1

Level up your impact as a sponsor

In Designing leadership programs for women that really work, London Business School professors Herminia Ibarra and Kathleen O’Connor explored the importance of pairing sponsorship with leadership development programs. Without powerful sponsors who can advocate, demand, and ensure participants get mission-critical assignments and P&L (profit & loss) roles that are stepping stones to senior positions, women’s advancement will continue to lag behind men.

Yet, there is a spectrum of sponsorship, with some styles more impactful than others. Ibarra and O’Connor identified these five archetypes:

• Classic mentor: provides personal advice and support privately, with no more at stake than the time invested.
• Strategizer: shares insider knowledge about how to advance in the organization, outlining a strategy that will help fill any developmental gaps that may be a barrier to advancement.
• Connector: makes introductions to influential people in their network and “talks up” the sponsored employee with peers.
• Opportunity giver: offers the sponsored employee high visibility projects or roles (for example, giving a key presentation or running an important meeting).
• Classic advocate: the sponsor advocates publicly for an individual, typically in a succession contest for a significant role, with their reputation at stake.

Now, reflect on the kind of sponsor you are for women and other colleagues from underrepresented groups. As the authors explain, unless you know someone well, you’re likely to be at the start of this list. That’s a fine place to begin, but what would it take to move to the next level and have a more significant impact?

2

Swap “mom” for “dentist”

Long-time Better Allies supporter Kate Rotondo recently tweeted:

“on my first day at apple, the new employee orientation presenter asked folks to describe their job to their mom 🙄. i suggest replacing mom with dentist: a gender neutral term for someone we see as capable whose knowledge is simply outside the tech domain.”

Love it. And, as Sheeri K. Cabral pointed out,

“I like dentist because of the implication you don’t have a long time to explain it before they are working on your mouth again.”

Allies, the next time someone asks us to explain something simply enough for our mom (or grandmother or wife) to understand it, let’s swap that person for a dentist.

3

Check yourself for omissions

In 3 Small Ways to Be a More Inclusive Colleague,
UNSW Business School adjunct professor Juliet Bourke wrote about her research on the “relationship between small acts of inclusion/exclusion, an individual’s job performance, and team effectiveness more broadly.”

While I recommend reading the entire article, here’s one takeaway for allies everywhere: Think about co-workers from underrepresented groups who you aren’t advocating for or amplifying. The people you aren’t endorsing publicly or recommending for high-profile assignments. Those who you haven’t gotten to know well enough to sponsor.

In other words, check yourself for unconscious acts of omission, and pledge to do better.

As Bourke explains, people often experience exclusion “through a failure to provide … rather than via an overt act, such as a snide comment.”

4

Create accessible events

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant Tara Robertson recently posted on LinkedIn:

“We will continue to have a lot of virtual conferences in 2022. Ensure you include accessibility information when you make your first conference announcement. Will ASL interpretation be included? What about CART? If so, then say that. If someone has specific access needs or has questions about accessibility who can they contact?”

I appreciate how Change Catalysts explains their accessibility support and asks for other needs right on their registration page for their events:

For people who are speaking at events, Robertson recommends the Digital Library Federation’s guide to creating accessible presentations. My favorite tip from their guide is to describe any images, charts, and other visuals in your presentation as though you were delivering your presentation on the radio.

I need to work on doing this myself. It may take some practice, along with some finesse, to do it effectively, but I’m going to make it happen. Who’s with me?

5

List the salary range on job openings

Last month, the New York City Council approved legislation requiring employers to list the minimum and maximum salaries on all job openings. Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal, who sponsored the bill, believes that providing salary ranges will help create more equitable hiring processes and address systemic pay inequities.

Allies, let’s list the salary range for all of our open positions, whether hiring in New York City or somewhere else.

(Thanks to Katrina Jones for bringing this to my attention.)

That’s all for this week. I wish you strength and safety as we all move forward.

— Karen Catlin (she/her), Author of Better Allies®