October is Black History Month, and BME network ally Luke Whewall caught up with Adonis Sithole, NHS SCWs Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) network co-chair, to discuss Adonis’ time at SCW so far, how the network has supported his journey, the opportunities he has been given, and what Black History Month means to him.
Besides being the network co-chair, Adonis is also the Deputy Head of Financial Consultancy within the Transformation directorate. Luke is a Junior Consultant in Communications and Engagement.
Luke: Adonis, it’s good to meet with you as part of the Black History Month awareness-raising. Tell me about yourself – when did you join the NHS, and specifically South, Central and West (SCW)?
Adonis: I'm a financial consultant with a background in business intelligence. I joined the NHS in June 2015 in South Essex and moved to SCW in May 2018. I have lived happily ever after!
Luke: What opportunities have you had within SCW? How have you progressed within the organisation?
Adonis: SCW has clear values. In my experience, aligning with these values presents a melting pot of opportunities to thrive in your career.
Luke: How has the SCW BME network supported your journey so far?
Adonis: It’s been a great safe space to collaborate with positive, supportive, and talented colleagues. The privilege and honour to be a co-chair of the network has laid a platform for my leadership skills to be developed further.
As part of my role, I engage with some of the NHS’ strategic leaders within SCW and externally to promote the wellbeing of our members and to align our staff network with organisational values.
In my SCW journey so far, the BME network has offered the following opportunities among many:
- Training programmes, including the NHS Leadership Academy, coaching and mentoring, allowing our members to step up in their career progression.
- Raising awareness on how our members can get further support i.e., from Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, union groups and the People team.
- Providing a safe and supportive environment to share experiences.
- Networking, learning and engagement with other members and external guest speakers via our Network Cafés.
- Raising the visibility of diverse cultures and traditions across the organisation.
- Highlighting the remembrance of key annual events across SCW i.e., Black History Month.
- Collaborating with SCW’s Executive Management Team, People team, and other networks to generate Equality, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) objectives within SCW.
We are proud of our work to date and recognise that it is an ongoing and collaborative effort to support our colleagues from black and minority ethnic backgrounds to ensure an equal, diverse, and inclusive workplace for all, where everybody feels they belong and are safe to work.
Luke: What advice would you give to others who may be thinking about taking the next step in their careers?
Adonis: Firstly, it’s important to clarify that some people are very comfortable with their current careers and they are not seeking to stretch or step up to the next level. I respect their choice.
However, there are plenty of others who might be thinking about taking the next step in their careers. My advice includes the following:
- Excel in demonstrating the organisational values in your work. That results in a win-win scenario for you and your employer.
- Discuss your aspirations openly with your manager through monthly 121s.
- Document your development goals through your appraisal process and have an up-to-date personal development plan.
- Take part in a leadership development programme, if possible. I found SCW’s Leading to Inspire programme particularly career-enhancing for me.
My lived experience with SCW has been awesome. I have not had to deal with oppressive managers or colleagues. SCW has been a great place to work.
However, if our members flag suspicious impediments along their career paths, we encourage them to speak up. We signpost colleagues to members of the EDI and wellbeing team, Freedom to Speak Up Guardians and other members of the People directorate to ensure they feel supported.
Luke: As an organisation, how can we make employees feel welcomed, valued, and respected?
Adonis: There are three key things:
- Continuing to promote and support a safe and positive working environment where race discrimination (direct and indirect) does not occur based on an employee’s race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins.
- Continuing to promote active allyship between senior leadership and the BME network. This is one way that an organisation can support equality of opportunity for employees from black and minority ethnic backgrounds in terms of recruitment and selection, retention, training and development, redundancy, dismissal and terms and conditions of work.
- Continue to raise the visibility of a black and minority ethnic workforce and the positive contribution made by the SCW BME Network as part of making all employees feel welcomed, valued, and respected. Having a member of the EMT who is from a BME background would speak volumes about SCW’s commitment to making employees feel welcomed, valued, and respected.
Luke: As the co-chair of the BME network, what steps do you think SCW can take to become a more inclusive organisation?
Adonis: As the phrase goes, 'Inclusion invites you to the party, belonging sees you on the dance floor. Inclusion invites you to a meeting and belonging brings everyone into the conversation.'
I believe all colleagues and customers should feel safe, respected, and valued always. We should promote SCW values that underpin our business objectives to foster great relationships at every opportunity.
As the BME network, we support the work done by the EDI and wellbeing team towards building a culture of belonging. The following five steps can help SCW become a more inclusive organisation:
- Equitable, diverse, inclusive recruitment and talent development.
- Creating equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing immersion and enrichment opportunities.
- Looking after our people.
- Developing an agile and inclusive workplace.
- Getting the basics right. Doing what we say we are going to do.
Research shows that when people feel like they belong, they are more productive, motivated, and engaged, as well as three-and-a-half times more likely to contribute to their full, innovative potential. So, it’s not only great for people but also great for business.
Luke: What are you most proud of, personally or professionally, in the last 12 months?
Adonis: Personally, I am most proud of attending Professor Ezekiel Guti’s celebration-of-life service which took place in Zimbabwe. He lived a productive 100 years (5 May 1923 – 5 July 2023), preached the Christian faith for 75 years continuously, and founded a global organisation that has spread to more than 163 nations and states in 63 years. It was an honour to have met him personally during his lifetime. May his soul rest in peace.
Professionally, my progression to the Deputy Head of Financial Consultancy (Band 8c) role in a talented, specialist and highly competitive Transformation consultancy team was and remains a proud achievement that happened less than 12 months ago.
I have found SCW to be a supportive, inclusive, and progressive organisation. I am glad not to be the only one at 8c or above, but we need better representation of colleagues from BME backgrounds in senior management roles because there is a disproportionate number of highly skilled and well-experienced candidates who deserve the promotion that they have been thinking about for quite some time.
Luke: And finally, what does Black History Month mean to you, how will you be celebrating?
Adonis: Black History Month is a momentous occasion to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of black people to British society. NHS SCW has the pleasure of supporting Black History Month 2023, with a little more flamboyance this year. The theme is 'Saluting our Sisters'. There are several events that SCW is supporting throughout the month of October in recognition of Black History Month, including a lived experience series with a host of speakers throughout the month, the BME Café, a lunch and learn with EMT hosted by the BME network, and much more.
On the 18 of October, I will be heading to the House of Commons for an annual Black History Month lecture in London with Sukyna Powell, our secretary for the BME network. This is set to be an insightful evening with Professor Kevin Fenton.
