Reverse Mentoring at Bank of America
To help promote an understanding of what it means to be an LGBT+ employee, Bank of America connects senior leaders with LGBT+ colleagues through its reverse mentoring programme. We asked a few questions to Bank of America mentoring partners Kristian Wedolowski, SVP Operational Excellence executive and Ally Programme global co-chair, and Jennifer Taylor, UK & CEEMEA Head of Compliance & Operational Risk and co-chair of the EMEA D&I Council on the issues and challenges LGBT+ colleagues may face in the workplace and how mentoring can help.
Why did you want to participate in a reverse mentoring relationship with each other?
Jennifer: When I was asked to take part I was really looking forward to the frank and open discussions we were going to have to further my understanding of LGBT+ colleagues in our workplace. I wanted to learn how I could be a really committed champion.
Kristian: I jumped at the opportunity to be able to share my journey and to openly discuss my own experiences with senior leaders. It’s a chance to gain new perspectives and develop a personal and professional connection that didn’t exist before.
What have you learnt from the experience so far?
Jennifer: I really found asking questions to be such a powerful approach. It allowed Kristian to be more honest and truthful with me.
Kristian: This experience reinforced the importance of being who I am and bringing my whole self to work. I learnt about the importance of sharing our personal stories to truly connect with teammates at all levels and to not be afraid to ask for help or request support. It’s extremely encouraging and rewarding to see the willingness of leaders and role models like Jennifer to be a visible ally.
Can you tell us more about our Global Ally programme?
Kristian: The Ally programme helps promote a workplace where there is visible and active support for our LGBT+ teammates. The programme has around 28,000 out at work and ally employees and our focus is to continue to increase that number. Stating “I’m an ally” means a lot. It reinforces our all-inclusive culture, helps the bank retain and attract LGBT+ talent and helps employees to be themselves at work. Authenticity boosts productivity and the wellbeing of our employees is at the forefront of what we do.
