Building Vital Professional Relationships

by Scott Conking

Principal and Head of Culture & Diversity
Vanguard

On the hit TV show Mad Men, the office is largely white and largely male, and those who don’t fit that profile are largely left out. Though today’s workplace is infinitely more diverse than what we see on Mad Men, it’s still true that homogeneity can limit inclusivity. But an approach called sponsored networking can help emerging diverse talent to build the professional relationships that are so vital to their success.

We all know that careers and leadership teams are built based on the abilities, engagement levels, and aspirations of talent rising through an organization. However, movement through the ranks of an organization can also accelerate on the strength of personal connections forged over many years. These relationships may be based on shared interests such as sports, educational institutions, similar family experiences, religious and ethnic communities, common hobbies, and neighborhoods. And what could be more natural than to develop a bond based on a shared connection?

In a world where the educated workforce wasdominated by white, Christian, predominantly suburban males with traditional families, most of the young aspiring leaders could easily build rapport with the leaders in the organization. In today’s more diverse, mobile, and transient workplace, aspiring leaders do not necessarily have the same interests and experiences as the organization’s leaders.

“A sponsor provides proactive, unsolicited, and candid feedback, context and advice.”

How should companies address this challenge? I believe companies can no longer rely on traditional commonalities to build a leadership team. If they try to, they’ll be relying on a shrinking, one-dimensional talent pool, and one that might not connect with a diverse workforce. Instead, organizations must make special efforts to help emerging diverse talent build relationships. One effective way to do that is by using sponsors to help emerging leaders bridge interpersonal gaps and develop relationships.

Sponsorship differs from mentorship; it means being omnipresent in the professional life of an emerging leader, whereas mentorship tends to be on an asneeded basis. A sponsor provides proactive, unsolicited, and candid feedback, context and advice. A sponsor also advocates for the emerging leader, attesting to his or her talents and promoting his or her consideration for roles and programs.

Through sponsored networking, the sponsor involves the emerging leaders in events and experiences that can lead to professional relationships with senior leaders that might not develop otherwise. Sponsored networking means constant connecting, brokered interactions, social activities, outreach, and active involvement in Employee Resource Groups by both senior and emerging leaders. Sponsorships can help emerging talent to build the relationships they’ll need in order to engage and thrive in an organization. It’s a focused approach, but I think that it’s very necessary in today’s diverse workplace.

It’s great that we’ve come a long way from the Mad Men era, but we must do more. Building diverse leadership teams will require focused efforts that engage established leaders in close sponsor relationships with emerging talent.