This year, I found myself stepping into the world of contracting after being made redundant. I’d been in my role for less than two years, following 13+ years at my previous company, so to say that it completely blindsided me is an understatement; I was literally hit for six.

Initially, your confidence takes a hit, which in my case was exacerbated, because they couldn’t find anything for me. No alternative to consider, no other role to trial, I simply didn’t fit into their plans, and had to go round the business asking to be taken in; a very humbling experience that puts you back at square one.

So, I left…

When you go to an event under the banner of International Men’s Day (IMD), inevitably the conversations are going to always highlight the challenges i.e. suicide rates, NEET, boys being behind girls at every stage of education, and toxic masculinity.

In summary, we love talking about, and fixating on the problems.

And to be honest, with this event I went to hosted by Future Men, we couldn’t escape that. But what was more eye opening, was that the insights, reflections and strategies cut across every identity…

Over the past few months, I’ve been fortunate to mentor three bright, driven individuals at early yet pivotal stages in their careers. What’s made this experience especially meaningful is applying the principles of The Inner Edge — my own evolving framework focused on self-validation, clarity, and purposeful growth. Each of my mentees — Florence, Jenny, and Ruben is navigating a different set of challenges…

What do Man Utd Manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Brighton Head Coach Fabian Hurzeler have in common?

Not a lot, at first glance. One is 83, the other 32. One is all fire and hairdryer treatment; the other is calm, analytical, and still younger than half his squad. And yet, both are football managers/coaches — leaders in their own ways with the desire to win, but each working within the confines of the eras and mindset they represent…

Leadership means different things to different people — you can survey 100 people, and they will each come up with their own slightly nuanced version of what it is and how to go about it. Yet, if you look at leaders of businesses and teams, they have a distinct pattern of behaviour which means leadership is always being approached in a similar way with similar patterns and common mistakes

But as a current or aspiring leader do people really take the time to reflect…

What does Black History Month (BHM) mean? It’s a question I periodically ask myself and always intensifies as the celebration grows closer. If you search BHM on the internet, you get a wide variety of meanings and explanations – videos and articles about Black heritage, appreciation talks of past generations and their struggles, posts celebrating black achievements, and a list of BHM related topics. But what if I told you that BHM was missing a trick? What if I said to you that BHM could be, more positive, forward-looking and forward-thinking?  

Just take a minute to think about it… 

Prior to joining Routes2Success (R2S) as a volunteer in February 2019, I was just someone who went to work, came home and did social things at the weekend. 

Fast forward to October 2023, and my experiences as a R2S Role Model have evolved into me being part of a few other organisations that champion diversity, equality and inclusion, advocate for the career progression and increased senior representation of black professionals in the workplace, and I now facilitate social mobility impact programmes with young people. 

But how did I get here?

How many Black Football club owners are there in the English Premier League? How many mainstream Black promoters are there in the world of boxing? How many Black Managers or Head Coaches are there across sports such as football, rugby, tennis or cricket?

You’d struggle to think of one to answer each question, but if I were to ask you to name Black sports stars across these sports…

On Saturday night I, like many, went to bed with hope and optimism that the English national football team could do something that very few people experience in their lifetime – win a major championship final; bring the trophy home and celebrate with the people, bringing everyone together and giving the nation something to cheer about after 18 months of uncertainty, anxiety and loss.

Over 24 hours later, that hope turned to despair…