The Quest to Positively Impact 5 Million People with WiHTL Founder and Former Hilton Hotels Exec Tea Colaianni (transcript)
More about Tea Colaianni here.
Transcript
Tea Colaianni:
So it all started kind of step by step. I remember having this goal of having a group of five, 10 companies that would support the whole idea of this collaboration community. And now we have amazing brands from McDonald's to Intercontinental Hotels, Compass, Easy Jet, Virgin Atlantic, Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Nando's, you know, just all kind of brands that we are all familiar with. And we have an incredible reach, we reach 2.1 million employees with companies involved in the collaboration community that we have created with WiHTL. So the goal is to get to 5 million by 2025 globally. And I'm speaking to a number of very, very large employers that would allow me to get a bit closer to that goal. Hopefully, fingers crossed, this year we will make a big step up in that direction. There is no secret, I shout and share and talk about it to whoever wants to listen, even if they don't want to listen. I talk about this all the time, so I'm absolutely passionate about it, but it's all about collaboration. So it's all about joining forces. I am a strong believer that no single company can make a big difference on their own.
Mike Irwin:
Tea Colaianni has never been shy about setting audacious goals. As a child growing up in Italy, she decided to become the Italian ambassador to Singapore. And though career took her to Brussels as a lawyer, focusing on European employment law until later serving as human resources executive at companies like Hilton Hotels, Worldwide and Merlin Entertainments, which operates Legoland, Madame Tussauds, and the London eye. She's always been about impact. And as founder of WiHTL, Women in Hospitality, Tourism, and Leisure, she has set a goal of positively impacting 5 million people by 2025. In this episode of What I Wish I knew with Mike Irwin and Simon Daw, she describes the journey to get there.
Simon Daw:
So, welcome to this week's show of What I Wish I Knew with Mike Irwin myself, and I'm delighted to welcome Tea Colaianni. She, by definition of how I've described her, is Italian from Southern Italy and has some experiences that she'll describe throughout the show that you'll never forget. And you'll pick up on a lot of her leadership skills and learnings for all of us. What was remarkable when I spoke to her originally, and I looked at her CV of experience, it was a dartboard, it was a plethora of major blue chip companies. It was a plethora of solid academic experience and, you know, she started studying law and there's a story behind that. We'll find out now in a moment, went on to the bar, went on to become a lawyer and then various other roles, which I won't spoil for now has led her to the strong sort of powerful position of moving out of blue chip company, such as the VP of Hilton Worldwide, looking after HR.
Simon Daw:
To more recently, I guess, you know, moving into what we call from earn and learn to return. So working as an NED to various companies, and she is now the senior NED of Watches of Switzerland. But linked in to that, another story which I felt was so, so powerful and it'll come out in this interview is her passion and her desire to help people and, in particular, women and people of diversity. And she has a big, big goal. Yeah, she's putting down and it's written here and I'd love you to read up on her later. She's putting down to help and support 5 million women around the world by 2025. She's already talked to me about how she's achieving that and alongside that a charming lady. And I think with that charm and that work ethic and collaboration, she has been a successful icon for all women across the world. So welcome to the show.
Tea Collaiani:
Thank you very much, thank you for having me. Thank you for inviting me.
Simon Daw:
No, it's a pleasure. And I guess, let's just start and share this experience because fundamentally somebody going into law and starting to a really solid process, you know, is quite exceptional and not everybody does it. Tell us a little bit about the background to, I guess you, your family and how you moved into that direction?
Tea Colaianni:
Sure. So it was never my intention to become a lawyer. There wasn't a plan when, as a little girl, people asked me what I wanted to do as a grownup. I used to say that I wanted to work in airlines and I wanted to be an air stewardess. And I remember saying that to my dad in answer to a question that his boss asked me and my dad didn't say anything there and then. But afterwards, in private, he said, are you really sure that that's what you want to do? And I said, yes, I can travel the world. I can go and see places, it's going to be so exciting. It's so glamorous. I want to work for Alitalia.
Tea Colaianni:
And then my father said, do you realize that on a plane, you need to push a trolley and set up drinks and food for the customers. And then do you realize that when somebody is feeling poorly, you've got to clean up the mess that they have, that they have left behind. It didn't sound very glamorous at all. So I thought I should come up with something else. And I came up with I wanted to be the Italian ambassador to Singapore. Don't ask me why Singapore. It just sounded far away and exotic and mysterious and wonderful. And my father was really happy. You know, he informed his boss that I wanted to be the Italian ambassador to Singapore. So I got the approval from my father and his boss.
Tea Colaianni:
So when it came to putting forward my application for university, I had done my research. I wanted to study political sciences because that was the path that would lead me to become an ambassador. And the night before I was supposed to go to the university office and submit my application, my brother, who was a five years older than me, he was studying law at the time. He approached me and, up until that moment, he had never even acknowledged my existence as an older brother sometimes can do. He said to me what if doesn't work out? What if you are not able to become the Italian ambassador to Singapore, what will you do? I didn't have a plan B. And he suggested that I should study law instead because that would give me many more options.
Tea Colaianni:
I could still pursue that type of career if I wanted to after 4 years of university, but also if it didn't work out. So because in Italy at the time, it was only people from certain families with that, you know, two surnames and a certain background, they would have access to that type of career. So if I didn't succeed, I could do many, many more things. And gosh, you know, I thank him every day. I actually reminded him a few years ago. He just, he just couldn't remember. Anyway, I went to my dad the night before with my new forms. And I said to my dad, I wanted to study law. And I can just picture the image as if it was yesterday. You know, he was in bed reading his newspaper. And I went in, I said, dad, I've decided I want to study law.
Tea Colaianni:
And he put the newspaper down and he said, I don't think that's a good idea. And I said, yes. And I explained the whole thing again, and just said, you know, this is going to be just such a great opportunity for me. And then he said that's not right for a woman, you need to do something a bit easier. You know, you're going to have a family and children, what's this idea of traveling the world and just go into different places. And just do something a little bit easier. And I looked at my mom who was next to him and said, come on, I gave her the eye and just to step in. And she said, you know, perhaps we should let her decide and we should give her the chance to do that. So my father picked up the newspaper again, he said, okay, then. So that's my story. That's why I studied law, never wanting to be a lawyer. But then, that's where life took me, because after university, I won a scholarship in European law and I ended up working in a law firm in Brussels.
Simon Daw:
So that's what I was going to ask you because you kind of did almost I guess, a bit of mentoring, you know, from a, somebody, you know, you talk about collaboration and mentoring being really strong. But then I was going to ask you about how you then got in from a first-class honors and you moved on to, to this master's, but so was there a direction there as well? Were you still slipstreaming towards law or were you considering other options?
Tea Colaianni:
So when I was at university studying law, I still had in mind, all of this kind of, you know, the international side of things. So I took all of the optional courses that I could choose, I chose the United Nations. I chose the European Union working. So I've even done a course on the agricultural policy of the European union. So anything that would give on my CV, kind of a strong sense of this is my path, I did. This is what I'm starting torward. Preparing for that type of career. It was obvious I had not completely abandoned my ambitions and aspirations. What I didn't want to be, you know, family, lawyer. I didn't want to be doing litigation in court. And I was admitted to the bar because my father by then was okay, you've studied law.
Tea Colaianni:
So you've got to do the exams, the bar exams, and so that you can be called doctor and advocato. So I did that to keep him happy. But I also started employment law, which was something which was a particularly interesting for me. So after university, when I graduated by pure chance, and this is a life, I remember, it was a weekend. I was walking the corridors of my university and I saw a poster on a door that publicized the master European law and economics in Perugia. And I went back the following day on the Monday and the poster had gone. And I remember, I just want to go for it.
Tea Colaianni:
And so I went to find the administrator who was in charge of that and had the poster in her door and got all the forms. So I applied for that for a scholarship for that master and won the scholarship. And so you can imagine me going back to my father to say, I've got a scholarship now, and I'm leaving home. I'm going to go and study in Perugia which he was by then very, very supportive, because he had kind of realized that I was on a path and I wasn't going to stop. It was actually as part of the master that it was an opportunity to go abroad and for an internship. And again, I said, I want to go to Paris.
Tea Colaianni:
You know, that's where I wanted to do my internship. And they found me a place in Brussels, which was close enough. And I said, I don't want to go and work for a law firm. I want to go and work for a consultancy that works with the United Nations and some kind of international organizations. And guess what, they got me an internship in a law firm. So it was, I couldn't escape. It was a fantastic opportunity. And obviously I accepted it and I ended up staying that for 4 years and making some fabulous friendships that I still cherish to this day.
Simon Daw:
That's fascinating. And, and tell me, because I guess up until that, that stage of your career, you're I get the sense you're clever and ambitious. Yeah. You kind of go for it, which is fantastic. And, and we talk about the show, you know, the, what I wish I knew, and I think from what you're describing, it doesn't matter where you're from or what you are. If you want to go for something, then you've got to grasp it. I'm interested in that then in, in this, in this, uh, leap, if you like into the corporate world in some respects. So you talked about when you joined KPNQwest and it was quite a big role, wasn't it? Um, you know, why did you do that? Um, and what was different? What, what was your learning?
Tea Colaianni:
So I was a lawyer for four years. And I was quite quite lucky. It was a very international multicultural organization with a lawyer from each one of the European Union countries. So it was incredibly diverse from a nationality and culture and backgrounds perspective. And it was you know my passion, as I said, it became by then it was employment law. So I did everything that was, I mean, it was, it was a very, very droll. I did anything from telecommunications to anti-competition to fisheries policies, you know, it was incredibly diverse, but my area of expertise was employment law and employee relations. And I became the expert on everything to do with the European works councils. So I created, if you like a little bit of a niche in the law firm of focusing on all of these multinational organizations in particular, we had lots of American and Japanese clients who were really interested in, what do you have to do to create these European works councils?
Tea Colaianni:
How do you keep the unions at bay and all of that. So I did a lot of that, but then it became a little bit repetitive, it became a little bit for me, it was the same advice. So just a changed name of the company, change a few things here and there, but it was same thing over. And that is a little bit of a character trait I have, I had discovered by then, and looking back in my career, there is a point where when things get repetitive and get easy, I get bored and that's a time for me to go into something else and change. So that was the change for me. One of my clients said, you know, very good that you are advising us what to do. Why don't you come and do that in house?
Tea Colaianni:
And I thought, you know, well, I'm actually quite tired of telling others what to do, advising what the best course of action is. Actually what I want is to be in a position where I can be part of that decision-making process. So there was a day kind of leap into in-house in the human resources departments. It was an interesting, it was in telecommunications and I really liked the people. It was a joint venture. It was very diverse group of people. It was Americans, French and Germans coming together. It didn't really work out, you know, because the differences were very, very stark between ways of leading and managing businesses. But it was an incredible experience. And then after that the company was, I left, I was headhunted by another telecom company in the UK.
Tea Colaianni:
So that's when I moved to the UK and to do a similar type of role, I was in charge of employee relations, that I did lots and lots of different things. It wasn't just implementing employee relations, I moved more into kind of the broader HR side of things. I ended up being given the chance to as part of the structure of the company to become a VP of HR responsible for the whole division. And then we were acquired by KPNQwest. Then when KPNQwest bought us, everybody else left, they asked me to stay and become the SVP of HR of the two companies, and then guess what, the telecoms bubble burst and the whole company went into administration. So I always say, I have seen the best of HR in the growth, expansion, go and buy businesses.
Tea Colaianni:
But I have also seen the worst of HR when it comes to letting people go, when it comes to personal tragedies of people losing their jobs from one day to another, where there is no money to pay redundancies, where there is no money to pay even pension contributions, and you don't know how you're going to pay the salaries at the end of month. So there was a very, very tough period of time. I found myself in a position where I had to stand up in front of everybody in a head office and welcome the receivers and hand off to them. And just to say, I'm very sorry about what has happened. So there was a kind of a few, like one of the incredible learning experience, of having to deal with all of that. So I've become in tune to picking up the signs. So when things have no value in a business, I've become quite well tuned into a spot those sign. Um, but yeah, pretty tough at a time,
Mike Irwin:
A little bit about, you know, culture is such an important thing, particularly in the roles that you had and, you know, in leadership. In your case, you were leading across cultures with multinational companies, but also, you know, companies have their own culture. So how do you, how do you see sort of the culture part of that equation in terms of what's to be learned how people, how to adjust to different cultures of people in different cultures of organizations?
Tea Colaianni:
So for me, it's always been one of those things that you learn along the way. I've always wanted to be in an international environment and actually I've always considered myself a European citizen, not that you know, any Italian citizen, and now I'm also actually British citizen, but we won't get into the politics but I've always considered myself European and I've always been lucky that all of my roles have been in very diverse environments. And I think, you know, if that is something I have learned it's just never judge, uh, you know, listen, try to listen to the different points of view. They might not be the same as you in unmet need to a break. The, so I know how, you know, her culture conflict and cultural differences are still after 20 years.
Tea Colaianni:
You know, I can see that the way we are brought up, the environments that we grow up in, the experiences that we have really shape us. And it doesn't matter how long we live in another country. These things always come, come back and come out in a way we all put it in the way we talk and the way we interact. So for me, it's about, you know, listening is trying to understand different people's perspectives and finding ways, of finding a kind of a common language, a common way of, of working. I have worked in Anglo-Saxon organizations primarily, I've always worked with it at American businesses or British businesses. I've had kind of a spell when I was in Brussels with you know, French and German, that primarily I've worked in Anglo-Saxon environments, that were very international.
Tea Colaianni:
So there was a kind of a large presence of people of certain group. I know Hilton, my Hilton role was incredibly, diverse from the culture perspective. I had the Swiss boss, so then I had a French boss, I had the German boss. And so you just get to learn different ways and different ways of operating, different ways of interacting andand, and try as much as possible not to take it personally, because sometimes you think it's, you, sometimes you just actually realize it's not you. It's about how people see you and how you are perceived. But I think in our patience and tolerance, empathy, and ability to listen is crucial when you operate in a multicultural environment.
Simon Daw:
And that's an interesting aspect you talk about this kind of IQ, but this EQ, that you bring to a role, what, what, there, there have been frustrations along the way and things that concerned you, you know, being so close, if you'd like to the coalface of, of people, and their livelihoods what things did you pick up on through your early career? You know, obviously you're in the employment law here, but what things resonated with you in terms of moving on to thinking this is something that's really affecting me, and I want to work with this in the future,
Tea Colaianni:
But that's a very, very good question. I don't think I looked at things that way when I was younger. I just looked at interesting jobs, interesting roles, interesting people. I wasn't, you said earlier that I've always been very ambitious and I know where that comes from. You know, my dad always pushed me after the first day, is this done? So he has always been incredibly supportive and incredibly proud, but also saying you always have to strive and get for the best and do better. And so he may kind of in the early stages of my career. I looked at things I wasn't really too concerned about society or environments or you know, I just, I was there to provethat I could go as far as my talent would, let me go.
Tea Colaianni:
And also make my father proud that he invested in me and he believed in me and he supported me. So I think that my concerns, if I can say concerns, have come more with age and maturity and you get older and wiser and you start seeing the impact of what companies do and, and how companies operate. And, and in particular, I would say that that kind of awareness has come to me in my last executive role when I was a group HR director at Merlin Entertainments. You know, the company when I joined was in private equity hands. When I left, we had listed the business and we were a PLC. We went from being a FTSE 250, to a FTSE 100 in a matter of six months, very, very quickly.
Tea Colaianni:
And with that comes a responsibility. Company already had a strong sense of helping others and looking after others through the Merlin Magic Wand Foundation, the charity that the company had also, there was sea life, challenges in terms of the sea creatures. And that's probably was the first time when I realized that there is more to accompany than profit. There is more to a company than just achieving financial success. And if you like, I acquired a model in social conscience. And that was my first spell in raising funds for charity, for Merlins Magic Wand. I had never done anything like that before. I raised the funds for The Princes Trust, I had never done anything like that before.
Tea Colaianni:
I discovered actually, in addition to whatever, kind of a social conscience, I was very good at asking for money. And, I had never been a sales person, but me as a little girl watching my grandmother negotiating because she was in sales. My grandmother's family had a shop, a kitchen utensils shop and seeing how she negotiated it all came back to me. And you just never know where you can get skills. And I credit her for my ability to negotiate and and sell. I did that in support of asking money for charity. Actually, it's not like sales, but you know, you need to learn when a door is shut in your face, when somebody doesn't get it, you just don't take it personal. You move on to the next person and you get back to in terms of your sales pitch and why somebody should fund, you know, your project initiative or whatever it might be.
Simon Daw:
Did the fact and Merlin, there's, some people may not know is major, major brands, like a Legoland, Madame Tussaud's. I think it's the London Eye. Did that have, you know, you think of people who enjoy their brands. Did that have a particular resonance with you? Did you, you talked about the things you did it, you know, we talk, I guess we could say it's over and above, but, but maybe it's not because you just felt it was the right thing to do, but did that have an influence on you at all?
Tea Colaianni:
I've always loved working for businesses that you can feel that you can, you can touch, you know, hospitality and leisure. You can feel it because you can see when you're deliver a memorable experience in a Legoland, you see the children, you know, all excited, you see the adults going, you know, in a theme park and having given a fantastic experience, you know, you can really feel it, that is, you know, in a hotel. The customer experience. So seeing a guest for coming back all that and all that again, I've always loved that connection with the customers. That's why I've always gravitated around hospitality. That's why I stayed as long as I did with Hilton, but also with, with Merlin.
Tea Colaianni:
And that's why I'm still involved with the hospitality travel and leisure, because you have that connection with customers. Who doesn't want that, especially now that we are all under lockdown, stuck at home, who doesn't want to go back to it? I can't wait to go back and you know, to an evening with family and friends. Who doesn't want to travel and then be looked after on a plane or in a hotel, or just going on holiday, or even seeing family. I've always loved that sense of buzz that this industry has given me and continues to give me. So it's very sad now to just to see the impact of the pandemic on so many people in our industy who have been furloughed for so long, have lost their jobs and are struggling to find another role in this kind of tough environment.
Tea Colaianni:
But it's an industry that would come back, cause you know, we were all waiting for it. Anyway, as soon as we are allowed to reopen, it's the first thing I'm going to do, I'm just going to book a nice table in my favorite restaurant. So I've always loved that connection with the customer and seeing the impact of what you do as a brand on, on the customer and see that kind of response. So, it's quite something it's quite unique for me. And, it's quite exciting to be part of that environment.
Mike Irwin:
How did you then kind of take that, you started raising money for charity and The Princes Trust, you mentioned that kind of thing. And how did diversity become so important to you? Or was it something that you always felt?
Tea Colaianni:
Look, I've always felt it. I would say on two grounds: the first one has been being a woman. My story with my dad. So, you know, stuff like that and that's not right. It's too much for a woman. I had to prove him wrong and I had to make him proud as I said. But I remember, in my first job, in the law firm, all the partners were men and they thought I was quite exotic, you know, being Italian. I never thought being Italian was quite exotic, but I was given that label. So I have always been in a situation where I was in the minority group either because of my gender or because of the way I look and the way I sound, because of my accent.
Tea Colaianni:
Because of my culture. I've always been the only woman on the board, on a board of a number of companies or one of two. So I really do know what it means to feel the underrepresented group. I know how it feels not to have a voice or to really struggle to have your voice heard. I have been, I remember, actually I shared another little story with you, which might make you smile. In my first few weeks, in my role as the most junior associate lawyer in the law firm in Brussels, I was invited to a meeting. There were 15 Japanese clients. And I sat next to the senior partner. He had asked me to go. You cannot imagine how proud I was of having been invited at age 25 to a meeting with all of these very important clients. And then the senior partner looked at me and said, can you go and get me a cup of tea?
Tea Colaianni:
I didn't move. I sat there. I looked at him and I said, you can go and get that yourself. And I said that in front of everybody. He looked at me. It was like a movie, there was a kind of silence in the room, all of the Japanese, they were all men. I was the only woman. I was the youngest. I was the one supposed to go and get a cup of tea for the senior partner. I didn't do it. Inside, I was dying that, I just felt like I was going to disappear and kind of be swallowed into earth. But I didn't and the conversation, went on and guess what? He never ever asked me again to go and make him a cup of tea. So I've always had this thing about, I didn't go to university.
Tea Colaianni:
I was not making it to the bar, I didn't become a lawyer, I didn't win a scholarship just to come and make a cup of tea for a bloke just because he's a senior partner. That's not why I'm here. I'm here because I'm a lawyer. And so I do know what it means to be put in a very difficult situation. I've always had inside me that awareness of how it feels. I've always looked back to see that there are other women behind me, they'd want you to put the ladder down so they can come up and be with me as opposed to pulling the ladder up and not letting them come with me. So when I left Merlin, I very much felt a sense of duty and responsibility to use my position, to use my connections, to use my drive, to use my determination, to make a difference to other women and people from underrepresented groups across my industry: hospitality, travel, and leisure. So everybody can go as far as they wished to go or as far as their talent allows them to go. So that's what it comes from.
Simon Daw:
And you talk about a remit in your, in your bio of ways to help women and people of diversity. Can you just elaborate a bit more there in terms of, you know, again, you've got a plethora of skills here, but your mentoring and coaching side, can you just explain to the listeners a little bit about that, about some of the learnings that we should all take?
Tea Colaianni:
So, I've had some great mentors, myself. I mentor a lot of people. I think it's really important that women and men share their learnings, share their experience and support others who are on their way. I currently mentor an exceptional young lady who happens to be a lawyer in a very well-known international restaurant chain. And, she's actually my mentor because, you know, we add in a reverse mentoring relationship where she is my mentor and I am her mentee. So we are doing kind of the reverse mentoring and it's an absolute delight and pleasure to have conversations with here where she helps me think from, an ethnic minority background perspective. And I help her think in terms of what I have done my lessons, my mistakes along the way, you know, trying to help her see things that I had experienced before she experienced it, did it a little bit.
Tea Colaianni:
Of what I wish I knew. You know, that's a very much that if I knew that when I was your age, I wouldn't be working as hard as you do, you know, just to slow down a little bit, think about yourself, put yourself first. You know, don't just always think about others and doing what's right for the business and make sure that, you know, you don't lose track of your emotional stability and your wellbeing. So I think it's exceptionally powerful and it's powerful as well in terms of younger women, in particular, seeing that that are women who come from a very normal background like I do, who got to have a rewarding and fulfilling and successful career. It is possible. So, so mentoring is exceptionally powerful to help others along the way.
Mike Irwin:
And then building on that, what sort of advice, coaching, or feedback would you give to people like Simon and I, who would want to be supportive, but there's a difference between, I guess my own bias, is that being supportive is not enough, you know, because supportive and quiet doesn't really help. And so I wonder is there something that we can learn that you wish people like us knew to be more supportive of women and people of color?
Tea Colaianni:
Look, I think, what I always say is that you need to be open to learn. I think you need to be aware of the challenges that people from underrepresented groups face. It's too easy in my mind to say I'm not a racist. I am not sexist. Actually for me, the difference is when you are anti-racist, it's when you are anti-sexist, it's when you speak up, when you choose to challenge. In my story about go and get a cup of tea, nobody said like, why are you asking her? Why can you not go yourself? I had to find a strength in myself and it took a huge amount of willpower and confidence, which I didn't know I had. Somehow I found in myself to do that. But actually when you see inappropriate behavior, when you see banter, when you see people making jokes, that are director to people from an underrepresented group, actually, you have to challenge. You just need to know how it feels to be at the receiving end of sexist behavior or sexist comments or racist comments or comments on your religion or comments from your ability or disability. We all have a responsibility to step up and we all have a choice and our choice is to go and challenge unacceptable behavior.
Simon Daw:
And just building on that, the first question, you know, you're chair, and you're the founder of Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure. I'm interested, first of all, is there a particular dimension that's unique or different in the companies that you've worked for in that particular sector? And secondly, how do you think it is today compared to what it was 20 odd years ago when you were asked to make a cup of tea, do you think things have got better?
Tea Colaianni:
So what are the peculiarities in hospitality, travel, and leisure...We have already a lot of diversity in hospitality, travel, and leisure at junior level, at entry level. Where we need to get better at is making sure that that diversity stays with us throughout the different levels in the business. And that we don't lose that as people, step up to become middle management level and above, because that's what we tend to lose women. We don't have a problem in attracting women. Most of our companies, they have a 60, 70% of female representation across the whole business, but then where do we lose women is when they get married, when they had the first child, when they had the second child, that's when the flexibility's not there, that's when the support is not there.
Tea Colaianni:
And that's where, you know, you can't anymore do the job that you used to do because you haven't got the support, the home, you can't afford the childcare. So that's where businesses can do more to make sure that we don't lose that talent. The issues that are around race and ethnicity are much more complex than that because, you know, you have the issue of intersectionality, if you are a woman, and if you are a woman of color, you've got the double penalty and that's an actual difficult, and we've got, you know, the issues about raising awareness of bias, conscious and unconscious bias, about dealing with that is, as I say, is becoming inclusive leaders. A lot of leaders don't know how to be inclusive. Don't want to say the wrong thing. They use the wrong language, offend somebody, so we have a responsibility to educate ourselves. So I think there is a lot that we need to do in terms of education and awareness at an individual level as well as organization level. Andsorry, the second question.
Simon Daw:
Yeah. I mean, put yourself 20 odd years, you were asked to make a cup of tea and now, has that been broken?
Tea Colaianni:
Yes. We have made progress. In particular, over the last 10 years, we've made huge amount of progress. There are more women on boards and more women on executive boards than ever before. But if you think it's taken us 10 years to achieve 30%, 10 years, and this is listed businesses, what about all the businesses that are not listed in this country? So that is a, still a long way to go. But you know, we are in a good place. And for me, the most important thing that companies can do, they can be on the journey. That's the important thing, or whether it, you know, I don't expect every company to be best in class but I do hope that companies come and join the conversation and that, you know, talking about it and, and more and more are, are talking about how can they create diverse and inclusive environments.
Tea Colaianni:
I think when I hear lots of people say we've done the gender thing, we haven't done the gender thing. There is still so much that we needed to do to achieve a level playing field where everybody, can aspire to go as far as they wish to go. But I do recognize that it's a huge amount of work that we need to do in time. So the ethnic minorities in terms of the black and Asian ethnic minority groups that, there is a massive work that we need to do. The good thing is that are some companies that are leading the way. And I am absolutely humbled and privileged to be supported by companies that absolutely get it and want to make a difference. And they are committed to making a difference and they're there to listen and learn and act. So that's fantastic to see when, when you sit down with companies that are like that.
Mike Irwin:
You have an incredibly inspiring and audacious goal with your organization. Can you tell us a little bit about what that is and how that you will do that?
Tea Colaianni:
So, it all started kind of little step by step. I remember having this kind of goal of having a group of five, 10 companies that would support the whole idea of this collaboration community. And now we have some amazing brands from McDonald's to Intercontinental Hotels to Compass EasyJet, to Virgin Atlantic, Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Nando's, you know, just all the kind of restaurant chains that we are all familiar with. And we have an incredible reach. We reach 2.1 million employees with companies are involved in the collaboration community that we have created with WiHTL. So the goal is to get to 5 million by 2025 globally. And I'm speaking to a number of very, very large employers that would allow me to get a bit closer to that goal.
Tea Colaianni:
Hopefully, fingers crossed, this year we will make a big step up in that direction. There is no secret. I should and share and talk about it to whoever wants to listen, even if they don't want to listen. I talk about this all the time, cause I'm absolutely passionate about it had it's all about collaboration. So it's all about joining forces. I am a strong believer that no single company can make a big difference on their own. If we join forces, I mean, look at what we've done, 2.1 million employees are covered by what we do. I'll give you one example, which I absolutely love a very practical example of how we are impacting change. We did the piece of research on the maternity and paternity leave benefits that companies now by sector provide to their employees. The research highlighted that most companies provide the bare minimum, what is legally required, but they were not best in class that we don't go above and beyond. So that we don't support working parents in our organizations deal with that.
Tea Colaianni:
What is a beautiful event, you know, having children is a magical thing, but it's also difficult to juggle work with the responsibilities of children. Anyway, I shared the results of that research with my advisory board where I have a number of CEOs and chairs from a number of different companies. A few meetings later, the CEO of Intercontinental Hotels group, Keith Barr, came back and said that as a result of that piece of research, he instigated a review of their maternity and paternity leave policies and benefits globally.
Tea Colaianni:
Well, so because you heard me talk about how little we do in terms of support for working parents. So it wasn't just in the UK. It wasn't just in one hotel, it was in all of their hundreds or thousands of hotels across all different continents in which IHG is present. That is what makes my day. And when I hear things like this, it makes my week, it makes my, it makes my year. It's through this coming together and sharing and learning from each other. And it is through, you know, challenging people. So I don't, I never blame, I never point a finger. I never say, you know, two people are doing all of this. I'm just saying, is this right? Is this what we should do? And then there are some who take a bit longer. But you know, if I do just one piece of research and it changes things in one company that affects hundreds of thousands of employees, I would have done a good job.
Simon Daw:
Yeah. One final question, that we do ask is what I wish, I didn't know. Can you tell us about your career? Something you, you felt you didn't know or changed you?
Tea Colaianni:
Look, that's, that's a very difficult question. I've been trying to think about, what is it I didn't know. What I knew or didn't know. I just think that I've got much more strength than I thought I would ever have. I thought I had when I was in my twenties and thirties and forties, perhaps that again, that comes with experience and knowledge of the world and the knowledge of people. And do you build that up. I just wished I were more confident in my own abilities. I've spent my life thinking about, I wasn't good enough or I could do better or I didn't do that very well and always kind of beating myself up. Until I discovered that I had never realized this, I went to a course and I discovered for the first time that we all have the kind of little voice in our head, that, for me, that little voice used to tell me sometimes it does a still, but it used to tell I'm not good enough or that wasn't very good. Or that was a stupid thing that you just said, why did you do that?
Tea Colaianni:
And, and I learned in this course to tell the little voice to shut up.
Tea Colaianni:
And now I know that it's there. I recognize it straight away. And I just said to just go away, I know I'm better than that. Don't question me. Don't make me feel I'm not good enough because I am good enough. So I just, I wish I knew that in my twenties, and in my thirties and in my forties. Now that I'm in my fifties and know about that. And I found that I found out that just by going to a course, where it was that revelation. So hopefully people listening in to this conversation, they will take that away that, you know, they are good enough. And if they've got a little voice that tells them they are not to just remind yourself, just discard it, realize when that comes into your head and just tell them that little voice to go away.
Simon Daw:
That's fascinating Tea, and I can vouch for that. You know, I have voices in my head, I'm sure a lot of us do. And and you know, that you talked about that as a recent, a recent revelation. I think you described more about how you manage it, but definitely for me, um, you know, your ambition, your drive linked with your, I think you said earlier somebody called you exotic, but I would say charm, you know, and in a really positive way that that for me encompasses somebody like yourself, who we need lots more of in this world. So I just want to thank you for sharing so much experience and, and knowledge that you have. I'm desperate for the lockdowns to disappear. And I'd love to meet up in a restaurant and talk to you some more about your experiences, but thank you very much for appearing on our show this week.
Tea Colaianni:
Thank you for having me. It's been an absolute pleasure to chat with you, Mike and Simon. Thank you.
Mike Irwin:
Yeah. And just one final comment. I mean there's so much here today that I think people will be able to take away in terms of finding a path. You talked about starting out as a flight attendant and then you flipped to look into become the Italian ambassador to Singapore, and then into a law, and then you found your way. And, and I think so many people believe that very successful people like you know it all at the very beginning and you set off on this great journey and you know exactly where you're going to go and exactly how you're going to get there. And then you just do it. But the reality is it doesn't ever really work out quite that way. Or at least it doesn't for many people.
Mike Irwin:
And yet, you know, there's so many ways to kind of measure success in life. And some people do it by money or title or whatever, but the most important one is by impact. And as I look back at your history and the organizations that you led and that you're a part of, impact was to me a central theme of what you've talked about. And now, you know, with the organization that you've formed, the whole notion of touching the lives of 5 million people is audacious but for you, you're on your way and you're doing it. And so it's just been incredibly inspiring to hear your story. And I'm so thankful that our paths crossed.
Simon Daw:
We do hope you've enjoyed this podcast. And thanks for listening to what I wish I knew with Mike Irwin and Simon Daw. Please join us at whatiwishiknewshow.com You can subscribe to us on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Mike Irwin:
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