Foreign.

Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world? Remember, everyone not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo and share storeys that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in. Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too.

Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show. So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.

And today is episode 192 with the title Beyond Performative Inclusion. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Sile Walsh. Sile is an award winning coach, author and leadership specialist dedicated to embedding equity and psychological safety into leadership and organisational culture worldwide. When I asked Sile to describe their superpower, they said it is bridging lived experience with leadership insight to drive systemic inclusion. Hello, Sile.

Welcome to the show, Joanne. Thank you for having me.

Absolute pleasures. And when I was just logging on this morning to set this episode up, I was looking at your name, thinking, I wonder how I pronounce that? And I had to nip onto LinkedIn. So whilst you're speaking English, you're not from England, you're from Ireland. Yeah?

Yes, yes. And my name is spelled, it's actually, I've butchered it a little bit. It's actually with a father, so S I fader L E. But a lot of people call me Sile, which I am fine with. But when I used to live in England, actually, and I'd be called like in the hospital or something, they used to come out and say, silly, do we have sill? Because they didn't want to say silly and that's what they thought my name was. But yes. So I'm based in Ireland, in Dublin. I have lived and worked in the UK and I still do go back and forth for work, but my name, and actually my name here is Walsh, but my Irish name is Sile Branock, but it's, it's a mouthful to spell for people, so Sile Walsh is much quicker and it's.

It's kind of a shame really that you have to adapt who you are to make it easier for other People, as you say. Yeah, your. Your authentic surname is hard for people to spell or hard for people to. To read and pronounce, I guess, and find ourselves having to fit into other people's cultures, don't we?

Yeah, it's an interesting one because in Ireland, being Irish is very like. Is very important and I know every country has it, but because of our history with the uk, it is very important. And having an Irish name for lots of people is more than their name, it's about their. Their history and. And what side of the history that they. They are Irish from, let's say. I actually don't mind because for me, who I am and my identity is about my relationship with myself first and foremost. And then my.

For me in the world, my job is to find the places where I can meet other people and they can meet me. And sometimes I have to adjust, sometimes they have to adjust. It doesn't. Even though it's my name, it doesn't feel like an adjustment of who I am. It feels like a translation, which is different to this idea of fitting. I'm just translating it to something that's understandable. But, yeah, it's a bit like when I deal with my nephew who's now 11 and I adore, or my niece, who's 17. I adjust my conversations to meet them in a way that we can meet each other.

So I don't. I don't feel that same pressure. Whereas there's other people who do very strongly feel that it's important that you know their authentic name and can pronounce it in their language. I know most people don't speak Irish and so saying my Irish name, they butcher it anyway, you know what I mean? Even with the best attempt, if you don't speak a tongue. Like, I'm not great at Irish myself, but I know enough to be able to pronounce the word. So it's an. It's an interesting one. You know, how we're seen in the world and how we interact based on our names.