Happy New Year from the team at the National Centre for Diversity! As we embark on 2024, let’s continue our journey toward building a more inclusive world by embedding fairness and inclusion in the hearts of our workplaces.
Speaking to Andrew Palmer of the Yorkshire times, Solat Chaudhry looks to the year ahead with optimism and ambition.
Solat Chaudhry is the charismatic, football-loving, patriotic Chief Executive at the National Centre for Diversity. The former police officer, who grew up in Burnley during the 1970s, was often on the wrong side of foul language, racial terms, and, of course, violence, which was unfortunately part of normal life back then. That has not deterred him, and he speaks common sense to power as head of an organisation that qualitatively helps organisations change attitudes.
For him, it is all about an organisation’s ability to radiate its values through its workforce and a process of social osmosis.
His mantra is FREDIE.
“I hope we take the theory and bring it alive so that Fairness for all becomes a reality, Respect for all is the norm, Equality of opportunity is embedded, Diverse employees feel that they belong, Inclusion is widely understood by leaders who connect the link between an inclusive culture and business performance, and everyone is Engaged, living, and breathing the values. Known through the acronym FREDIE.”
As I will learn, values are so important in creating change, and Chaudhry is able to pinpoint undisputable evidence to prove his point.
He has spent the last couple of decades evangelising about diversity and how it encompasses understanding, acceptance, and respect.
He is justly proud that this year’s NCFD Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces has been published to critical acclaim.
“It’s the only index of its kind to recognise the excellent work organisations and those that work for them do in promoting FREDIE at the highest level in workplaces across the UK. It is put together as a result of a company survey completed by employees at companies working with us, and an algorithm is then used to benchmark the organisations and compile the index,” he tells me.
After a tumultuous period of change following Brexit and the continuing worldwide issues, Chaudhry is still full of hope, which is his message for 2024. It’s this hope, coupled with a strong dose of optimism and resilience, in a world where the mainstream political rhetoric has hardened, that is needed across the globe and in our own communities.
“We can move to becoming a more tolerant society, one where human nature and collaborative and charitable behaviours will counteract the negativity that has taken hold. I will not pretend it is easy, but it can be achieved through sheer hard work and determination.”
“We need to rally together. Think Russell Crowe in Gladiator. Crowe’s character turns to everyone and says that whatever comes through those gates, we will survive better if we’re together. Most Gladiators rallied around his cause, choosing to stick together. There were 2–3 warriors who didn’t rally; they were the first ones to perish.
“Whatever comes through the gates in 2024, this country will fare better if we face those challenges together harmoniously. Together, we are stronger; divided, we are vulnerable.”
“There is strength and protection in unity. So, mine is a strong message of hope, and it’s not just about false optimism. I believe in true British values, not just those assigned by the government, but true British values: togetherness, community, kindness, courtesy, charity, decency, honesty, integrity, and fairness. These are values that make me proud to be a patriot and proud to be a Brit.”
That is his philosophy, and he oozes authenticity and inspiration when he speaks, believing passionately that the power of the British people is the ease with which they come together every single day from all backgrounds, sexual orientations, religions, races, all personality types, and all interests to work or socialise without friction.
Chaudhry strongly believes in the power of the British people and the success of how civil society works in this country despite different cultural backgrounds. He puts it quite simply down to self-discipline and motivation, which he attributes to punctuality! Yes, that’s right.
Punctuality is so underestimated. Punctuality means you’ve got the discipline to get to a place on time; you’ve made an effort and planned. The British are world-class at punctuality…
“We also have that beautiful, quaint piece of legislation: breach of the peace. That’s the beauty of the British people. It’s all about fair play and British values that do instill themselves in second-and third-generation descendants of immigrants. Overwhelmingly, people get on. Do what ever you want, but don’t you dare breach the Queen’s (now King’s) peace, is the mantra. Hear! Hear!” says Chaudhry.
The work led by the NCFD assimilates this thinking and incorporates it into its training and accreditation programmes.
As a Muslim, I ask him if the portrayal of his religion frustrates him. In characteristically Chaudhry style, he is considered in his response.
“Muslims get bad press, but they are the same as anybody. There are good and bad. The vast majority are good people. Honest and family-oriented. There is this misunderstanding that all Muslims go to pray at the mosque and are all extremely devout, but in reality, they are a diverse society themselves.
“I believe the ones that are educated about their religion actually understand that all religions are about kindness, charity, and mercy, as well as supporting people. The problem comes when people can’t articulate themselves in an educated way in the English language; this then leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding. Muslims need to get better at communications and PR!
“Diversity is wonderful and makes the world magical. An unopened boxed gift.
“Loads of world-class research show that if you get it right in the workplace, it will also impact society.
“Companies that commit to genuine equality across the board can widen the pool of labour and skills, increase flexibility to match the needs of their staff and the business, eliminate unjustified and unlawful discriminatory practices, and celebrate that employing a diverse workforce reflects the wider community in which they operate.
“Often the law is a driver, but equality of opportunity is about common sense, decency, logical thinking, good management, and leadership; it’s not about meeting a legal requirement.”
I can feel his passion as he once again cites the Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces list and uses the number one company, Kier Transportation, to illustrate how implementing excellence in the workplace can diffuse into society.
The NCFD has been working with Kier, which has since received its Masters in Diversity Accreditation. It was chosen to pilot the Inclusion IQ. Chaudhry was the prime mover behind this and the creation of Inclusion IQ (IiQ) and the Masters in Diversity Executive Leadership Training and Development Programme.
“Three Kier cohorts did the ‘i-Test’, achieving stratospheric scores based on 10% self-assessment and 90% 360° appraisal. It’s an incredible achievement, and these leaders oversee thousands of people.
“If you look at the research intuitively, improving inclusivity and intelligence will improve relationships in the workplace. I’ve been working on this since 2015, and as a result, I’ve learned and implemented it and seen how it has positively affected my relationships with people, including family, friends, and basically anybody I socialise with. The new-found ability to be able to connect with people is just incredible, even with West Ham fans, Andrew.”
He explains that high inclusivity intelligence leads to better relationships and networks, and people say your network determines your net worth and leads to a more enjoyable and optimistic life.
It is fascinating and refreshing that NCFD doesn’t just dish out awards; to receive an accolade, there has to be a strong evidential base.
“British people do not tell lies in employee surveys. Of course, in interviews, they aren’t as robust simply because people don’t want to come out and say something that would upset the manager, but in the anonymity of questionnaires, they don’t hide the truth.
“The MD at Kier is a great leader and a quiet, unassuming guy. He was slightly wary when he noticed the number of diary dates in his senior team diaries. But his apprehension was short-lived.
“He saw change and told me that before he did the course, it was about the notion of ‘me’, then it became about everyone else around him.”
Every day’s a school day; apparently the human brain fundamentally works selfishly. Its primary mission is to keep you alive, and it does this by having two priorities: detect threats and move you away, or detect rewards and move you towards them. However, the reason we are not selfish is because we know that part of our survival is to work and collaborate with others. Relationships are essential. It’s essential that we get better at managing them.
Chaudhry is keen to point out that inclusivity intelligence is important because it’s about learning about everybody else around the concept of ‘me’—which he firmly states is the definition of a good leader.
“Leadership becomes more distributed; it’s not just one person making all the decisions or taking responsibility; it falls on several different people.
Decision-making for a chief executive is everything; its success or failure is life or death, quite literally in Chaudhry’s case. He had to undergo major heart surgery earlier this year following a heart attack, and he has a story to tell about the frightening consequences if inclusivity intelligence is absent.
“I truly believe IQ will save lives once people understand how important it is,” he says.
“It will also become important in the debate around the development of artificial intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a skill that will need to be developed, as AI will never be able to learn it.”
At an organisational level, it leads to establishing principles, building a coherent, unified, harmonious organisation, bringing people together, and resolving situations.
For Chaudhry, success does not come from sitting back and saying, ‘Job done’. Instead, success comes from working hard to achieve new levels of excellence, day in and day out.
This piece is adapted from an interview between Andrew Palmer and Solat Chaudhry. Read the full text here: yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article.php?id=77464&editorpreview=true
