A year after British Land launched its first reverse mentoring pilot, in which junior colleagues from ethnic minorities mentor senior leaders on their lived experiences, two participants reflect on the lessons learnt, jaw-dropping moments, and subsequent actions. Building on the success of this pilot – and with the need for shared understanding greater than ever – British Land is now looking to expand the programme to additional employee groups.

Kelly Cleveland is Head of Strategy and Investment at British Land and a member of our Executive Committee. Dale Hoskins is Property Manager and Head of our Race, Equality and Celebrating Heritage (REACH) network. They took part in the reverse mentoring programme this year, and have now taken some time to reflect on their experiences.

Growing understanding and driving action

Dale: Our REACH network came up with the idea of reverse mentoring to foster open and honest conversations and build a more inclusive future. When we ran the idea by our Executive Committee and ESG Committee, they welcomed it with open arms. Working with HR, we paired six Executive Committee members with six colleagues from our REACH network.

Kelly: When I heard about the pilot, I thought it was a great initiative and a real opportunity for our Executive Committee to learn more about some really important issues. It’s also an opportunity for senior leaders to build relationships with individuals that we don’t necessarily work with directly.

Dale: We started with an icebreaker session, bringing everyone together to explore language around ethnic minorities. Each pair then had six one-to-one sessions, where we shared our lived experiences at British Land and beyond, how we perceive our work environment and the challenges we face, including microaggressions and imposter syndrome.

Kelly: Reverse mentoring is a powerful way to grow understanding and drive action. It really solidified some things for me, starting with the importance of listening. When somebody raises a concern, it can be human nature to immediately problem-solve or even rebut it. Sometimes, people in leadership positions have got there for their ability to problem-solve and analyse. But, in this context, it’s so important to really listen and be open-minded.

This is a non-negotiable for British Land

Dale: This has been a very human journey, with colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds sharing personal accounts with senior leaders and giving them the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. Building that rapport removes a barrier. It’s a great affirmation to have senior leaders listening to your concerns. It gives you confidence to be yourself and be authentically involved in the business.

Kelly: There were a few jaw-dropping moments when we heard about the microaggressions people have been subject to. It’s strengthened my resolve to speak up. Earlier in my career, there have been instances where I’ve heard something and had a ‘did that just happen?’ moment and haven’t reacted immediately. Now, I would definitely shut down that person, in that room, in that moment.

Dale: The reality in society today is that people still question how someone identifies – ‘are you really black?’, for example. There is also a lot of misidentifying people with similar skin colour, or constantly commenting on black women’s hair. In addition, many people from ethnic minority backgrounds have a huge desire to not get anything wrong, a belief they’ll be given fewer chances, which can lead to overworking and overdoing things. It’s complex because you bring to work things that happen outside, constantly carrying the experience of bias or even racism throughout your day.

Kelly: It’s so important to take action. Recently, a colleague heard one of our suppliers make a highly inappropriate reference at an industry event. We immediately raised this at a senior level, to make sure that it never happened again, and a formal apology was sent out. This is a non-negotiable for British Land.

Bringing your whole self to work

Dale: ‘Bring your whole self’ is one of our values. Through reverse mentoring, we took on the challenge of engaging on sensitive topics and learning in a different way. It’s definitely been a reciprocal mentorship. We’ve all learnt from each other. Our REACH network is also involved in conversations around inclusive places for our customers and communities.

Kelly: We want everyone who works at British Land to feel supported and able to be their best self, without dedicating mind space to feeling safe. We take recruitment, development and resourcing of diverse talent very seriously.

Dale: Working in catering for 15 years, I saw many social events with no diversity of people. A surprising number of people don’t have close relationships outside work with people who don’t look like them or come from different backgrounds. That does shape the way you think and, in turn, how you shape the world.

Elevating voices

Dale: After rising up the agenda post-George Floyd, conversations around diversity, equality and inclusion have dwindled more recently. It’s great to see that British Land’s commitment is embedded. Senior leaders and colleagues are speaking up and taking action.

Kelly: As one of the first UK REITs to introduce reverse mentoring, we’re now expanding the programme to wider employee networks, including LGBT+ colleagues and people with disabilities, and to all senior leaders. We need to continue the dialogue and make sure people’s voices are heard. This mustn’t be a one-off.

Dale: Any business that’s not doing some form of reverse mentoring is missing out on really understanding their people. This goes beyond unconscious bias training – it’s submersive learning. If you don’t elevate the voice of minorities in your business, they will leave, and property is a fantastic industry that’s hungry for talent.