In a recent conversation with Akin Thomas we spoke about the role of context and how it helps us define our identity.
We also spoke about his entrepreneurial streak, how the Johnson and Johnson credo inspired him to develop one for his business. In this very thought provoking and sometimes difficult conversation we also spoke about:
Organisational consciousness – the sweet spot, where an organisation’s intention and impact goes beyond their need.
Leadership – as an energy and force for change and the need for leaders to have long term vision as opposed to a tactical approach.
His optimism about progress on DEI in the UK, and belief that senior leaders are more authentic and genuine than ever before about the desire for change. The recognition of the existing fear (resistance to change) within active resistors. Watch the full podcast below to find out more.
Sudha: Good afternoon, Akin. Thank you for being a guest on The Elephant in the Room podcast today.
Akin: Yeah. Hi, how you doing?
Sudha: I’m fine. Thank you. Okay. Let’s get started with a quick introduction to who you are and what you do.
Akin: Okay. So my name is Akin Thomas. I am the founder and CEO of AKD Solutions. We are an organisation of change consultancy.
Akin: So we focus on three areas of business, which is research, learning and development, which is our core and consultancy services. We have evolved over the years and I’ve gone from a local brand to an international brand and the planet’s become our global brand.
Sudha: That’s amazing. So have you always been entrepreneurial? And what made you get on that journey?
Akin: Okay. I think the answer is, it was there. I used to work for local government. So I started off working in Children’s Homes and I kind of progressed through the organisation, became a senior manager, but I just had this burn, I had this urge. And I just knew that being within the organisation couldn’t satisfy it. I felt quite restricted and also I was doing things on the side whilst I was working as a senior manager. I always had different projects on the side and one day I just jumped. One day I just had an epiphany. And I just said, I said, I’m done.
Akin: I’m not doing this anymore. Went to my director and I said, I’m done, I’m leaving. And he said, you can’t. And I said, watch me. 30 days later, I was sitting in my house with no job, no nothing. But it was probably the best decision I’ve ever made. Well, one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Sudha: Wow. That’s amazing. And I guess when you have to take the leap, you really have to believe in what you’re doing. There’s no hedging or no thinking, Oh, can I do this? And can I do that?
Akin: Absolutely.
Sudha: I went on your website and did some research and I saw that at AKD you have a credo. What is the inspiration or the belief behind that credo?
Sudha: And how does it translate, in every day, because it’s standard to see mission, vision purpose, et cetera.
Akin: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, for me, what was really important is that I was doing a lot of work with organisations around leadership, and we were doing lots of work in regards to mission, vision, statements, et cetera, values.
Akin: And for me, there was a lot of work that we were doing with organisations and it just didn’t feel as genuine as it should do. It didn’t translate into the day to day. And for me, one of the things I was thinking about, there’s got to be a compelling vision. There’s got to be a vision that excites everybody in the organisation. And so, I was searching and searching, doing lots of work, studying different companies. And I discovered the credo written by Johnson & Johnson. And written by the founder in 1943. And to be honest, they have amended it by taking out a few words. It has stood the test of time. So this credo, I mean, Johnson Johnson is well over 100 years old.
Akin: I think they wrote it in 1943 when it became a public listed company. And what I saw was this amazing statement of intent. What I loved about it, firstly, it talked about its customers, it talked about its staff, it talked about stakeholders and then it talked about its shareholders last, because it said if we do all these things well, our shareholders will get a good return and it just inspired me.
Akin: And what I wanted was a statement of intent that really captured who we were and was authentic, and it was timeless. That was what’s really important to me. Too many organisations were changing and chopping and changing. And for me, if you think about leadership, leadership should be a long term thing. There should be a long term vision. And often what we’re finding ourselves In now is leadership is being really condensed into very short bursts. And so therefore you’ll never really get in the best. And that’s the same with some of our visions and missions, because you talk to organisations that values have changed after three, four years.
Akin: It’s like, why aren’t they rooted in terms of who you are? And so for me, that’s what it was about. So it’s about really kind of capturing the essence of who we are. So when we talk about, we believe in the brilliance of, every individual and every person it means that, what does that then translate to when we talk about, we believe in the power of conversation.
Akin: I say to people, we will never become an e learning company because I just don’t, I don’t disrespect it, but it’s just not who we are. What we see, is that we see transformation in classrooms when people are having conversations. So our job is to stimulate brilliant conversations. And in fact one of the things I’ve said is that it’s got to be fun. We work too hard not to enjoy life. I’ve said to the team the day it becomes boring and we stop laughing, I’ll shut the company down. And so I really want these things to translate on a day to day basis, not only internally, but it infects our clients as well. So that’s why we created it.
Sudha: That’s so amazing. Especially, talking about the day it stops being fun because we don’t realise that we spend most of our lives in our workplaces. And yeah, it shouldn’t be that hard or that difficult. And the other thing that you mentioned that really resonates is now we’re talking about stakeholder capitalism, and we are talking about stakeholders being the primary people who we need to take into consideration.
Sudha: So, this existed a long time back and we’re just coming back to it, but it’s also about having a long term vision rather than being tactical because that’s, it doesn’t sit right changing who you are every other day.
Akin: Yeah. Cause there, I think there’s a couple of things.The issue about being authentic. But secondly, I think it’s about if you truly want, you know, good things take time. It’s like food. Yeah? Okay? You can have a microwave meal or you can have a well prepared meal. Which has taken time, it’s been done with love, with care and with passion, yeah? They are markedly different.
Akin: And I think the trouble, what we’re expecting from a lot of our leaderships and organisations is kind of popcorn, quick meal, yummy fast meal, fast food type mindset as opposed to actually, if we take time and do this really, really well, the longevity that we will experience will be phenomenal. But people are too scared to make those decisions.
Sudha: Yes, they don’t want to stick to one thing or don’t want to commit to sticking to one thing.
Akin: Absolutely.
Sudha: Now, so moving on, in a LinkedIn post from last year, you’ve spoken about the importance of context. I read all your posts and that was so interesting. Is this to do with your identity and how important is your identity to you?
Akin: It is hugely important, and I think it’s one of the things, the more that I have grown in age, the more I recognise the importance of context and really embracing yourself. I think one of the challenges we have in society is that most people are not comfortable with themselves. They’re busy trying to emulate, copy other people.
Akin: And if you don’t have context, it’s very easy to be pulled in so many different directions. So as a child, I grew up in a place called Leapath, which was the largest council estate in Europe. I was one of very few black kids. I was the only black kid that went to school from 5 to 16. I didn’t see anybody else other than myself. And I was void of context because I was fostered from six weeks old. And therefore I am this black child in the middle of this extremely white space. I knew I was different. I felt different. I didn’t get a sense of belonging, but I didn’t know what the context was because I just knew I was not within the right context.
Akin: And that leaves massive voids, and when you have no context, the void that that gives people is incredible. So the fact that you can’t speak your mother tongue or that you don’t know language or you don’t know who you are. You don’t know friends, family, it just leaves voids and what then people do in my opinion is that they have to fill those voids often with stuff which is superficial, not true et cetera. And therefore what you have is a lot of people walking around who are shadows of who they should be. So for me, when I went to Nigeria the thing about being Nigerian is like, it’s in your blood, but you don’t understand until you kind of find yourself in a context like, Oh, I get it.
Akin: You understand? So my drive, my thought process, the entrepreneurism, et cetera, yeah? It was when you’ve put it in context, it’s like, Oh, I get it now. And what it does, it gives you a sense of peace, greater understanding. And I think the minute you can become comfortable with yourself because you’ve got context changes because suddenly you can’t be the victim of others.
Sudha: Yeah. And that’s not the best way to lead a happy or productive life.
Akin: Absolutely. Absolutely. How many people really have context, especially in the UK right now know, we’re very diverse, I see so many people I talked to them and they say, yeah, my mom and dad didn’t speak their mother tongue to them. Why? Yeah. Okay. Why? All of these things are so, so important. I mean, we change our name so it’s more palatable to other people. It’s not right.
Sudha: We change our name, we change the way we dress, the way we behave, the way we talk or laugh, I think in public, you don’t want to be too loud, don’t want to get the focus of attention on yourself.
Sudha: Yeah. That’s so interesting. Akin, what does leadership mean to you? Because you said you have done a lot of work around leadership.
Akin: What does leadership mean to me? I think for me leadership is the energy and the force for change. And I think that’s really, really important. It is the energy and the force for change.
Akin: It is incredible the impact that one individual can have over 10, 20, 100, 2 million. It is incredible that one person and their leadership can literally change history. Change the focus of a nation, change a community. And if you think about that level of power and influence. You have to recognise that, I think there’s a couple of things. Firstly, it is a huge privilege to have leadership ascribed to you, but it’s also a massive area of responsibility when you’re leading an organisation. Like for me, okay, my organisation, we have about 40 individuals, both kind of full time and associates, but that bears a weight in terms of I’m responsible for these people.
Akin: But also I think the excitement in terms of, for me, great leadership is like, do you know when you take people on a journey where we’ve never been here before, we’ve never navigated these waters before, we’re creating something new, we’re creating something innovative, we’re creating something that creates change. It is an incredible force for, good, but also if handled badly for evil as well. And so for me, the more I look at society, the more I look at kind of individuals, governments, sporting organisations, families, the importance of leadership, it is right through society. And I think when we understand and respect leadership and utilise it properly, profound change is possible.
Sudha: There seems to be a vacuum in leadership across actually business and politics. I don’t think we should even discuss politics.
Akin: I think one of the things I would say to you is this year is that I think one of the things I believe is that we have a lot of good managers in leadership positions. And we do recognise leadership and we’re not saying one is better than the other or more important, but what we are saying is that actually the quality of leadership, that we are experiencing is actually really quite concerning.
Sudha: I agree with you. In the course of like doing the background research, I read another article where you spoke about organisational consciousness. What is organisational consciousness and why is it important? So the organisation is like a living being.
Akin: I wrote that article in regards to, how do we learn as organisations? And the premise was this. The initial premise was this is if we have no idea what society is going to look like in the next 5, 10, 15 years, how do we create learning platforms which are fit for purpose that will help us to create the right type of future?
Akin: And one of the things I’ve seen in terms of the evolution of organisations is one thing is where we go from what we call ego to eco. So we go from the selfless, the selfish to the kind of more selfless. And one of the things you look at in organisations is this. So if you think about an organisational need being that prime reason for existence.
Akin: So if we look at an organisation, let’s take, for example, Ikea. Ikea’s prime business is to sell furniture in a particular mode. Yeah. But that’s the prime drive so it’s a profit making organisation. Yeah. Now, if you were to roll back, say 20, 30 years, all the learning would be geared towards that function only.
Akin: So if it didn’t impact upon the bottom line in terms of upskilling people to be better at their jobs, organisations wouldn’t have done it. There has been a shift now in terms of how society functions and businesses function. So organisational consciousness is basically where an organisation’s intention and impact goes beyond their organisational needs.
Akin: Okay, so there are three elements that are required. So I’ve already spoken about organisational need. So therefore, what is our core purpose? But then you’ve got two other elements. You then start to bring in individual needs. So suddenly in an organisation will start to be more conscious of where and to address individual needs.
So let’s look at well being. Again, 20, 30 years. it wasn’t on the table. You were expendable, you didn’t have the luxury of mental health challenges, it was just not on the table. Now we’re much more conscious about well being. You can see there was a mutual benefit, but we’re now starting to think about individual needs when you’re looking at development now, we’re not developing you for where you are today, we’re developing you for where you want to be in two, three years time. So there’s an organisational need. But the third element, which is the really important element, is what we call the societal needs. Now, societal needs are quite complex, it’s because a societal need is basically where there is a fundamental disconnect between what is right and what is going on in the world. And an organisation says, we need to engage with this societal need. Let’s look at domestic violence. It is a fundamental curse on our society.
Akin: Again, 20, 30 years ago would never be part of the narrative of any organisation. But now there are organisations…
During the month, I hosted Stimulate and sat with 4 incredible female senior leaders. After introductions one asked a question which sparked an amazing conversation that lasted 3 hours. I sat and listened and leaned into so many truths that I was ignorant of or unaware. The space was safe, it was enlightening and electric. I can honestly say for it was transformative for me and those who attended. The hidden truths that they revealed, that they must work with on a day-to-day basis. I was aware of some of them cognitively but something shifted for me hearing the rawness of what they had to say.
On International Women’s Day I was able to acknowledge and celebrate the women who have nurtured me, cared for me, challenged me, fought with me and won with me. For all of those at AKD, I again thank you for your energy, dedication and brilliance.
And a few days later after such a celebration Frank Hester with his vile racism and his desire to Dianne Abbot shot and his hatred of black women. Shocked absolutely not, Indignant yes. But Indignant is of no value, because in a few days I could choose to go back to business as normal. But black women don’t have that luxury and therefore neither do I. Judge us by what we do. Watch this space!
Just like Vinyl Records, Complaints Made Easy is coming back!
Many of you will not be aware but AKD origins were in complaints handling. We supported many local authorities and NHS Trust to look at how they could improve the process and experience. We often talk about creating a resolution focused evidence based approach. One of the things we recognized very early is that we had to change our approach to complaints workshops. And this is where the idea of a learning map was born. We wanted to develop a complaints learning experience that was challenging, engaging and fun. Complaints Made Easy was created and it was immensely successful being used throughout the NHS and Social Care.
Time moved on and has an organisation we evolved. Although work around the complaints experience had lessened, it was still there in the background, like vinyl records. And then recently there has been this increasing current of enquiries about complaints workshops and Complaints Made Easy. Then I found out that some of the team in the background had been looking at making improvements to the first version which is actually now over 16 years old. And so we’re really excited to announce that a 2nd edition of Complaints Made Easy is on it’s way. We will have versions for Healthcare and Social Care as well as looking at other industries where complaints have legal or regulatory frameworks.
Last Friday I along with Khembe Clarke senior consultant, attend the Sport England Tackling Race and Racial Inequalities in Sport (TRARIIS) ‘Time for Change’ conference held at Leicester Tigers Rugby Stadium.
To put some context to this AKD back in 2021 conducted some research on behalf of UK Sport and Sport England on the lived experiences of people who had experienced and were experiencing racism and racial inequalities in sport. The result of the research was a report called ‘Tell Your Story’. Along with the work of Simon Shibly at Sheffield Hallam University, this was a seminal piece of work within the sport and physical activity sector that for the first time really looked at the lived experiences of people and the effects of racism within sports on them.
The conference was hosted by the four home sports Councils (Sport England, Sport Wales, SportScotland, Sport Northern Ireland) and UK Sports as an update on what has happened with the agenda since the report and recommendations had been published and the opportunity to discuss the whole topic amongst senior leaders in National Governing Bodies of Sports, Active Partnerships, and other organisations within the sports ecosystems.
This was a full day and was filled with great hosts, speakers, and presentations. The morning sessions started out with Chris Grant, ex Sport England Board Member opening the conference with some real stark and encouraging observations over the last 2 years which really put into context what everyone was present to address. Then the chairs of the five Sports Councils then shared their reflections on their own journeys towards becoming anti-racist and give tangible examples of how their organisations were being bold, gaining buy in and diversifying talent. Followed by Hayley Bennett, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultant and Campaigner giving a presentation on understanding more about the complexities of talking about race and racism in sport and become empowered to have honest, constructive, and respectful discussions about race so you can influence change.
Following lunch there was another panel that shared case studies of the positive work contributing to help promote an anti-racist sporting sector. After this breakout sessions again with the remaining sports councils each delivering things that they were doing in their own countries to tackle challenges in this space.
Some of the take aways from the conference that I observed are as follows;
There are some really good intentioned people working in this space who are really trying to understand, be empathetic and offer allyship. My issue is for those senior leaders who weren’t there in person or online. They hold the keys to setting the culture of their organisations and set the tone to the importance of this. If they are not present it makes this so much harder to tackle and the timeframes for action are stretched even further.
It is astounding that there are still individuals and organisations that haven’t a grasp on knowledge or understanding where it comes to racism and racism in sport. Language, inclusion and the pursuit of equality sometimes seems to evade them, its like they do not want to see the disparities that occur within their areas of influence and that is very disheartening.
Some people will be brave in this space and will be bold in their commitments and actions as quickly as possible, driving change for their organisations and the sector. However, there are still those who shy away from the subject for fear of ‘getting it wrong’ or not wanting their organisations to look bad. I say to those who feel like this nothing will change unless you embrace the uncomfortable, as leaders you need to get uncomfortable and face the fears you may have when tackling racism. Without you doing this, there is the distinct possibility of you being the barrier or problem to overcome.
I’ve deliberately delayed writing anything about AFCON 2023 until now, whilst I watched the final between the host nation Cote de Ivoire and the nation of my birth heritage Nigeria. What I have felt throughout the tournament is a coming of age for African football. The sheer excitement, spectacular and skill on display for most of the matches has got the continent and its supporters seeing a change in how the rest of the world views African football and more importantly how Africa can and has delivered a brilliant international sports tournament.
AKD along with Best of Africa and The Africa Centre sponsored by the Professional Footballers Association delivered an AFCON 2023 Symposium. The objective was to stimulate conversation from a blend of individuals and representatives of organisations that have a stake in the Sports and Entertainment spaces in Africa or that involve people from the diaspora. Brilliantly moderated by Jeanette Kwakye(Broadcaster and Presenter),and some of the people around the table Eniola Aluko, Geoff Thompson Iffy Onura (Professional Footballers Association), Smade (Afronation), Drew Christie (BCOMS), Ayo Akinwolere (Broadcaster and presenter), Nana Badu (CEO BADU Sports) to name a few. The key questions asked were in two parts, firstly to contextualise the event and questions asked were;
Then after a short break, where delicious contemporary African cuisine was served, we moved on to the second set of questions to look at how advocacy, impact, and outcomes could be met these questions were;
There was some great discussion in both rounds of questions and in true AKD style a safe space with the right energy and tempo was created to stimulate the brilliance of the individuals and organisations represented in the room. The shared ambition to realise the greatness that should be available to African football in Africa and the associated benefits of it uplifting the continent and its nations was abundantly evident. To ensure the momentum of bringing together this exceptional group of people together in a space with a topic special to everyone, a white paper will be produced over the coming months of which further discussion will be had with real practical applications being made to realise the art of the possible.
To finish the occasion guests were invited to stay on and watch the semi-final matches of Nigeria v South Africa and Ivory Coast v Congo. The raucous that was generated in the beautiful Africa Centre was epic and the fanatical analysis of every kick of every ball by all fans was pure joyess, laughter, and camaraderie. This was an occasion to be celebrated and congratulated as those who brought the symposium together really have a huge challenge ahead, but with the power of collaboration and vision this will not be a one-off but the start of a movement to make effective positive change happen for Africa and its diaspora.
In one of our recent events, Stimulate, participants were introduced by asking some very interesting and challenging questions. The question I was asked was “What was your most profound learning experience”. In my response, I shared my truth, which lay in my experiences of being made bankrupt and homeless. The person I was sharing with paused for a moment with a sense of sadness and asked, “Can’t you succeed in comfort?”
I reflected on that moment and responded, “In my experience – no”. And the conversation extended into one about leadership. Can anyone optimise their leadership from a place of comfort? Although for many it would be desirable, I contend that comfort is the antipathy of success. Comfort, security, business as normal are desirable, but also encourage complacency.
The same person asked me “What was it about these circumstances that made the experience so important?”. My response was that discomfort is the stimulant which you already have in you but have never had an opportunity to discover and use before. Your decision-making is heightened, you tune into your gut and bravery kicks in. All of these are often dormant in spaces of comfort. About 6 years ago we were working with a global forwarding company. They had just announced record turnover and profits, which were highly impressive. In his next breath, the CEO announced to the organisation that “we are going to burn our own platform”. The CEO and leadership of this organisation recognised that despite their size and reach, the world was changing rapidly, and he needed to disrupt an organisation who were celebrating success to ensure its future.
So to get the best out of leadership, we should actually shy away from comfort and encourage leaders and others to lean into moments and spaces of discomfort. In those spaces, you may just discover those ideas and strategies that will propel your organisation and discover your best-intended future.
Equity Diversity and Inclusion is key to system change for sports and physical activity across the UK. The UK Sports Governance Code was revised in 2021 and part of that revision was to make all Tier 3 funded organisations produce and publish Diversity and Inclusion Action Plans. Funded organisation by UK Sport and Sport England are now tasked with ensuring that they are equitable, diverse, and inclusive. They must over time reflect society in the UK so that their leadership, decision-makers, and workforce has a wider representation.
AKD are part of the AGS consortium who are supporting all of the organisations required to produce these plans. Leading each organisation through a journey towards an ambitious, bespoke but proportionate plan. DIAPS are built across five pillars that forms a scaffold for each organisation to expand upon and imbed ED&I throughout their organisation. These pillars are Governance, Leadership, representation, stakeholder engagement and data, each should shape strategic direction for ED&I leading to actions in their plan.
Plans are detailed for each year and have to be published by each organisation, reviewable at the end of each year, organisations have to report back making them accountable for the actions they place within their plans.
These plans are an important piece for making systemic change within the sports and physical activity space however plans alone will not make change, people do. Leadership will set the tone and the culture of organisations and it is culture which allows for everyone to play their part in making ED&I business as usual within the things they do day in and day out. We are at the beginning of the DIAP journeys, and we wait to see the positive change that will happen across the sector.
Originally founded as a small London-based change consultancy, today AKD has a total of 40 employees and partners with offices in London and Lagos, and helps a diverse set of businesses from Sport England to Manchester Airport Group with organisational change programmes that cover leadership development, equality, diversity and inclusion and cultural transformation.
The goal for the next 15 years is to ‘paint the world orange’ – bringing their services and distinctive brand to the world and evolving into a multinational, multi-lingual organisation, with global partners who are aligned to their beliefs about how difficult conversations can lead to organisational change and brilliance.
Over the last 15 years, the team has worked with companies on important change programmes including with global logistics firm DB Schenker – where AKD implemented a programme, “We are Schenker”.
It was their first global project, with their proprietary learning solution being used by 72,000 employees across the world. AKD facilitated a training programme which was rolled out worldwide to great acclaim.
Another moment of pride was working on the #TellYourStory campaign, where AKD was commissioned by UK Sport, Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Scotland and Sport Northern Ireland to undertake comprehensive research looking at Race, Racism and Sport. The company spoke to 325 people, including participants, coaches, volunteers and parents about their lived experiences and created a highly influential report – #TellYourStory.
“It’s important to stop and take a moment to celebrate the strides we’ve made over the last decade and a half – our work impacts businesses and the community. We’ve grown in terms of the services we offer and the expertise that we’ve developed and share with our clients. We also developed a capacity for complex and ambitious challenges.”
“The rapid expansion of tech in learning is one of the greatest changes we’ve noticed. In my opinion it should enhance learning, not define it. Too often the opposite is true. Industry has embraced the need for greater diversity and inclusion even when Governments have actively tried to undermine fairness. More people are now willing to ‘lean in’ to race and have hard conversations, and are more intentional to commit to change.”
The organisation believes that in the future: “We need better leaders, especially in terms of skills and behaviours. We’ve had too many examples of leadership which
has been self centred and egotistic, which is the antithesis of what leadership should be about. Covid showed that we have great capacity to change, innovate
and be humane.”
