Plenty of evidence shows that mentorship and sponsorship help advance early- and mid-careerists into leadership, making a difference in compensation, job satisfaction, retention and promotions over time. Having a sponsor—someone who actively advocates for you—may be a dependable resource for significant advancement. Less well studied, but just as important, is the evolution of successful mentor and sponsor relationships into allyship.
For both mentorship and sponsorship, a leader with more influence, knowledge and prestige helps someone less seasoned. Allyship involves collaboration with more emphasis on collegiality. The best mentoring and sponsoring relationships we’ve seen through our work at The Carol Emmott Foundation evolve toward this. Peers work together to advance the organization and its mission, as well as magnify the influence of the allies. They leverage a shared intention beyond individual advancement to organizational improvement.
Let’s explore this further. The social power of collegiality is the ability of alliances to pool influence to get stuff done. When allies agree on what needs doing and how to do it, they exercise social power. Allyship is not merely another way to advance people who may have been excluded because of unfair structures or social biases. It’s a social process that operates at different organizational levels. It doesn’t require that the more junior person stays subordinate. In fact, it makes explicit the tacit reciprocity that powers healthy relationships and makes them sustainable over a career.
For those who want the most competent and talented leadership in their organizations, that means leaders at all levels can form alliances based on a shared commitment to excellence and fair access for the full range of talented people in the organization. It potentially means a shared determination to ensure that processes uncover talent that might otherwise be ignored or overlooked and bring a positive spotlight on creativity, initiative and capacity for impact.
If you are one of those leaders, how do you find allies? Are they found or made? We’ve found that allies are always uncovered and developed. They’re uncovered because there are other people in your organization who are committed to excellence, who want to grow and who believe in fairness and just approaches to leadership. And they’re developed because the effectiveness of your alliance depends on developing healthy, mutual relationships built on rough equity in giving and receiving support and in developing realistic respect for each other. So, where to begin?
- Create a mental map of the social environment around you. If you are more junior or a newcomer to an organization, assess the potential allies among those more senior than you, your peers and rising talent within your view. What are you looking for? People who demonstrate through their language and actions that they believe in raising talent that reflects the range of characteristics in the marketplace. They make an effort to include those who bring unique perspectives and backgrounds to leadership.
If you’re a seasoned leader, do your mental mapping with an eye toward identifying unrealized potential in more junior people. Unrealized potential starts with those who are different from you and other top leadership in terms of culture, educational background, ethnicity, national origin, age and other differences known to contribute to under-representation. What junior leaders seem to be reticent to assert their views in high pressure situations, but are clearly thoughtful and bring useful insights? Who should be considered for promotion? Make note of them. Your objective is a more powerful, broad network.
- Allyship begins with really getting to know potential allies and understanding what matters to them. Does their language include everyone? Do they give appropriate credit fairly? How do they receive news of problems? Do the teams they lead reflect the rich pool of colleagues? In all your conversations as a leader, you are noting the language people use so you can connect more directly with them by showing you listen carefully.
- Have conversations with those you find encouraging. Remember, you’re looking to establish shared values, complementary approaches and common goals. You’re not interviewing for a position called “ally.” You’ll want to ask questions about what is working well, what’s not and what they’d like to see improve.
Acknowledge what you’ve discovered or observed that you think is admirable. Inquire about ways you can be useful to their desire to create a more effective healthcare system. Let them know about your own sense of mission and targets for improvement. Finally, ask if you can meet periodically with them and see who else they think is of a similar mindset.
- Create a tickler file that reminds you to connect and update each other. Make it a point to acknowledge their work and achievements, particularly those that contribute to a climate of commitment and a welcoming environment for those who might otherwise be overlooked. Call them for advice and help. Look for opportunities to support them.
The future of inclusive healthcare workplaces depends on creating relationships that champion mutuality and reduce the reliance on hierarchy to create meaning. We will always need mentors and sponsors and the power dynamics that drive many work relationships will continue to operate. More fundamental to a healthy future are relations driven by common cause and respect that is not reliant solely on position or title. Real empowerment grows from respect and it is always mutual.
Douglas Riddle, PhD, DMin, FAPA, is curriculum director, Carol Emmott Foundation. Previously, he was the global head of coaching for the Center for Creative Leadership.