In her award winning book Positively Purple: Build an Inclusive World Where People with Disabilities Can Flourish’, PurpleSpace founder and CEO Kate Nash introduces 'Obstinacity' as a helpful characteristic for building a better working world for people with disabilities. 

Kate explains that obstinacity is ‘a mash up of two words - a mixture of 'obstinance' (unyielding stubborn adherence to one's purpose or opinion) and 'tenacity' (the tendency to be very determined)’.

Obstinacity is a trait we recognise in the most impactful of disability ERG/Network leaders. They tend to be driven by purpose and are resilient and persistent. 

This month, we invite you to consider:

• How do you keep going, when progress on disability inclusion isn’t as fast as you would like?
• When has obstinacity helped you overcome a significant challenge or obstacle in your ERG/Network leadership? What did you learn from the experience?
• How can obstinacity be developed or nurtured in leaders who may not naturally possess it? 
• How do disability ERG/Network leaders balance the need to be obstinaceous and the requirement to be flexible and open to compromise. How do you strike the right balance?

Peer Leadership Roundtables

One of the most valuable aspects of PurpleSpace membership is the opportunity to build your leadership capacity via quality conversation with other disability ERG/Network leaders.

Each month we convene groups of disability ERG/Network leaders to stimulate discussion on the monthly leadership lesson.

Connect with your peers during these interactive one-hour sessions. These sessions are a great way to share good practice and challenges, swap ideas and build your ERG/Network leadership capacity. 

We have two sessions to choose from in September to explore how to cultivate ‘obstinacity’:

• 12th of September, 2024 08:00 (BST)/13:30 IST/19:00 ACT
• 24th of September 2024 16:00 (BST)/ 11:00 EDT

Strategic Forum

#PositivelyPurple Strategic Forum

The #PositivelyPurple Strategic Forum extending the #PositivelyPurple movement (formerly #PurpleLightUp) to ensure a universal, global and life-affirming celebration of the contribution of employees with disabilities as a mark of respect to the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The next forum meeting is on the 17th September 2024 at 16:00 (BST)/11:00 (EDT). Book here. 

PurpleSpace and External Useful Resources

Tap into our Networkology know-how and check out some of the external learning that links into this leadership lesson:

• Positively Purple: Build an Inclusive World Where People with Disabilities Can Flourish’ by Kate Nash OBE.
• Ignite the change: 12 Essential Leadership Tips to Equip New ERG/Network Leaders to Spark a Movement.
• Vlog by Kate Nash OBE - Delivering Goals