Jade Graham | Founder of Inspired Talent.co & Writer

“I'm ambitious about making the world of work a far fairer, more inclusive space - particularly for women and ethnically diverse talent.”

---

I'm Jade, a woman passionate about people, gender equity, women's empowerment, diversity and inclusion. I'm also a working Mum and the founder of a boutique people & talent consultancy, Inspired Talent.co. I set up Inspired, with the mission of helping early-stage companies get their people strategies right from day one, and to also guide leadership teams on ways to become more gender-balanced and diverse and inclusive.

1. What are you ambitious about?
   I'm ambitious about making the world of work a far fairer, more inclusive space - particularly for women and ethnically diverse talent.
   
   Having spent my career pre-starting out on my own, working in the corporate world. I led HR & business change projects, yet the distinct lack of gender balance in senior teams bothered me massively. The lack of diversity, even more so.
   
   Organisational leadership, in not only my opinion but also informed by the research into this area, does not reflect the diversity of our communities and society. Nor is enough being done to support working women to be able to continue in their careers, once they become parents. Therefore my ambition quite is to help drive the change in these areas, which is much needed.

2. Why is this important to you right now?
   Well, it's 2021, yet we continue to have all-male, all-white executive boards. Senior decisions makers across all industry sectors are still not, even in 2021, representative of our diverse and 50/50 male/female society.
   
   That's simply not good enough.

   There is so much talent out there, so many women who aren't being paid their worth, so many diverse candidates who don't get the same access to opportunities, so many doors that are open only to those that are financially privileged. And yet, we know from the data, that the greater the levels of diversity, be that racial, socio-economic, gender or neurodiversity, the greater the performance of that team and subsequently that organisation will be.

3. What does leadership mean to you?
   Leadership is 100 per cent about service. It's also firmly about putting ego aside. Good leadership does not come from the ego, nor does it come from the pursuit of self-interest.

4. What are you working on right now in terms of your personal leadership approach/style?
   Gosh, there's a lot of learning to do. So to that end, I'm incredibly grateful to currently be on an executive MBA programme. Not the easiest of gigs whilst running a business and being a busy parent, but a necessary one as the knowledge is so vital in the work that I do.
   
   Academics aside, I am really embracing my spirituality, as I believe my heart-centred approach to business leadership is really informed by that ever-ongoing work. Yoga, meditation, dance are a big part of my daily practice. They really help me to switch that part of my brain off and allow the inspiration to flow.
   
   I'm also a huge fan of the work and research of Brene Brown, Adam Grant, Deepak Chopra and just strive to learn, grow and explore new modalities, perspectives and ways of being every single day.

5. If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about the workplace right now, what would it be?
   I would remove all inequality.

6. What's an unconventional decision you've made in your life or work?
   Walking away from a safe, senior HR role in corporate despite being the only earner for my family, with nothing more than an idea of doing things better and a Squarespace domain. Those first few months of Inspired were an utterly terrifying place to be.

7. If your life was a book title what would it be?
   Sophisticated Hold Music.

8. What are your go-to's for taking care of your mind/body/heart/soul?
   Breathing. Writing. Talking. Dancing. Praying. Meditating. Yoga. Laughing. Remembering who I am and not slipping back into that corporate version of myself who really became rather tense and dull.

9. What’s your website so we can find out more about you and your work?
   www.inspiredtalent.co

You can connect with Jade and follow her work on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.