INTERVIEW: Damian Barry, Director Deaf Answers

Tony: In all the time I have known you; you have followed a traditional career path, working your way up the ranks, in various “hierarchal” organisations.

Damian: Mmm….

Tony: That you have taken the step of starting up your own business, is a real eye opener?

Damian: Yes. After 22 years working in the voluntary charity, private and statutory sectors, I thought it was time to become independent and offer my services to everyone who wishes to take advantage of what I have to offer.

Tony: What was the turning point that prompted you to take the plunge?

Damian: Several things.

Tony: Can you elaborate?

Damian: After working up to being Chief Executive of Hearing Concern, I felt I had done everything by then and I wanted a different challenge. Over the last fifteen years, it became very obvious to me that Deaf people were getting a very raw deal in the workplace and in their careers,

Tony: Still the case!

Damian: …. and I thought it was time to try and develop something that allows Deaf professionals to choose what are the gaps and see if we can address them. We need to continue to allow Deaf people to progress in their lives in order to show others that Deaf Can Do It.

Tony: That’s your new business, Deaf Answers?

Damian: Yes. It is like a Life Coaching service. A holistic approach to each individual’s wants, needs and goals, and working with them towards achieving these own goals.

Tony: How does that differ to the training programmes you have run in the past?

Damian: The main different is those training programmes were designed with an organisation’s mission and objective in mind. Deaf Answers, my business, is centred on the individual’s mission and objectives.

Tony: From the feedback I am getting, to the best of my knowledge, it seems to be the very thing that Deaf people want, but is not being catered for, at least here in Australia.

Damian: That gap also exists here in the UK. In the last decade, we have seen huge advances in technology and communications, yet the fundamental need of Deaf people, the ability to work equally amongst their hearing peers, is impeded by the discrimination, prejudice, and obstacles that still exist.

Tony: Very frustrating for Deaf people, who see these huge changes, but still feel stymied by the slow pace change and lack of opportunity.

Damian: Deaf Answers is developing programmes that will address this fundamental need, among others, so that every Deaf People can become equipped with the tools and the experience, to develop a mechanism so that they can work on an equal footing with their hearing peers.

Tony: Looking at your resume, your career trajectory has changed from advancing up the ranks, working for a “hierarchal” organisation, becoming CEO [Hearing Concern], to one where you have set up a business that embraces the self.

Damian: Yes that is true. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with working for a “hierarchal” organisation. I suppose when one works for an organisation then your decisions are governed by that organisations’ objectives, whether it is to make a profit, or help a particular group of people to lobby govt to make changes.

Tony: Sure. Some people do have satisfying careers working for an employer.

Damian: I thought it would be better to remain independent, so that every organisation and their employees can benefit from what I have to offer. By being independent, I can serve and support organisation business, large and small group, without bias.

Tony: In the hearing world, there are people who change their career paths, to embrace the kind of change you have!

Damian: I suppose in the last 12 years my life approach has altered.

Tony: Are you happier?

Damian: Yes. Life needs to be looked at from a 360 degree view. So taking a holistic approach and working with the individual to look at all aspects of their lives: social, personal, professional, family, and so on, to reveal answers, for the individual in order to move forward.

Tony: I can concur with that and have witnessed the explosion of life coaching and mentoring services for Hearing people Deaf and hearing; as a testament to the drive for a better work and life balance.

Damian: And Deaf Answers is a Life Coaching and Mentoring service for Deaf people.

Tony: Now for the cliché. The question our curious readers want to ask, has your deafness been a barrier to your career? Has it hindered your ability to progress up the ranks so to speak?

Damian: My deafness has been a barrier. My personality and how I tackled those barriers has not hindered my advancement. Peoples’ perception of deafness or a deaf person often influences their judgement towards deaf people. The trick is to develop techniques that allows hearing peoples judgements and perceptions to be quietly challenged in order that they can be well informed and make a rational judgement in the future, and still have them on your side.

Tony: Yes that would be quite a skill to master.

Damian: That is the heart of how deaf people will progress in the future, it is what I did.

Tony: Could you give us an example of a technique u have employed to challenge negative perceptions of deafness.

Damian: Now I need to rack my brains, sift through 22 years, ok, the most common thing that a Deaf Professional hates in the everyday lives, is networking in predominantly hearing conference, environments where communication is always going to be a number one issue whether you have an interpreter or not. When you meet a hearing stranger for the first time, your first task is to reassure them even with an interpreter by highlighting the FACT you are DEAF, and if using an interpreter explain the interpreter role quickly while at the same time using a personality that engages the hearing person that will shift the initial perception of you as a deaf person.

Tony: Hmm..

Damian: Does that make sense?

Tony: Yes it does. Personality is an important component in the communication process.

Damian: Actually, personality I believe helps the engagement of two people to communicate together, and keeping them communicating together so that it reaches a point where both parties are comfortable with each other.

Tony: Going back to your resume, your career has allowed you to exercise many skills that many deaf people do not get an opportunity to do, especially in leadership positions.

Damian: Leadership skills are transferable skills, anyone can be a leader, some will find it easier to do and some will find it harder but it is all trainable, and if you look at all the leaders past present and future they will all have one thing in common that makes them stand out. That is PERSONALITY. Over time people have to examine their own persona and make adjustments where it is necessary in any given situation. I would go so far as to say leaders who do not possess personality are often those to hang on their positions using fear and dictatorial practices. Personality wins people over to you.

Tony: Yes. But I guess the question I was asking was you had the opportunity to utilise a range of skills that many deaf people don’t and especially in a position of responsibility, for example, CEO, leadership position!

Damian: I’m not sure I understand the question.

Tony: OK, let me explain. Looking at your resume, at the range of jobs you’ve had, you got to use and develop a range of skills that many deaf people don’t. That is actually using your brains and having your intellect challenged and on top of that you have often been in positions of leadership, of influence, which provide you with yet more challenges so as a person you could develop in ways that many deaf people don’t…

Damian: Yes I guess the fundamental thing I had was the understanding that over time things change and you need to adapt to those changes. I had the opportunity to receive a two year bursary for Coverdale where I undertook training with hearing people from large blue chip companies. I learned a range of techniques then to work with them as well as they learned how to shift their perceptions of me as a deaf person who really can do things irrespective of whether I was deaf or not. However, I would have to say that my real grounding was Leadership, learning to work in teams, managing teams, and leading teams. All the answers were there and they are the tools I use time and time again to progress forward. As for having positions of leadership that was actually a result of my progression.

Tony: Now I’m stuck for a question [laughs]

Damian: Positions are determined by other people who make the decision to appoint you they have to make a judgement and they do this by getting to know you, your skills, and your personality and how you interact with people.

Tony: Though you have never had a formal university education for your career? No degree to your name?

Damian: I have always wanted to go to university and get a degree. I even got a place to do the MBA at Reading University but circumstances never allowed me to take this up so in a way by looking at my resume, you can almost say I have a degree from the University of Life.

Tony: But that’s a good thing though?

Damian: I consider 22 years as a real apprenticeship, and the other thing to look at is the fact I managed to get a job as a CEO without a degree it shows it can be done. The interview panel and recruitment agency obviously looked at the range of positions and training I have undertaken in the last 22 years and must have concluded that this certainly qualifies as equivalent to having a degree. That’s why I call it the degree from the University of Life.

If you look at my resume, I have undertaken various high profile training courses. I am qualified as a trainer under the Institute of Personnel and Development and have delivered a range of training courses from Leadership to Management. I also underwent a two year bursary with Coverdale working with other people from blue chip companies like Esso, British Nuclear Fuels, British Gas, BP etc.  During these two years I attended several week long courses such as strategic project management, manager as mentor, coach and strategist, as well as several one day courses. This was the best two years for my true personal development and allowed me to gain confidence to be equal to my hearing peers.  Have a look at my resume to find out more details.

Tony: To that I agree. My hearing brother managed to forge himself a career without a degree or even passing his finals.

Damian: Provided you develop your experiences and utilise them to your advantage. Perhaps, [Smiles wryly] I should put in my resume that I have a degree from the University of Life, although I think that would sound facetious.

Tony: [Laughing] But overall, you can say that your life and work experiences to date have provided you with the necessary ground work to become a life coach, a person who can help others on an individual level.

Damian: Yes I think so. Having a formal education is only one part of the 360 degree view life.

Tony: Yes looking at deaf people now many of them are expressing interest in fields and work in areas where they are traditionally not seen in they are becoming aromatherapists, computer scientists, and as we have seen geophysicists, and so on.

Damian: That is what is exciting Deaf people are realising that they can go beyond the boundaries to do things that traditionally is not expected a deaf person would go. The key word here is Traditionally – and often the person who says it is not traditional, is usually the decision maker who has never experienced working with a deaf person, so although deaf people are breaking the boundaries they still face possible discrimination, as others who have never worked with a deaf person operate from their own initial perceptions of deaf people. Deaf professionals needs to help hearing people to change their initial perceptions quickly in order for them to progress further

Tony: That’s true. But the point is deaf people are pushing the boundaries…

Damian: Yes.

Tony: …and that is a good thing and now that someone such as yourself, becoming a life coach deaf people can have access to someone like themselves who can help them “realise” themselves. Achieve their true potential.

Damian: Deaf people are definitely pushing the boundaries, but once they get inside where they want to go, there are often internal discrimination and communication barriers, etc., that they must confront.

Tony: That is still true now as it ever was.

Damian: So being a life coach of service, I can work with deaf people to tackle the situations they experience once inside their chosen profession and fine tune the communication processes that will allow them to continue to make progress.

Tony: Yes.

Damian: One other thing, that is very real, that I have observed working with my clients. The reason why I talk about the 360 degree approach to life is very often in the work life balance the issues are really big in the workplace but are often bigger in the social family side of things especially with how the deaf person was brought up. We need to integrate everything and come up with a solution. For example, a deaf person might have a bad experience in childhood that makes them very hostile towards hearing people and that will need to be sorted out first before you can think of sorting out a work situation, on the other hand a deaf person had a great childhood where communication was never an issue and suddenly find in the real world communication is such a big issue. Every individual is different and unique and that I hope Deaf Answers looks at each one individually and work with the person to find their own unique deaf answer.

Tony: Do you see deaf people embracing the opportunity to become business owners, or forge professional careers, or create opportunities of their own, without relying on the traditional structures, e.g. deaf charities?

Damian: Yes I believe Deaf people have better opportunities in the future and be masters of their own destiny, however with more opportunities comes more barriers, and I worry that there are no systems in place to allow deaf people to overcome new barriers that come with the new opportunities. This is why I decided to create Deaf Answers. The world is becoming smaller, communities are becoming more technologically orientated, and physical organisations’ membership is under threat as individuals become more independent. With the IT world we live in, the need of physical organisation membership will decrease as people will have online communities instead. So yes, as deaf people excel in the future, their needs for deaf clubs deaf societies or deaf organisations will diminish as they become more integrated with IT communities instead.

Tony: What challenge does the internet and modern technology bring to how you will deliver your services?

Damian: World wide it brings a real challenge.

Tony: You spoke to me once of delivering an online training/ information sessions.

Damian: The video technology like OOvOO, means we can have face to face interaction with people at their computer but remember it is only two dimensional and one to one face to face opportunities are crucial.

Tony: Mm, mm…

Damian: I spoke to you about doing a DVD with examples of working with hearing people that will be one sided and will be generic in nature as every individual is different.

Tony: But some would say that technology is a complement to the real world.

Damian: Yes they would.

Tony: And that it is not meant to REPLACE but ENHANCE.

Damian: It is a complement and a hindrance.

Tony: But like everything in this world, it has its yin and yang.

Damian: Complement in widening your horizons and a hindrance because it has the potential to make you a social recluse.

Tony: Or a complement in that it allows us to have this conversation even though we are 12 000 miles apart and in different time zones.

Damian: And pretend to be a person that you would like to be rather than be the person who you are, yes communicating around the world actually shows the world is becoming a smaller place. Let’s hope they invest time travel next!

Tony: [laughing] Let’s go back to the DVD you mentioned, now with technology, it would allow people who otherwise would not be able to, due to circumstance, have access to information and training. It’s not meant to replace human contact…

Damian: That’s true.

Tony: Online interaction may not always be as satisfying as real life or geographical contact, as I would say.

Damian: They best way to learn things is with other human beings as that is real life and it closely resembles what you are experiencing in your life as well as being three dimensional.

Tony: Yes, and on that note, I think we will leave it there. Thank you very much for your time, Damian. [Thumbs up]

Damian: My pleasure [thumbs up]

For more information about Damian Barry and his new start-up, visit his website, Deaf Answers.