Welcome to my weekly Q&A roundup. (Scroll down to find the Q&A.)
If this is your first time here, welcome. I spend a fair amount of time speaking at events and conferences. At the end of my presentations, I leave space for audience members to ask questions—tough questions, brave questions, you name it. The level of candor and curiosity always inspires me, and I want to share that sentiment with you. So each week, I pick one question that I believe others would find most instructive and publish my response to it here.
The purpose of this weekly tradition is transparency and inclusivity.
Transparency: a behind-the-scenes look at my day-to-day.
Inclusivity: bringing others along in the journey.
Be Brave™
Are You A Mentor, Sponsor, Ally, Or Advocate?
Question:
What’s the difference between a mentor, a sponsor, an ally, and an advocate? I want to help underrepresented colleagues succeed but am confused about what these terms mean.
Answer:
You already signaled your intent: you want to do the right thing by helping underrepresented colleagues succeed. Let’s stop here and think about what it would look like to see your underrepresented colleagues succeed.
STEP 1: Ask, what does “success” mean for your colleagues in this context?
(If you don’t know, start by getting to know them better. Ask questions. Listen.)
Success might mean:
Your colleague receives a well-deserved promotion
Your colleague’s ideas are heard and valued in meetings
Your colleague knows they are being compensated equitably
Your colleague is given stretch assignments and responsibilities
Your colleague is invited to high-level meetings with senior leaders
Your colleague receives opportunities for professional development
Your colleague feels safe to express their opinions with peers and leaders
The key with this exercise is to center your colleagues in their success. If it were a story, they would be the protagonist, not you.
STEP 2: Once you have a working definition of success, reverse engineer the steps needed to achieve it.
Where and how does your position of power intersect with these steps? It’s at these points of intersection where you can lend support.
Support might look like:
Calling out bias when it occurs in the workplace
Actively speaking up for your colleague in meetings
Introducing your colleague to your professional network
Asking to hear your colleague’s opinion in group settings
Advocating for a company-wide pay equity audit or greater pay transparency
Supporting equitable workplace policies (such as the diverse-slate approach to hiring or the removal of binding arbitration clauses)
Now, back to your original question: what does it mean to be a mentor, a sponsor, an ally, and an advocate? There are technical definitions for each label, with each definition spanning the DEI continuum. (You can read more about these definitions here.) However, I urge you not to get caught up in what to call yourself.
Focus on your stated goal: to help underrepresented colleagues succeed. What proof, what data, do you need to verify that you reached your goal? Because at the end of the day, the proof (i.e. seeing your colleagues succeed) matters more than what you call yourself.
These Q&A roundups can be delivered directly to you—a week before I publish them here. Interested? Join the Brave Souls® community (all you need is an email address).
© 2021 Pipeline Equity™, Inc.