Changing perspectives is the art of transcendence: making the invisible visible.
Changing perspectives is the art of transcendence:
making the invisible visible.
In this article we introduce Katherine Ramo - founder and chair of CMS ENABLE and active member of the PurpleSpace community (who is a great inspiration for our invisible project and whom we introduce you briefly below. We promise to write more about them soon!)
Dr Katherine (Katya) Ramo is an award-winning global Lawyer, Technology, Media, Intellectual Property and Competition Council member (TMIC) and Head of a Pro-Bono Practice at CMS London.
At one point in her life, Katherine became a disabled person herself, which she says motivated her to set up the CMS ENABLE network, a project whose mission became the wellbeing and inner confidence of people with disabilities. Today, Katherine promotes diversity around the world, networking, mentoring, writing and speaking at many events and across all possible channels. She supports both internal and external activities of diversity companies and organisations, including through the UN and regulatory bodies, where she advises on diversity issues, particularly those related to gender and disability.
Katherine is the creator of a method, or rather art, which she has named 'Transcend It'. It is the art of building inner confidence through the ability to grasp and change perspective in perceiving, for example, an event that a disabled person believes limits their ability to influence the world.
"We live in a world where good credentials or the right competences and skills are no longer sufficient conditions for sustainable success. It is finding and harnessing our inner generosity and developing depth of character (as individuals and organisations) that makes the real difference to lasting change in the multi-layered zones in which we exist. It is simply a must have. This is undeniably true, whether you work for the sixth largest law firm in the world, or in a small boutique, or just for yourself.
A few years ago, as an adult, I became disabled. I was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Stickler syndrome type II. It causes loss of sight and hearing and also damages joints. It overlapped with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the result of civilian service in Afghanistan.
Finding myself, reinventing my career path gave me a purpose, a raison d'etre - provided that instead of dwelling on the losses I looked to the future, even if there was none. At the time, I was not yet able to see that I was just...crossing It. I only came to see it fully when I joined the London branch of CMS, forming my beloved CMS ENABLE network and serving as a trustee on the BlindAid board."
CMS ENABLE, a network for people with disabilities, was born out of Katherine's life journey, her way of going through difficulties and trials. From the outset, she decided that the project would revolve around the idea of Appearing and the 6 strands associated with this concept (the word 'appear', is a mnemonic for the words awareness, participation, practice, empathy, action and reporting).
- Awareness means awareness: it is crucial because many people, through no fault of their own, are unaware of the breadth of existing disabilities.
- Participation: relates to mobilising people in CMS offices in the UK, internationally and at key clients to encourage them to participate in the organisation's network to broaden its impact.
- Practice practitioners: showcasing people with disabilities in different professions and encouraging them to share their experiences. It serves two mission objectives: to show real determination in overcoming difficulties and to have examples of best practice.
- Empathy: it is linked to awareness and understanding. There are those who claim that empathy cannot be taught. However, this claim has already been debunked by scientific research, which has confirmed that empathy can be taught through training, awareness and exposure.
- Actioned action: CMS ENABLE wants to continue the mission in the next generation, and the way to achieve this is to act on many levels and in many areas, whether it is initiating training campaigns, volunteering as an advocate or lobbying for specific issues... the possibilities are endless.
- Reporting: this is a very sensitive issue because many people are stopped from reporting debilitating disabilities, especially invisible ones, by fear. This is why it needs to be talked about in the forum, to encourage people to go beyond, to transcend, to share information and to remove any prejudice.
"Basically, if you look at it, the art of transcending This happens every day, every moment, at an individual and corporate level. The question becomes, are you or your organisation crossing it? If neither you nor your organisation is doing it, what opportunities do you have to help bring about a cultural change for the inner confidence of people with disabilities?"- asks Katherine Ramo (un)rhetorically, and each and every one of us needs to answer honestly.
PS
The PurpleSpace initiative is a unique networking and professional development centre for disabled workers, employee resource group (ERG) leaders and their allies from all sectors and industries. Their speciality is supporting or creating networks and resource groups for disabled employees, including for organisations such as Fujitsu, Barclays, EY, PwC, GSK and Transport for London.
They describe themselves as a small social enterprise with a big mission:
"To make it easier for employees to cope with the experience of ill health, disability, accident or injury, while thriving at work".
#PurpleTalk is a campaign that encourages conversations about the personal and business benefits of the inner confidence of disabled people. On the PurpleSpace platform, they share stories from their team and others about how they manage their disabilities and chronic illnesses while also working. Most of these people share a desire to share their experiences to help others gain resilience or learn about disability and inclusion, whether through a staff network or another larger organisation.
