Our Areas of Expertise
Inclusive Sponsorship
Sponsorship Training is Essential for Advancing and Retaining Talent
Inclusive sponsorship training is an integral component of an organization’s DEI initiatives. With sponsorship training, you will arm your executive leaders and protégés with the skills necessary to confidently build relationships that promote career advancement, particularly across cultural differences.
We Are Experts on Cultivating Inclusive Sponsorship Relationships
We have extensive expertise in providing strategic guidance on how to create sponsorship programs and in delivering sponsorship training. Based on our groundbreaking research and work in this space, we provide practical training that teaches leaders and protégés how to attract, build, and maintain sponsorship relationships across cultural differences, where authenticity, belonging, and inclusion are essential.
Sponsorship is Critical for the Advancement of Equity-Seeking Professionals
Research conducted by Coqual (formerly the Center for Talent Innovation) reveals that sponsorship is a powerful relationship that occurs when a “sponsor” (senior leader) does a minimum of three things for their “protégé” (junior team member): goes out on a limb for them, advocates for their next promotion, and provides air cover when they make a mistake.
Research also tells us that sponsorship is critical for catapulting the careers of professionals from underrepresented communities, but only if it is done in an inclusive way.
In 2017, along with Coqual, Ritu co-authored the ground-breaking research report, Sponsor Effect: Canada, which examines the sponsorship experiences of People of Color, Indigenous Peoples, and women, including the intersections between these cultural identities.
This research tells us that there is a sharp divide in the kinds of support White people, People of Color, and Indigenous Peoples receive from executive leaders. A few key findings from this report include:
Very few Canadian People of Color, Indigenous Peoples, or women have sponsors, despite being highly ambitious and willing to “go the extra mile” at work.
The majority of leaders in senior positions – White men – who self-identify as sponsors tend to sponsor people who are like themselves.
For People of Color and Indigenous Peoples, leaders are more likely to give advice on how they can “fix” the way they are perceived. For White people, leaders are more likely to provide impactful advocacy.
Many think leadership attributes are defined by White male standards, and People of Color and Indigenous Peoples are more likely than White people to hold this perception.
Why Choose bci for Sponsorship Training
Given that bci has conducted groundbreaking research on the impact of sponsorship for underrepresented professionals and co-authored a research report in this area, we offer in-depth training that teaches executive leaders and protégés how to attract, build, and maintain sponsorship relationships across cultural differences.
We are passionate about empowering professionals from underrepresented communities and breaking down structural barriers in the workplace. Our specialized work with executive leadership teams and audiences from underrepresented communities allows us to create tailored sponsorship training that meets the needs of both sponsors and protégés. We drill down into the “how” to help advance professionals from underrepresented communities into executive leadership roles. In our inclusive advocacy and sponsorship training, we focus on teaching:
The difference between mentorship and sponsorship and why this matters.
The key responsibilities and behaviors for sponsors and protégés.
Practical strategies for providing inclusive advocacy and support across cultural differences.
We Help Organizations to Build Cultures of Sponsorship
Sponsorship is critical for creating an organizational culture that supports the advancement of professionals from underrepresented communities and is rooted in principles of leadership, inclusion, equity, and belonging.
At bci, we offer consulting services to organizations on how to embed sponsorship behaviors across key talent management areas, including work allocation, performance management, leadership opportunities, talent calibration discussions, succession planning, and promotions.
Did You Know?
Sponsorship is a win-win for sponsors and protégés.
It’s a win for sponsors because they build a team of “go-to” people they can rely on, who are loyal, reliable, and make the leader look good. And it’s a win for protégés because sponsors unlock career advancement by offering their advocacy and support.
By opening doors, advocating for promotions, and providing air cover when mistakes happen, leaders help protégés build their profile, access opportunities, and much more. Sponsorship relationships are everything.
All of bci’s inclusive sponsorship training can be offered virtually or in-person.
Sponsor Effect: Canada
Sponsor Effect: Canada is a cutting-edge research report on how race/ethnoculture, gender, and the intersection of cultural identities impact sponsor relationships in Canadian workplaces.
This pioneering research — the first of its kind in Canada — delves into issues around inclusive sponsorship and the challenges faced by People of Color, Indigenous Peoples, and women (and the intersection of identities) in attracting advocacy.
Inclusive Sponsorship Resources
ARTICLE
Don’t Just Mentor Women and People of Color. Sponsor Them.
by Harvard Business Review
BOOK
How to Be an Ally: Actions You Can Take for a Stronger, Happier Workplace
by Melinda Briana Epler
Want to shift leadership, cultivate belonging, grow empathy, and unlock psychological safety in your workplace?
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