Want to truly succeed Lift others up while you climb The Way We Work a TED series
Transcriber: Leslie Gauthier
Reviewer:
When it comes to our careers,
the analogy we’ve been given is a ladder.
We’re climbing, climbing, climbing,
seeing just how high we can get.
But if we want to be
a part of organizations
that are diverse and inclusive
and truly reflect
the world that we live in,
that’s simply not enough.
While we climb, we also need to lift.
[The Way We Work]
(Music)
It’s no secret
that our companies and organizations
rarely have leadership teams
that represent the communities they serve.
That makes them
less effective in their work,
less innovative
and less profitable too.
We need more women steering the ship,
more people of color at the helm,
more folks with disabilities in charge,
more immigrants setting the tone,
more queer and trans folks
calling the shots.
So whether you’re a new hire
who’s a proud member
of one or more of these groups
or a longtime leader
who is none of the above,
each of us has a role to play
in making this happen.
Success is no longer
about our individual ambitions,
but about how we build
something greater together.
My mother introduced me to this concept
of lifting while you climb.
She was an absolute
powerhouse in her work,
and she spent so much of her time
working with younger Black women
to help advance them, too.
She would remind me
that the point of success
isn’t success for success’s sake.
She said that when you climb that ladder
and you get to the top,
you can take a moment to enjoy the view,
but you must be principally concerned
with using all of your might
to throw the ladder back down
for those who are coming behind you.
There’s no point in being the first
if we’re also the last.
So here are three ways that all of us,
whether you’re a first in your company
or a part of a deep legacy,
can embrace this spirit.
One:
question your surroundings.
One of the benefits,
and really the consequences of privilege,
is being around people
whose experiences mirror your own.
So when you’re at the table,
I want to ask you to really examine
who’s there with you,
and even more importantly,
who isn’t.
Do you see women,
people of color,
people with disabilities,
people who look like your customers,
clients, patients and community?
If not, I need you to ask why.
Calling it out matters.
If we don’t name it, we can’t change it.
Once you notice these disparities,
let’s do something about it.
For example,
we have a lot of data that women
get interrupted during presentations
more than men do.
So make counting this an activity
that you try in meetings
where there’s multiple people presenting.
Keep a tally:
how often do women
or nonbinary folks get interrupted,
and how often are men getting interrupted?
Add up your tally at the end of the week,
and if you notice discrepancies,
talk about them.
Talk about them in the moment.
Address it in the meeting if you can.
Practice saying, “Hey Fred,
I think you interrupted June.
June, can you repeat that?”
Or if that feels like too much,
you can just hand the mic back to June.
“Hey June, what were you saying?
I think I missed it.”
When you notice it happening, speak up.
It’s a chance to give yourself and others
the opportunity to show up better.
Two:
aim for sponsorship over mentorship.
Mentorship is making
a connection for someone,
giving them advice,
helping them know
when to ask for a promotion.
It’s great, but we can do even better.
Sponsorship is using your privilege,
your position, your power
to give opportunities to someone else
who’s traditionally been excluded.
It’s not just saying that someone
would excel in a make-or-break project,
but getting in there
and helping them make it
across the finish line.
It’s sending their finished
project to senior leaders
and letting them know
how strong you thought it was.
When the work gets picked up and used,
it’s reminding people where it came from
and who produced it.
If mentorship happens behind the scenes,
sponsorship happens
right there in the front:
not just before the meeting
but in the meeting,
not just on the private thread
but in that big group email,
because the platitudes,
the kind of half stepping –
it’s not cutting it.
Finally, pass on the chance for glory.
Think about how you can
create opportunities
for the people in your organization
who might not get them as often.
The next time you’re asked to do a panel,
consider offering your seat to someone
who also has bold and imaginative ideas
but might be overlooked
because of their race or gender
or disability,
and then help that person prepare.
Take someone who wouldn’t normally
have access to the meeting
and bring them in with you,
not to observe,
but to present with you.
If you’ve been running
an ideation session for a while,
pass it on to someone new.
Keep the calendar invite intact,
talk them through what’s worked
in the past and what hasn’t
so that they can excel too.
Pass on your institutional knowledge.
It’s on the leadership of your company
or your organization
to set goals and metrics
for hiring equitably
and bringing in more diverse employees,
but when it comes to inclusion
and celebrating others,
you can help with that.
You can go to someone
who doesn’t share your identities
to partner on a project.
You can amplify the work of a colleague
who might be the only person
like them on the team.
You may think about
where you first started in this work
and feel so proud of what you’ve learned
and how brave you’ve been as you climbed.
I need you to hold that feeling.
Please hold that feeling,
but also chase that feeling,
because what good
is our power and success,
what use is it making it to the top
if all it affords us is a bird’s-eye view
of everyone we’ve left behind?
If your journey in inclusion feels easy,
you have packed too light.
So feel proud,
feel uplifted,
feel accomplished
in your commitment to equity,
but also feel like
you have more work to do
because lifting –
it’s difficult.
And your help –
it’s essential.