Defiant Optimism of 'Unveiled'
Why the name ‘Unveiled’? Because sponsorship is the ‘hidden’ aspect (and quite a critical one!) when it comes to career advancement. The more senior the role, the more critical the need for sponsorship. We want to shine a bright light on it. Let’s flip the power and break the cycle of historically marginalized groups being over-mentored and under-sponsored.
Why form a community? Because I believe in the power of coming together and I wanted to bring everyone into the dialogue, whether they want to solve it or want to understand it to become empowered about their own advancement. Let’s figure out together how we can stop situations where we feel we are playing to win only to realize (later than we would like) that no one told us what all the rules of the game were.
First things first….
What is sponsorship, and how is it different from mentorship? While a lot of people know mentorship, the side-effect of a concept missing from mainstream conversation is that there isn’t a broad understanding of it. Here’s a simple visualization to explain the difference.
Information is Power
When people from historically marginalized groups ask “How do I get promoted?”, the response usually focuses on building their confidence and developing their leadership skills - aspects that give a competitive edge when you’re on the list already. The missing piece is the requirement that will get you on the list in the first place - opportunities where you can prove your capability in business / financial / strategic acumen to operate at the higher level. So next time, ask questions like this instead: “How can I get involved in that challenging (which will also be high visibility) project?” and VOCALIZE your interest in taking on stretch assignments and growth projects!
The Path Ahead …and How YOU can join us on this journey
Highway 1:
Say ‘Hello’ to our monthly newsletter…with a twist! We bring you data-based information, tips and (yes) call to action - you bring us questions on sponsorship and career advancement where YOU need guidance (we will anonymize by default unless you request it to be attributed to you). Subscribe and share now! Email your questions and stories at unveiled.bridgingthegap@gmail.com
Highway 2:
Member applications are OPEN! For our initial introductory phase, we invite non-binary or female-identifying individuals in Technology to APPLY BY DECEMBER 15! Technology continues to grow at a fast pace and we want to start with bridging the gap to sponsorship for some of the groups that continue to be underrepresented at their top leadership.
Want to unlock that promotion, stretch assignment or pay increase through authentic sponsorship? Let us help you unlock it!
Complete applications by December 15, 2022
Please take some time to provide thoughtful responses: We are a group of highly motivated individuals looking to change the rules of the game for better! And we are a small team of pro-bono, dedicated professionals who are investing their personal time to help others rise! That means that given the limited slots (we want to make sure each candidate has dedicated time!), we encourage you to carefully consider why sponsorship is so important for you now, at this point of your career – this will help us ensure we select the candidates with the greatest need first.
Hear selection decision by January 15, 2023
Whether we are able to onboard you as a member or not, we will run an #IamRemarkable workshop for all applicants to help them get comfortable with talking about and celebrating their achievements!
Kick off member cohort experience in Q1 2023!
Highway 3:
Follow our LinkedIn Page to engage in a frequent conversation through our updates; Join our LinkedIn group to continue the dialogue or crowdsource ideas with each other!
Unveiling answers to your questions
We start with a question raised during our launch event - a lively discussion between Jennifer, Maureen and Shruti about evolving nature of work prompted this - “How to build sponsorship in a team when I am remote?”
Proximity bias is a reality, just like the need for sponsorship for career advancement. But that only means that you have to be intentional about the results you are looking for. Here are 5 steps to help build sponsors so that being remote doesn’t mean compromising on career advancement:
Spend time on intentional goal-setting - What does career advancement mean to you? What is your desired outcome?
Defining your goals can then help you map out the people who can make it happen - this is your network of potential sponsors.
Seek out potential sponsors in the office to cultivate the relationship. Map out a mix of sponsors in various forums (don’t forget your direct manager).
Leverage opportunities to maximize in-person interactions - Planning to visit the office? Set up conversations and be prepared to talk about what interests you in their work, contributions they are making to the organization and how your work ties into that. Got ideas, share them! PLAN AHEAD so they think of you next time related projects come up.
Are there opportunities for you to sponsor someone? Don’t overlook them - not only will they help someone but they also establish your own influence.
Tell us how it goes once you try these steps - share feedback and additional questions at unveiled.bridgingthegap@gmail.com !
Our Launch Event - Pictures are worth a Thousand Words!
Take time to develop YOU - Amazing offerings from our collaborators!
