I’m Leyla Okhai, the founder and Director of Diverse Minds UK Ltd.
For over nineteen years I’ve dedicated my career to building inclusive, mentally healthy, and positively productive workplaces. I’m a coach, mediator, and inclusion and wellbeing practitioner, ardent about supporting people and teams to thrive.
I understand that organisations often have to spin many plates at once, and managers are under immense pressure to keep everything moving.
This insight, born from years of first-hand experience, is what inspired me to create Diverse Minds.
Before founding Diverse Minds, I was Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Centre at Imperial College London from 2012 to 2017. There, I developed and implemented strategy, managed a dedicated team, and built meaningful partnerships with organisations including Stonewall, Business Disability Forum, Purple Space and WISE.
Our work was recognised nationally, being shortlisted for the Race for Opportunity 2014 Award in the category of Race Equality: Transparency, Monitoring and Action.
Prior to that, I worked at the University of Oxford for six years, first in student recruitment, encouraging applications from underrepresented groups, and later as the University’s first Advisor for Race and Religion in the Equality and Diversity Unit.
These experiences shaped my understanding of organisational culture, leadership challenges, and the importance of wellbeing in truly inclusive environments.
I have worked with a range of organisations, including ASOS.com, FarFetch, Science Museum Group, International Rescue Committee, JKR Global, Mother London, North East London NHS Trust, Tetra Tech Europe, and the University of London to strengthen their approach to wellbeing, mental health and inclusion.
My work combines training, coaching and consultancy to help leaders and teams understand differences, communicate effectively, and build cultures that support everyone’s success. Alongside this, I coach individuals on a one-to-one basis, helping them navigate boundaries, boost confidence and maintain wellbeing while achieving their full potential.
I’m the host of the award-winning Diverse Minds Podcast, a weekly show exploring mental health and inclusion from multiple perspectives. In addition, I’m a TEDx Speaker, and my talk on the connection between race, culture and mental health — available here — has helped people to realise they are not alone. We can build communities of support to help us move towards our agency.
Quite simply, because everyone deserves to feel valued, supported and understood at work. When people feel psychologically safe and included, they can do their best work and that benefits everyone.
Through Diverse Minds, my mission is to help organisations reach their strategic goals when it comes to inclusion and wellbeing.
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Welcome to the 313th episode of the award-winning Diverse Minds podcast! In this episode, I’m telling you don’t ignore your staff survey: how employee voice helps you shape a better business. I explore why organisations spend time collecting feedback only to ignore it. Listen to the episode If you enjoyed this episode, then consider subscribing…