Transcription:
Send the Elevator Down – 10 Ways to Sponsor Women of Color

Introduction: The following SHSMD Podcast is a production of DoctorPodcasting.com.

Bill Klaproth: On this edition of the SHSMD Podcast, we start a new series featuring SHSMD women in leadership and Jhaymee Tynan, Assistant Vice President of Integration at Atrium Health is here to share with us 10 ways to sponsor women of color. Hang on, you're going to love it. That and more coming up right, now. This is the SHSMD Podcast, Rapid Insights for Healthcare Strategy Professionals in Planning, Business Development, Marketing Communications, and Public Relations. I'm your host, Bill Klaproth and in the spirit of international women's day this month, we are spotlighting SHSMD women in leadership. And in this episode that we've titled Send the Elevator Down, 10 Ways to Sponsor Women of Color, we talk with Jhaymee Tynan, Assistant Vice President of Integration at Atrium Health. Now Jamie recently wrote an article in Forbes called, Why I'm Sponsoring 100 Women of Color in Healthcare by 2030. And this article has caught fire and has been overwhelmingly received with many leaders wanting to support her pledge. So how can you sponsor a woman of color in the workplace? Well hang on, we've got 10 ways for you coming right up. Jhaymee, welcome to the SHSMD Podcast. As you know, we start every episode of the SHSMD Podcast with rapid insights. One quick tip someone can use to make their marketing communications better today. Jhaymee, give us your rapid insight.

Jhaymee Tynan: So my rapid insight is to make sure as a marketing or communications professional that you are hand in glove working with your planning team, your strategic planning team at the very beginning of the process. That way you can be incorporated and your insights into what's happening in the communities and how you're delivering health care can be absolutely aligned with the strategy of the organization.

Host: That's a great rapid insight. Jamie, work with your strategic planning team early on so your insights can be aligned with the strategy of the organization. Really good. It's better to do that early than to have misaligned goals later. Right?

Jhaymee Tynan: Absolutely.

Host: So Jhaymee, I've been looking forward to talking with you. You wrote this article in Forbes, Why I'm Sponsoring 100 Women of Color in Healthcare by 2030. What prompted you to write the article?

Jhaymee Tynan: You know, when I was thinking about writing an article, the catalyst behind my desire to do so actually came from attending several conferences over the past five or so years. And I was an attendee where they would talk about the issue of diversity and inclusion, specifically at hospitals and health systems and how we need to do more to advance minorities and underrepresented groups. And the statistics would show up on the screen about how we haven't made as much progress as we should in getting minorities, and specifically women of color into the C suite at health systems and hospitals. And after attending probably five or six different conferences where those statistics remain the same. I asked myself a question about what is it that I can do as a healthcare executive to help change those statistics to help move the needle?

And one of the things in my career that has been instrumental and quite honestly transformational, is this idea of sponsorship. And I think most people know mentorship but they don't quite know what sponsorship is and how it can be an amplifier for your career. And sponsorship is really about an executive taking action and being an advocate for you and putting you into new roles, on new projects, or things that can truly help you develop as a senior leader. And so for me, writing the article was a way to say thank you to the sponsors in my career, but also to help inspire other healthcare executives to do the same for people in their network that are looking, you know, to continue to progress in their careers.

Host: I love how you put that Jhaymee. Sponsorship can be an amplifier of your career. Very well put. And a few stats to back up what we're talking about today, only 14% of hospital board members and 9% of CEOs are minorities. Why do you think that is and why do you think especially there is a void of women of color in executive and leadership positions?

Jhaymee Tynan: You know, I think the reason why we're not seeing the diversity at those senior levels are a couple of reasons. Number one, we know that particularly women of color are one of the largest, if not the largest, most educated group in professional work today. And what's happening is there's a lot of emphasis and energy and resources dedicated to recruiting at the more junior levels of the organization. So getting that pipeline in the door, but the retention aspect of it, how do we create inclusive environments for underrepresented groups and minorities? I would believe by and large it's probably needing improvement. So we get the talent in the door, but we're not doing a great job of retaining and helping them to grow and be prepared for those next levels. So that's the first thing. And then the second thing, quite honestly I think is the sponsorship. And I think most individuals are comfortable sponsoring people that look and feel like themselves. And there's much more need I think for executives to think about sponsoring talent that doesn't look like them, that is talented, that has the drive, that has the motivation, but truly needs the exposure. So I think it's a sponsorship and exposure issue to talent that truly is prepared but doesn't have the network and doesn't have the connections and quite honestly doesn't have the visibility within the organization.

Host: So that's a good way to frame the issue. Recruiting and retention. And you said we need to do a much better job with retention. And that's where sponsorship can come in and help with retention. Is that right?

Jhaymee Tynan: Absolutely. And there's definite research that supports the notion that sponsorship actually helps retain people of color and underrepresented groups. In fact I think it was the center for talent innovation that talked about this as a way to truly retain talent so that they feel supported and they feel that they have a career path in their current organizations.

Host: So having that path and having someone sponsor you along that path is really important. So your goal again is to sponsor 100 women of color in healthcare by the year 2030 and right now you're going to share with us 10 ways that someone can sponsor a woman of color in the workplace. So let's go through that list right now, starting with number one, nominate her for industry awards to showcase her talent and accomplishments.

Jhaymee Tynan: Absolutely. So this is one where I think when people hear the word sponsorship, they always think it has to be from a position of promoting that person to the next level. But truly nominating a woman of color for an industry award does a couple of things. Number one, it gives her that that broader visibility regionally, nationally, it gives them a platform to actually celebrate their accomplishments. And so there's several different industry awards from modern healthcare. The American College of Healthcare Executives, even SHSMD has awards to celebrate the accomplishments, particularly in the healthcare field. So nominating a woman of color for that is a great way to show your sponsorship and your support.

Host: So when you nominate someone for an industry award, you're really providing broader visibility and giving that person a larger platform. Okay. Number two, make a warm introduction to a senior leader in your network that can provide an opportunity for advancement.

Jhaymee Tynan: Absolutely. This one is one that I particularly love because I've put a premium in my career on developing my network. And one of the things that is really truly you know, inspiring is when women support other women and specifically making warm introductions to folks in their networks that can expose them to new organizations, that can truly be a voice for them, as they're looking to, you know, progress in their career. And can give them exposure to participating in conferences or sharing their thought leadership. So I think it's a great way to, and again, no action is too big or too small. Simply making that warm introduction to a senior leader could absolutely be transformational for that person. As they're looking to expand their network.

Host: That warm introduction has a much higher success rate than just trying to introduce yourself to someone on your own. So that's a really good tip. All right, number three, nominate her for a corporate community or a nonprofit board seat.

Jhaymee Tynan: So this is one where I think the board opportunities are another great way to develop yourself as an executive because you get exposure to what it's like to participate in governance. What it's like to truly lead an organization. You develop additional skill sets around strategy and finance, and other areas that board seats really provide you. And so nominating a woman of color for a board seat, again, boards have issues with diversity and inclusion as well, and finding the talent that is prepared to sit on those boards as a director. And as you think about you know, your opportunities to help on that, you know, in that regard, giving women of color that nomination to sit on those boards also will help amplify her career because it rounds out her experience and the breadth and depth of her background as well. So I think this is a fantastic way to again, extend an opportunity to a woman of color to continue to grow herself.

Host: These are all great tips, Jhaymee. And this one, it's very easy. We can do this at any time. Number four, celebrate her accomplishments on social media using hashtag 100 by 2030.

Jhaymee Tynan: Yes. So the hashtag 100 by 2030 is really a great way to celebrate and acknowledge the accomplishments of women of color. And everyone knows that social media is a great channel to talk about and connect with other people on a much broader scale than you know, traditional media channels. And so this is a great way to say, you know, I know of someone in my network that's doing a phenomenal job either in our organization and her volunteer work, and celebrating that by making a post on Twitter, on LinkedIn. And using hashtag 100 by 2030 is a fantastic way to say we have a lot of very talented women of color. And here are some examples of women in our industry doing things.

Host: All right, we need to work on getting that trending. Number five, select her for a high profile project at work that will give her visibility with senior or C suite leaders.

Jhaymee Tynan: Great. So this is one where again, not necessarily if you have the ability and the influence to promote someone but nominating them for those high visibility projects in your organization. Again based on her potential I think is a fantastic way to support and sponsor women of color. And I think the access to those types of projects, particularly for people of color in organizations, may not be as abundant as it is for other groups. And so thinking about those high visibility projects that you know, have the visibility of your C suite or your very senior leaders, and giving them the opportunity to shine and coach them, I think is another great way to sponsor.

Host: So when you talk about number five, it reminds me of a mentor I had that always told me as someone who's helping you up the ladder, pulling you up the ladder, reach behind you and you help the person behind you up the ladder as well. So I really like that one. All right. Moving on, number six, nominate her for an executive development program to hone and advance her skills.

Jhaymee Tynan: Wonderful. So this one is very personal to me because I participated in an executive development program a couple of years ago. It was also something I talked about in the Forbes article where I had a sponsor who wanted to make sure that I had that opportunity and advocated for me with the CEO of the organization. And the program was absolutely one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career because it gave me time to focus introspectively on the areas that I need to grow to become a pretty good executive, but also allowed me to focus on the issues within the healthcare industry and how I can be a positive contributor to changing how healthcare is accessed across the country. And so nominating women of color for those programs gives her that time to pause and truly think about her leadership style. The areas of strengths, but also the areas of improvement that she can work on. And it provides her, again with that network to amplify her career.

Host: And we all know how important having a strong network is. So as we move through 10 ways that you can sponsor a woman of color in the workplace, you just knew I was going to like number seven, interview her on a podcast to showcase her expertise and thought leadership.

Jhaymee Tynan: Yes. So podcasts, I think over the last several years, have become really a fantastic way to share your thought leadership broadly. Particularly for people that don't like to necessarily write or participate in other types of thought leadership. I think it's a wonderful way to have it be more conversational. It's a little less alarming to participate in a podcast. And quite honestly you know, I have had, in my career opportunities to participate on podcasts including this one because someone saw my potential on, they saw that I had a really interesting point of view to share broadly with their audience. And so nominating her to sit on a podcast and share her perspective and her thought leadership is another way to give her a platform for broader visibility.

Host: And podcasts are fun, especially this one, you know, we should have you back on in a year to give us an update and talk about some of the women you've sponsored. That would be good.

Jhaymee Tynan: I would love that.

Host: Yeah, I think that would be good. So let's do it. Okay. Number eight, promote her to new career levels based on potential, not just on performance.

Jhaymee Tynan: And this one I think is one out of all of the 10 that, is truly going to move the needle when it comes to getting women of color into senior leadership positions. And so I believe when we talk about you know, unconscious bias, implicit bias when it comes to promotions, a lot of times for women of color, there are a lot of, you know, explicit and implicit expectations that are placed on women of color to have achieved so many things in their career to be operating at that next level versus other groups who don't have the same types of pressures. And so instead of expecting a woman of color to have had, you know, breadth and depth of experience for, you know, years and years and years, thinking about their potential, I think is a great way to break the cycle of how people are promoted. And I think it's going to be transformational in moving that needle and increasing the percentages of women of color in the C suite. Thinking about not just their performance, but what is their true potential, what's their leadership potential that we think is going to it to really advance the organization.

Host: I like that shift in thinking, promote her based on potential, not just on performance. Okay. Number nine, nominate her for speaking engagements at local, regional, and national conferences.

Jhaymee Tynan: And this is a great one too. And it goes hand in glove with, you know, nominating for podcasts and giving opportunities to speak publicly. And I think conferences are another way to develop your personal brand. Another way to share your thought leadership and I think a lot of conferences now are trying to think better about diversity and inclusion, and not having, you know, a homogenous group of people that are presenting, sitting on panels, they really want to get diverse perspectives. And they're looking for talented individuals that can talk, you know, in a public forum about their experience and their thought leadership. And so nominating for those sorts of opportunities helps that woman of color develop her personal brand. But it also again gives her exposure to developing an amplifying and you know, growing her network as well.

Host: Right. And we've already mentioned how important that network is. All right, well here we are at number 10 speak enthusiastically and positively about her accomplishments and value proposition with others when she is not in the room.

Jhaymee Tynan: And this was the one I love to end on because I think it's, again, it's a small thing that anyone regardless of your level can do to truly sponsor a woman of color. So a lot of times when you're in the room and you're talking about talent and you're talking about the accomplishments of a variety of different people, I think for women of color I think we tend to struggle to talk about ourselves and our own personal accomplishments. And so as a sponsor sharing those accomplishments, sharing the value proposition I think is a fantastic way, when you're in the room with other senior leaders and you're trying to lift up women of color in your organization, that gives, again, more visibility to the count that you have. And it is a great way to show your dedication and sponsorship of women of color.

Host: Jhaymee, what a thoughtful and useful list. Thank you for these 10. And we're going to make sure that we put these up on the show notes page for this podcast. So as we wrap up, can you share the reasons why you wanted to publicize this goal?

Jhaymee Tynan: So the two reasons why I decided to publish this article. Number one I wanted to provide exposure to the challenges of sponsorship for women of color. And I wanted to make sure that we all understood that accelerating the careers of women of color is something that is uniquely an intimately tied cause sponsorship. It's not just about mentorship. I think that women of color tend to be over mentored and under sponsored. And we know that sponsorship is really that, that action that's going to take someone from one level to the next in their career. The other reason why I decided to publish this article is because I believe very deeply that there are other executives regardless of your current, your background that want to also support diversity, inclusion and sponsor women of color. And I wanted to encourage other executives to take the pledge with me, hold myself accountable, but also be willing to take actions themselves

Host: And through your leadership and leading by example and providing us with this great list, I know that we will have executives that will be taking action and taking the pledge with you. Jhaymee, thank you so much for your time and thank you for being on the SHSMD Podcast. We really appreciate it.

Jhaymee Tynan: Wonderful. Thank you for having me.

Host: And that's a Jhaymee Tynan, assistant vice president of integration at Atrium Health. She's inspiring us all to do more. I love it. And to learn more about SHSMD, visit shsmd.org, and please subscribe to this podcast and visit our education page to learn about other upcoming programs at shsmd.org/education. That's shsmd.org/education. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels. This has been a production of Doctor Podcasting. I'm Bill Klaproth. So ya.