10 Key Lessons from an ERG Showcase Month

As the curtain falls on another March, and with it, another Women's Showcase Month at LinkedIn , I can't help but reflect on the journey we've been on at Women@.

From onsite, to virtual to hybrid, from celebrating only March 8th to a whole month of celebrations, from working in silos to scaling almost everything we do, from world to company uncertainties, we've navigated huge transitions. And with it a fair share of high and lows, of mistakes and last-minute pivots, celebrations and connections but most importantly a LOT of learnings. x

I'm here to share some of those lessons with you. Lessons that can be taken into any ERG organizing their showcase month or anyone leading a complex project:

1. Break Your Boundaries: Redefine Traditional Limits

Just because it's always been done a certain way, that it's the best way.

For years, we've adhered to the official International Women's Day theme - it was convenient and universally recognized. However, it often restricted our planning to a late start (not announced until November) and a generic focus. This year, we boldly crafted our own theme, which resonated deeply with our identity and diversity journey. It took Mary Y. thinking outside the box to open our minds to this possibility. Lesson: Don't shy away from creating traditions that reflect your unique culture today.

2. Co-create to truly represent your community

When making a decision, ensure those who would be implementing it, have a hand in its creation. When Lauren Zekiri and Callie Hemming decided to create our own theme, they involved a diverse group of 30+ people in the brainstorming, enriching our collective creativity and ensuring genuine buy-in. This collaborative approach empowers those who will implement the theme, fostering a stronger connection and more meaningful events. Lesson: Engage directly with those who will bring your vision to life.

3. Define Roles Clearly: Clarity is Non-negotiable

With Elizabeth Wendorf-Bloesser , we learned the hard way that assuming roles are understood can lead to confusion, blind spots and frustration. Establishing clear responsibilities using frameworks like RAPID has been essential in making us more effective and has made the work more rewarding, especially with 30+ people involved. Lesson: Explicitly define who does what to avoid ambiguity and ensure accountability.

4. Communicate strategically, not just frequently

With numerous moving parts, it's crucial that the right people are in the right conversations. It's also important to use the right tools (Teams, Email, Loop?) for the right purposes.

This year, we focused on optimizing our communication channels and schedules to ensure that vital information was shared efficiently and effectively and collaborating to avoid overwhelming any single channel. Lesson: Increase your impact by optimizing your communications channels.

5. Focus on Quality, Not Quantity

It's easy to fall into the trap of "more = better" when organizing events and while that may hold true at the start of your ERG journey, it can easily backfire as your ERG grows. For Women@ LinkedIn today, we realized the importance of quality over quantity. By merging resources across offices, we’ve managed to increase our impact without stretching our capabilities too thin! Lesson: Prioritize impact over volume and spread out your events.

6. Leverage hidden talents within your team.

Discovering mid-Showcase month last year that Katarina Swaney was a SharePoint queen, was a game-changer. But we did discover it too late, so this year we made sure Katie's role reflected her stellar skills and it has saved us hours of trying to figure things on our own. Remember, every member has unique superpowers—spot them early. Lesson: Having the right skills in the right place will save you time and energy

7. Consider the External Impact of Your Campaign

Taking your campaign beyond internal boundaries amplifies both its impact and its risks. Last year, Thamina Stoll and the team had an amazing idea for an external campaign, and as we got close to launching, the team discovered that in our intention of being inclusive of all women, we were risking achieving the exact opposite.

We learned that bringing in the relevant stakeholders early on in the planning is crucial to avoid blind spots, ensure that our message is universally resonant and collaborate with others sharing our same objectives. Lesson: Gather broad input to refine your campaign’s effectiveness and relevance.

8. Be Agile and Ready to Adapt

Unexpected things can happen or almost always happen, get creative.

Last year, two weeks before March, a technical hiccup forced us to abandon our initial platform for SharePoint. Despite the steep learning curve, this pivot turned out to be the best decision on the long term. Lesson: Embrace flexibility and be prepared to shift gears when necessary.

9. Use Showcase Months as a Catalyst for Change.

Contrary to what might seem logical, the hectic pace of Showcase Month makes it an ideal time to implement new processes or tools. It was Bruna Gil and Funmi Sonaiya who brought this to our attention: high engagement levels and the spirit of innovation make it easier to introduce changes that can streamline future initiatives. Lesson: Leverage the dynamic environment of Showcase Months to drive innovation and change.

10. Remember, Volunteers Are the Heart of Your ERG

Volunteers balance their ERG roles with demanding day jobs. While this may fill their cups in more ways than one, It's essential to acknowledge their dedication and ensure they aren’t overwhelmed. For us, it was all about intentionally structuring the team to minimize timezone conflicts and workloads, especially during busy periods like Showcase Month. It also meant sometimes saying NO. Lesson: Always protect your team, part of it is landing all of the above right!

And show them some love - if it wasn't for some of the queens on our tiger team Lauren Zekiri Callie Hemming Katarina Swaney Sarah Ridge Judith Gutiérrez (and 30 other leaders) we wouldn't be nearly where we are today!

Reflecting on these lessons not only celebrates our growth but also sets the stage for future successes. Each Showcase Month is a stepping stone in our continuous journey of empowerment and innovation at LinkedIn.

What about you Brad Singley Funmi Sonaiya Ali El Hadi Hammoud Basant Shenouda Carlos Gutierrez Carolina Baquero Viteri Daniel Kim, MEd, MBA, MSQM Deirdre Wafer Eddy Sihavong Genesis Lawson MBA Gorki De Los Santos Jaspreet Kaur Louise Wilson Marium Ibrahim Micah Davis Natasha J. Nicole Wallace Ardiet Rae Hinton Sarajane Siebert Steve DiNardo - any other lessons to share from your showcase months?