Exploring the professional and personal faces of leadership
In our new blog series "Leadership Stories", we delve in to the professional and personal faces of leadership, and embrace the inspirational power of storytelling.
Here in our first interview, Yahya Barry - Community Development Lead (Scotland & Northern Ireland) at Film & TV Charity, and Board Member of Creative Scotland, shares his story with us.
Professional
What have been the greatest challenges as a leader for you?
The greatest challenge has just been embracing the fact that I am a leader. When you climb higher within an organisation and have decision-making authority it can feel very daunting, especially when compounded with factors such as ethnicity. I have experienced imposter syndrome, when I have looked left and right and asked myself “should I really be sitting here?”. My biggest challenge has just been embracing that and saying “so what if I am the only person in the room who looks like me? I am a leader”.
What do you believe will be the most effective leadership style in coming years?
Leadership has changed a lot in the last decade. We now have strong female leaders taking the stage, marking a change from the old authoritarian style. I like to work in a participatory and collaborative way, with humility, and therefore I find leading beyond authority and across boundaries aligns with my natural style. We don’t have to be experts, but to reach the right solutions in our increasingly complex world, we need to be able to broker partnerships, build stakeholder relationships across communities, be open and fearless, and listen to other perspectives.
What is the key to encouraging diversity of thought when building teams?
To build a team with true diversity of thought, you have to first create a safe environment. You must allow people to be themselves, to truly voice what they think, and to be innovative. People must not be afraid to fail. They must feel free to disagree - even if that comes close to crossing an organisation's boundaries. An organisations capacity to absorb a huge range of views will reflect on how robust the organisation is.
Personal
Can you tell us about something that happened at work that made you feel included or excluded?
I have become increasingly aware of exclusive practices throughout my leadership journey, and I have felt more and more empowered to call those moments out. For example, I was in a workshop in which I questioned the way things were done, and I was met with resistance from some team members who said we didn’t have time to consider the issue I had raised. On my way home after the workshop, I sent an email to the whole organisation saying I thought we should be more inclusive and encourage more innovative ways of thinking. A couple of years ago I would have never done that! This time I saw it as my duty. My email was received positively by the whole organisation, and it opened up a dialogue about inclusive practices. We need brave people who stick their neck out and say, “what are we doing here?”
What advice would you give your younger self?
Find out more about Yahya’s journey: