"Everyone has potential" says Colt Head of Diversity & Inclusion

Colt knows a truly inclusive environment can only be built with the help of everybody within it. It invests in training its employees, addressing unconscious biases, and empowering them to create a culture of care and belonging.

The company has been sharing employee stories in an effort to help its people learn more about celebrating differences and uniqueness.

Colt UK's Head of Diversity & Inclusion Rachel Collins shares the personal influences and experiences that she utilizes in her career, and as a Coach.

Believing everyone has potential

Rachel completed a Coaching Practitioner course, having the opportunity to study for the course while working at Colt.

"People seek coaching for many reasons but often, it’s about moving beyond something that has been holding them back," says Rachel.

"I’ve been thinking about my grandmother a lot as I’ve been on the course – though she passed away 20 years ago, I think my approach to coaching, and the reason I value it, is down to her influence. She believed that everyone has potential. She was born with a congenital amputation; the medical term for being born without a limb, or part of a limb – in her case it was her right hand."

"My nanna rode a bike until she was 70, played the piano in church, worked as a bookkeeper and a typist. She never had a prosthetic; she just adapted," adds Rachel.

Fostering supportive relationships

In Rachel's role as Head of Diversity & Inclusion, and in her coaching, she continues to harness the values and skills instilled by her grandmother.

"Interestingly, she used to say that she was glad she was born the way she was because it gave her empathy. I also know that she fostered really supportive relationships which helped," comments Rachel.

"I admire her values: respect, compassion, optimism; as well as her practical approach to life and her resilience. She’d always give things her best try and tell us grandchildren to do the same."

"The idea that people have untapped potential and can always grow, even if they begin from a different starting position, is a great mindset to have when coaching, when working with people and I think, in life in general," suggests Rachel.