are your best people having to work too hard to fit in?
by mary l bennett
although most accounting firms think of their organizations as inclusive, this goal is rarely achieved in practice – at least through the eyes of diverse professionals. subtle, unconscious differences in behavior by current leaders and staff result in a significantly different experience for individual team members and often lead to widely divergent career trajectories.
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these differences in career navigation experience often contribute to attrition by diverse top talent firms seek to build. targeted sponsorship relationships can mitigate the challenge and help the firm achieve its goals for growth, sustainability and diversity.
jayne is a woman with 10 years of experience in public accounting. she is certified and versatile in multiple areas of practice in which she might contribute now and in the future, and has deep community roots in the major metropolitan area in which she works. jayne has shown great promise in promoting the firm in the market. she has unique and valuable connections in several diverse business networks. in addition to her demonstrated ability to identify and pursue valid and significant business development opportunities, jayne successfully develops the people on her teams. despite this outstanding collection of abilities and accomplishments, she plans to leave the firm – and possibly public accounting altogether.
one reason for jayne’s decision is the inordinate effort required for her to stay connected in the firm and to expand her network. she works tirelessly in this regard and has been somewhat successful with tapping into opportunities, but it takes a great deal of effort to find out when opportunities may be occurring and look for openings to be included. just this week, for example, she learned of an important client meeting, in which she was not included. only after suggesting to the partner that it would make sense for her to be a part of the meeting did she receive an invitation. jayne works hard to gain these critical experiences with clients because she knows she cannot develop as a successful professional if she is not at the table witnessing and participating in the important conversations.
jayne feels she has to prove herself every day when she walks through the door, whether she is working toward a significant opportunity in the firm or the market. she has a sense that her superiors are not connected to her and that she is not on their radar screen after observing how favoritism, sponsorship and advocacy circles drive the assignment of opportunities, promotions and pay increases. she has managed to tap into these organizational circles from time to time, but also notes that she has to assimilate in order to stay connected in any meaningful way. she understands that this assimilation also limits the value she may bring to the firm.
jayne’s ongoing struggle with these issues has led her to the conclusion that the energy she is pouring into trying to fit into the organization could be better applied to her work if she were in a more inclusive environment. an exploration of positions outside of public accounting has turned up attractive alternatives that offer her many career options. she cannot envision herself continuing with the status quo, trying to gain access daily with no end in sight. the energy spent breaking barriers takes time away from serving clients and growing the business – time that her peers have, because they are naturally included and do not have to put so much energy into this aspect of success.
john feels that his career is on solid ground. he believes he really “fits” with the firm because he is so connected to the leaders. just this morning, a senior partner stopped by his office to discuss their golf game over the weekend and to invite him to play a round with clients later in the week. as an afterthought, the partner mentioned a meeting with a prospect later that day and invited john to attend to observe and learn from the session. this natural inclusion in learning and networking opportunities is something that has made a huge difference for john as he has worked to learn the business. he feels special and knows he has a place in the firm long term based on his current relationships and the attention paid to him. the partners seem very comfortable with him and they have a lot in common. they often share information about the things he needs to do to create more value in the coming years if he wishes to proceed on the partner path.
these two scenarios about jayne and john represent the different experiences that top talent has every day in public accounting. multiply these experiences by weeks, months and years and we see a huge divergence in the career paths of our talent pools. this divergence is the result of something called affinity bias, which is also largely unconscious. affinity bias simply means that as humans, we are comfortable with people who remind us of ourselves and gravitate toward these relationships. as leaders, we have a responsibility to be intentional in building all talent in our firms if we are to survive and thrive.
the sustainability of our firms depends upon attracting, retaining and developing the best talent. a significant portion of this talent now consists of individuals who are not a mirror image of our current partner ranks. our ability to develop and bring new solutions to new markets relies on our success in creating an inclusive culture that supports a very broad level of diversity. creating an inclusive culture can only be accomplished with targeted effort. to succeed in this effort, firm leaders must ask the question: how do we attract, retain and develop the individuals who represent the change we need for the future while we continue to work on our culture?
one of the most important strategies that an organization can employ is targeted sponsorship. in our profession, sponsor relationships drive talent development and career navigation. these relationships are an invisible part of our firms and have been so for decades. sponsors not only understand how to navigate through an organization to access key opportunities and networks at the most appropriate junctures of a career, but also use political capital to facilitate these moves for their protégés. sponsors help their protégés become visible in ways that individuals cannot achieve themselves and are essential for election to partner, which is still the ultimate career destination in our profession. these relationships do not happen equitably or often enough to produce the magnitude and diversity of talent we need for succession.
it is critical to note that for individuals who represent something different from the norm, the sponsor relationships do not form as naturally as they do for the majority group. human beings are drawn to individuals who remind us of ourselves, because we can identify with them most easily. this is especially true of sponsorship relationships that may form naturally in public accounting firms. this is significant and an important element in jayne’s story. how can a person like jayne reach the conclusion that the price to pay for success in public accounting is too high? while we should acknowledge the road is long and challenging and to expect to work hard to attain this goal, those who represent diversity often have a path that is much harder to pave. when we hear that these individuals do not want to do what it takes to succeed, we must understand that in significant ways we are asking some to do more than we have had to do, and more than their peers. this is true for women, minorities, those with different educational or socioeconomic experiences, those with different lifestyles, or those who represent any significant difference that the individual must suppress in order to assimilate and be accepted. if you are a member of the majority and dominant group, the need to suppress fundamental elements of who you are to succeed may sound like fiction. those who represent diversity in the ranks of your firm would assure you that the energy it takes to try to become a fully accepted and engaged member of the firm is significant.
sponsor relationships must be in place for all of our top talent and are an essential element of leadership development. if left to chance, the relationships will most likely not develop for enough of our top talent to support firm growth and sustainability. targeted sponsor programs are not impossible to implement, but they must be implemented well. best practices include orientation to the program for both sponsors and protégés, defined and targeted developmental plans, structured meetings with a defined frequency, program accountability, feedback and check-ins with sponsors at the appropriate level of influence to align with protégé developmental needs.
the ripple effect of sponsor programs is immense, with both the sponsor and the protégé learning from these relationships. bias is generally unconscious and begins to break down as we gain personal experience interacting with individuals. working closely with those individuals who represent the future is an effective method of shifting a firm’s culture as the organization begins to better prepare itself by retaining top talent and maximizing the diversity of talent necessary for sustainability.
discussion questions
- what are some of the subtle ways affinity bias may be occurring at your firm? think of specific examples.
- what can current leaders do to encourage a fully inclusive environment that promotes engagement and professional advancement for all team members?
- would a targeted sponsor program benefit your organization, or do you think the sponsor relationships that develop naturally are sufficient to create a fully inclusive firm and develop the talent needed to support effective growth?