Podcast episode by Susan Drumm arguing that sponsorship (public advocacy by influential people) is a high-impact, actionable way to increase women's representation in leadership. The host distinguishes diversity (demographic segmentation) from inclusion (belonging), cites research showing large economic and performance gains from more women in leadership (McKinsey and Center for Work Life Policy), and defines the sponsorship effect with six concrete sponsor actions. The episode closes with role-modeling and a call to contact the host for help implementing sponsorship programs.
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Foreign. Welcome to this Leadership Insights episode of the Enlightened Executive, where your personal evolution sparks your leadership evolution. In this episode, we're going to share why it's so important to sponsor women in the workplace. Think about this. There's a simple yet powerful tactic for driving the sort of diversity that bolsters the performance and health of your business. In a word, sponsorship. There's a reason why we talk about diversity and inclusion strategies. Diversity is simply the way we segment our workforce and customers by any dimension, including age, gender, disability, sexual orientation and ethnicity. Inclusion is the degree to which those groups are valued by the organization. Inclusion is about belonging. It's what unleashes the true power of diverse teams and businesses. In a recent report based on 10 years of research, the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that getting more women into the workforce would create 12 trillion additional GDP globally and at organizational levels. Countless reports show the link between diversity and improved business results. For example, McKinsey's meticulous analysis of over 300 companies showed a difference in return on equity of 47% between those companies with the most women on executive teams and those with none, a staggering 55% difference in operating results. And yet, progress over the last 10 years continues to be painfully slow. While countless numbers of organizations are, right this minute drawing up long lists of diversity strategies, too often this exercise creates noise without action. What if they were to stick with what we already know works? Sponsorship is an excellent example of that to do well in a system that favors the in group, those outside need a champion or sponsor. Whereas mentoring conversations can be useful, these happen privately. Sponsorship is public. It occurs whenever one person of influence promotes the achievements, capabilities, and future potential of someone else. Imagine if everyone on your team was looking out for a woman coming up the ranks with a potential to make a great future leader in your organization. More of them would make it. It's known as the sponsorship effect, and we've known for years that it works. In a study led by the center for Work Life Policy, researchers discovered that what's been holding women back isn't a male conspiracy, but rather a surprisingly absence of advocacy from men and women in the positions of power. Women who are qualified to lead simply don't have the powerful backing necessary to aspire, propel and protect themselves on their journey through upper management. Women, it turns out, have plenty of mentors, but not nearly as many sponsors as men do. And while mentors prefer friendly advice, sponsors pull you up to the next level. An effective sponsor is anyone who uses their chips on his or her protege's behalf and advocates for his or her next promotion, as well as who does at least two of the following things. Number one expands the perception of what the protege can do. Number two makes connections to the senior leaders Number three promotes his or her visibility Number four opens up career opportunities Number five offers advice on executive presence and number six makes connections outside the company. So ask yourself and your senior colleagues what woman has the potential to balance your team and make you more effective? And if you don't know, find out. Start role modeling the sort of sponsorship behavior you want others to copy. The sort of sponsorship behavior that, unlike that long list of good ideas, is actually a move that makes all the difference. If this resonates but you need some guidance, please contact us for more information on how we can help you create an empowered and diverse work workplace. Get in touch@susandrumm.com we'd love to help you. And if you like this episode and want more leadership insights like these, hit the subscribe button and the like button and we always appreciate our five star reviews. Let's lead the way. Hope you enjoyed today's episode and I'd like to point you to the next important step. Hit the subscribe button to get notified when we release new content. See you on the next episode of the Enlightened Executive.
