DEI expert interview: Jack Guest (formerly HSBC)

At the FAIRER Conference, Jack Guest, former Senior Group Inclusion Advisor, HSBC , answers some of our most pressing questions about the DEI landscape. Watch or read his interview below.

Q: What makes a truly inclusive leader?

A truly inclusive leader is somebody who's able to empathise with their colleagues, who has the patience to listen and has also got the confidence to be challenged. I think a combination of those three things equips somebody to get the best out of the people that work with them.

Q: What makes a DEI strategy successful?

To be successful, a DE&I strategy needs to, first of all, be data driven because I believe that transparency and data illustrate the issues that we're trying to resolve. It needs to be empathetic and compassionate. We need to be able to listen to what our colleagues are telling us. It also needs to be involved and part of the overall business strategy. It needs to be integral to the outcomes that a business wishes to achieve in its wider context.

Q: What's the biggest challenge DEI faces?

I think the biggest challenge that DE&I faces is fatigue. I think that is a result of us being unified in our vision of what we're trying to achieve, but the growing pains of achieving that and the challenges that we receive on a day-to-day basis can often wear us down. My advice to anybody working in this space is to simply look back only three, five, 10 years’ time and be comforted by the great progress that we have been able to make in such a short time.

Q: What are your hopes for DEI over the next five years?

My hopes for DE&I over the next five years is that we evolve and we adapt to changing demands and intelligence in this space. We are now in a world where we have greater data about our workforce and our communities. That allows us to make data-based decisions, but we also need to change historical processes and adapt to new socioeconomic and political environments. Then, ensure that the great work that we're doing is still sensitive to those that we're trying to impact.