Chapter 13 covered recruiting and interviewing people of color and other minority groups. Let's assume that you've been successful in making good hires with new and diverse talent. Congrats! Now you need to make sure that your hires succeed. Although you hired people who are qualified and bring diverse perspectives to the table, you can't just throw them into your team, department, or organization and expect them to flourish. They're going to need your support and backing if they are to fulfill their potential.

Even if your organization doesn't have formal programs in place to support diverse employees, there are three key ways you can help ensure their success: mentoring, networking, and checking in.

MENTORING

Have you ever had a really great boss or supervisor? If you're lucky enough to say “yes,” think back to what made them so great. Aside from their own talent and experience, I'm betting that what made them “great” was that they supported you. Whether it was spending time with you, teaching you and providing insights, giving you new challenges, or introducing you to new people and opportunities, your great boss invested in you and had your back.

When people feel supported, their confidence—and accomplishments—grow. Employees who feel supported are not afraid to ask questions or seek clarification or direction on a project. They're more likely to reach for new heights because they know their bosses won't let them get in over their heads. They strive to do more and be more, because the support they receive underscores that they are not alone. They have the tools to do their jobs and the support they need to keep advancing.

I was lucky to have a great boss when I was in my early thirties: Pete Rentschler. I was working for Nissan's global ad agency. The automotive industry was (and still is) very male-dominated and this was no different at the ad agency handling the Nissan account. I worked exclusively with men: from the dealers, to the Nissan team, to my own team. There were seven regional offices, each with their own staff, budgets, and business strategies. Pete promoted me to run the Dallas office. Overnight, I inherited a five-state territory and had twenty-three employees. It was a huge step up for me, and I had never faced a challenge like this before. I had kicked butt in my previous role, but this was different: I suddenly had more than twenty people in four departments to manage, I had almost 200 Nissan dealers to keep motivated and informed on all marketing initiatives, and I had a Nissan Regional client to partner with to create effective marketing campaigns. Oh—and I was also the first woman to ever be in this role. My six counterparts were all men, as were all of my clients and dealers.

The spotlight was on me and I felt the heat of it. I felt the pressure to succeed, so that other women in the company would know that they, too, could succeed and be promoted. I felt the pressure to be as good as my male counterparts, even though they'd been in their positions for years (or decades) and I was a newly promoted rookie. I felt the pressure to run a profitable regional office with little or no turnover, even though I'd never run an office before. It was exciting, nerve-racking, and totally overwhelming.

As nervous and intimidated as I was, I was never scared, because Pete had my back. Without making a big deal out of it, he made sure I was supported in this new role. He and I had weekly meetings and daily phone calls to discuss specific work projects and to just to talk about how things were going for me. In those conversations, he imparted lessons, advice, and insight. And he served as a sounding board for me, a trusted ear and “safe space” for me to discuss the daily challenges I faced. Looking back on it, I know now that he mentored me and made sure I got the professional development I needed to succeed. But at the time, it mostly felt like I had a great boss who believed in me and who wanted to show the rest of our large organization why I was the one he had chosen.

Pete never coddled me. It was quite the opposite: he pushed me—and he pushed me hard. He gave me “stretch” assignments that were incredibly challenging for me, but that made me grow professionally in big ways. There were times I loved him and times I loathed him, but I always knew that he'd never give me more than I could handle. He would not let me fail. He was a profound influence in shaping my career in the years to come. But make no mistake: I was not Pete's pet project. I was part of his job. His job was to put the right people in the right positions across the company and help them succeed in those positions. My success became his success.

As a leader, your job is to make sure your team members have what they need to succeed. Beyond overseeing their work and performance, your job is to get them ready for the next opportunity in your organization. With any employee, the time you spend to professionally grow and develop them is important, to their success and yours.

With diverse employees, it's imperative that you set them up to succeed. Why? Why should diverse employees receive more support from you or your organization? Why should extra steps be taken to ensure their success? Isn't that playing favorites? Or worse, pandering? Nope.

Mentoring and developing diverse team members is fair for four reasons:

1. Many minority employees do not see themselves reflected in leadership roles within organizations. It's difficult to make serious inroads in management when none of the company leaders are from a minority group. Diverse employees may not have a sense of what it takes to rise to that position because they don't see anyone like themselves in those positions. Additionally, while White men tend to identify mentors on their own, women and minorities more often need help in finding a mentor. Connecting employees to mentors can help close the gap and provide the support needed to succeed within your organization.
2. Research shows that both women and minorities are more susceptible to self-doubt and the “imposter syndrome,” which is when an individual has serious doubts about their abilities and qualifications, despite evidence to the contrary. An ongoing mentoring or professional development program can build confidence, as well as skills.
3. Mentoring and developing talent helps address the “first rung” problem. Many companies today seek to hire diverse C-suite-level or leadership executives and complain they can't find many qualified candidates at that level. But the culprit actually resides at the bottom of the “ladder of success.” Workplace and employment studies have found that getting to the “first rung” in job advancement is the most important step. If an entry-level or junior employee does not get promoted to the very first career rung, they fall further and further behind. The more they fall behind, the harder it is to catch up. It's like learning to read. If you or anyone you know struggled to learn to read as a child, you know that if reading isn't mastered by about age 7 or 8, everything after that becomes harder and harder. Learning becomes impaired. If you fall behind in reading at that age, it is very, very difficult to catch up. The key to having more qualified diverse talent at the top is to start at the bottom, making sure that employees get to that important “first rung.”
4. Supporting your diverse employees is the very definition of inclusion. Minority groups have long been excluded from many professional roles and organizations. Therefore, they may lack the professional network of peers in a given industry, simply because there are no peers. For example, the oil and gas industry is a very homogeneous, overwhelmingly White and male industry. A woman or person of color in that industry would likely feel very isolated and alone, with no one to talk to and share experiences with. Mentoring and development sends a message of “We see you, we want you here, and we support you.”

When mentors teach their protégés the ropes and endorse them for additional training and high-visibility assignments, they give them the breaks they need to develop and advance. Those who have mentors say it's “very important” and essential to their professional growth. Mentors are guides, coaches, and sounding boards. Even if your company or organization doesn't have a formal mentoring program, you can still be a mentor to someone, like my boss Pete was to me. Mentors are also often connected to people who can really help move an employee's career forward, which leads me to the importance of networking.

NETWORKING

I mentioned Dr. Joy Pierce in an earlier chapter and she shared with me a story about her own experience as a mid-level executive in climbing the ladder early in her career. Joy is Black and her boss was White. One day, her boss called her to her office and told her a VP in the company would be retiring in six months. She asked Joy if she would be interested in the position. Joy leapt at the opportunity and said, “Yes!” Her boss then said, “Ok, there are several committees you need to be part of to learn about this position. It will be important for you to fully understand the position so that when the time comes, you're ready. I can get you on those committees and make sure you have the visibility and connections you'll need to position yourself for the job.” Wow! Her boss opened big doors for her! Much of business revolves around connections, referrals, and who you know. Many people get jobs because of someone they know in an organization or industry. Networking and expanding one's professional visibility are incredibly important. But diverse employees may lack the kind of networks that help them professionally. They may not play golf and know the guys at the country club that perhaps you know. They may not have wide networks of people who are leaders in their communities who can vouch for them or endorse them. They may not have gone to an Ivy League school that makes their résumés stand out. They may not even know many people in their organizations who are at higher levels than they are.

Aside from being connected to people who can help someone get ahead professionally, networking offers another benefit: advocacy. In many organizations, the decisions about who can and should fill an open position take place in meetings, hallway interactions, and informal conversations.

Imagine this scenario: A meeting is being held to discuss an upcoming open position of Supervisor. The conversation goes like this:

In this example, you can see how important an advocate can be. Conversations about jobs and people happen all the time, in all kinds of circumstances. An effective network can also be effective advocacy. You can help your diverse team members by advocating for them for the right professional opportunities.

CHECKING IN

You can also help your employees by doing regular check-ins with them, asking them how things are going, if there is anything they need, or if there is anything you can help with. This keeps the line of communication open and creates ways for both of you to talk about little things that can come up in day-to-day business. Not every issue or situation that comes up at work needs a big meeting. Sometimes a casual conversation works better. By doing regular check-ins, you create the moments in which conversations can be candid and less structured than a meeting. This is a good thing to do with all employees, not just diverse employees. Some of the best business insights and opportunities that might not have come up in a formal meeting are brought up in informal conversations.

The next four chapters cover important areas that leaders need to address to make real and lasting progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion.