared that's the kind of training I refuse to deliver. Three things shape how I train instead: 1. Practical over performative. Awareness is the starting point, not the destination. Every session ends with adjustments and tools people can put into practice straight away. 2. Strengths first. This is the idea we built EY's Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence around, and it still shapes everything I do. Start with what neurodivergent employees do brilliantly, not what they find hard. 3. Business case, not box ticking. Neuro-inclusion isn't a diversity add-on. Done properly, it's a talent, retention and performance strategy. That's the argument that survives budget cuts. From awareness and lunch and learn sessions through to line manager workshops, recruitment training, train the trainer sessions and leadership briefings, I tailor the format to where an organisation is starting from. The common thread is practical skills and making neurodiversity relatable to everyone - whether that's helping managers support their teams with confidence, redesigning interview processes that quietly screen out brilliant candidates, helping give those who are neurodivergent the tools to navigate the workplace or putting inclusion directly into performance conversations at leadership level. Over a thousand people trained over the last year from Retail teams to Government Departments to Professional Services. Not one of those sessions ended with "nice slides, but what can I do about it?" If yours has, let's talk. #NeuroInclusion #NeurodiversityAtWork #Training #Leadership #LearningAndDevelopment

I just spoke with the MD of a small agency who’s serious about inclusion. But she had 3 issues I’ve seen too many times before. It all sounded promising. She had a plan. She had a partner. She had good intentions. Here’s what I told her and what I tell every small team trying to make progress: --- 1) Don’t adopt someone else’s inclusion agenda. The workshop plan? Came from the partner company. On paper, it looked like a win-win. Split the cost. Share the learning. But here’s the problem: If your priorities are inherited. It's someone else's Diversity Hierarchy. You’ll solve their problems. Not yours. Their team would get what they need. But hers? I wasn't convinced. I suggested she didn't do it. Instead. Start by asking: - What does your team need? - What’s happening in your workplace? - What problem are you trying to solve? It's not selfish. It’s sensible. --- 2) Skip unconscious bias training (until you’ve got the tools to track your results) She wanted to start with unconscious bias. It’s familiar. It sounds foundational. But I told her the truth: I’m not a fan. I say this a lot. Most unconscious bias training fails. Not because people don’t care. But because no one tracks what changes. - No follow-up - No reinforcement - No accountability I often get hired AFTER it’s failed. So I told her: Start with an outcome you’re willing to measure. Bias might be part of it. But don’t assume it’s the first step. --- 3) Don’t waste a workshop Lots of "DEI" workshops are engaging. Very few are effective. People show up. They nod along. They leave with good intentions. Then nothing changes. A workshop should reinforce your strategy. Not replace one. Before you book a session with anyone, ask yourself: - What outcome do we want? - What behaviour needs to change? - How will we know it worked? Without clear answers, you’re just paying for a performance. --- If you're a small team serious about inclusion, start here: - Own your agenda - Define your terms - Don’t jump to training That’s how high-impact inclusion work starts. Even with a team of 8. If you want help doing the same, drop me a message. I’ll show you where to start. I've got tools that will answer these questions for you.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞? The room was silent. Not the kind of silence that feels awkward, but the kind that holds weight—the kind that tells you something has shifted. 𝐀 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭: "Ma’am, to be very honest, I used to struggle with accepting LGBTQ+ individuals. But after this session… I think I understand better. I never thought about how they feel, how much courage it takes to be themselves. From today, I will make sure to be more open-minded." That moment wasn’t just about learning. It was about unlearning. 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧—𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 Last week, I led a transformative DEI session for a group of bright CA students. They didn’t just learn the definitions of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. They lived it. → They role-played as managers making tough decisions. → They mapped out real-world strategies for inclusivity. → They confronted their own unconscious biases—often for the first time. And the stories they shared? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬. 📌 A student’s fraternity brother who came out as gay and the quiet shift it caused in their circle. 📌 A mother navigating life with polio, showing resilience every single day. 📌 A peer with partial blindness, proving that barriers exist more in perception than reality. Each story revealed something deeper—how often we see people, but don’t really see them. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭? 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦. Workplaces today are diverse, whether we acknowledge it or not. But inclusion isn’t about hiring checklists or corporate policies. It’s about: ✔ Recognising unconscious bias before it shapes decisions. ✔ Advocating for people who are often unheard. ✔ Creating an environment where no one has to shrink themselves to fit in. And these students? They left the session not just aware, but prepared. 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬? DEI isn’t just an HR function. It’s a leadership skill. And teaching these skills? That’s a career path in itself. If you’ve ever thought about training others on topics that truly matter— 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. #DEI #Diversity #Inclusion #UnconsciousBias #SoftSkills #Training #Leadership #KanchanChokkas #Corporate #CorporateTraining